11 March 2010

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Hydrogen cars

Hydrogen car image Hydrogen has long been acclaimed as the alternative fuel of the future, the one to watch. Mainly this is down to its zero carbon emission halo and because like wind or solar, it is infinitely renewable. Stored hydrogen mixes with oxygen to produce water as the only emission.

A hydrogen car has a hydrogen storage tank and a fuel cell stack. Hydrogen combines with atmospheric oxygen in the fuel cell stack, where energy from the reaction is converted into electric power used to propel the vehicle. Effectively the fuel cells operate like a battery.

Many experts think hydrogen will replace petrol, diesel and natural gas as the main fuel for cars, buses and trucks over the next few decades. It boasts the advantage of not adding to air pollution in our congested cities. Hydrogen technology has taken a long time to reach the production stage, due to various technical and practical problems. One problem was how to store hydrogen? It takes up more space than the equivalent amount of petrol required to cover the same distance. Additionally, although hydrogen is a common element in the atmosphere, it is not a naturally free gas. It forms strong bonds with other elements so it is difficult to isolate as a fuel. Most hydrogen is currently steamed from natural gas as this is seen as the easiest option. Environmental groups have raised concerns that obtaining hydrogen by burning fossil fuels and natural gas will counter the benefits of hydrogen as an emission free fuel. The fuel-cell technology, which converts the stored hydrogen into electricity, has proven to be another hydrogen headache. It has taken a long time to refine the technology to make it commercially viable. Until recently a hydrogen car cost about twenty times more than a traditional petrol car to manufacture. As with most alternative fuels, there is also the problem of a lack of infrastructure to support transport running on it.

Hydrogen burns quickly and intensely and while petrol fires last longer; concerns for safety have been expressed about hydrogen. Compressed hydrogen in a small storage tank may sound like an accident waiting to happen. Alternate storage solution are still in the developmental stages, and for now, hydrogen engines feature a storage tank of compressed hydrogen which in theory could explode. Manufacturers are keen to diminish our fears and much rigorous testing is still being done. GM claims that their prototype fuel-cell cars passed federal crash tests and a guillotine drop test on a 10,000psi hydrogen tank. Hydrogen is the smallest molecule in the universe, it has a tendency to escape through anything including pipelines and storage tanks causing embrittlement of metal, making it crack.

The environmental benefits of hydrogen could be undermined by a reluctance to invest in research and development first. Most hydrogen is currently generated from fossil fuels primarily natural gas, since the cost of generating it from other sources such as solar energy has been reported to be up to four times higher. Well-to-wheel analysis shows the overall carbon dioxide emissions from hydrogen powered cars can be higher than that from petrol or diesel powered vehicles if hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels. Accidently releasing hydrogen into the atmosphere through leaking storage tanks could have an affect on the stratosphere and indirectly cause increased depletion of the ozone which could aggravate climate change.

The U.S seems to be investing a lot of hope into developing a successful hydrogen-driven economy. In 2003, President Bush announced a program called the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative (HFI) during his State of the Union Address. This initiative aims to develop hydrogen, fuel cell and infrastructure technologies to make hydrogen vehicles practical and cost-effective by 2020. The United States has so far dedicated 3.28 billion dollars to research a hydrogen economy.

The Honda FCX Clarity is the first hydrogen car to go into full production. It will go on sale in Japan in the autumn of 2008 and U.K will see its arrival some time after. As the world’s first road-legal hydrogen car, it can travel an estimated 270 miles on a full tank. It can travel at speeds up to 100 miles per hour. It achieves the equivalent of 68mpg. Early signs are that it will be popular and other manufacturers are set to follow, such as GM and BMW. TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk will bring you news of further developments as they happen.

Faye Sunderland

Author: Faye Sunderland, May 27, 2008

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