Hydrogen as Fuel to Power Cars

Using hydrogen as fuel to power cars has been an idea that has been around since the early part of the 1970’s. Researchers and environmentalists have been backing it because they believe that hydrogen cars are important to the future of our world. Fossil fuels will not last forever. We will run out of them and if we don’t have an alternative, we are basically out of luck. Using hydrogen as fuel will not contribute to greenhouse gases whereas fossil fuels are the major contributor to the pollution of our atmosphere.

There are studies that have been done that indicate an issue with hydrogen production. The issue is that when it is produced in an improper manner, it emits nitrogen oxides. Nitrogen oxides cause acid rain. This means that though it helps in one area, it can cause problems in another area. But this can be prevented. Nitrogen oxide is not produced when the engine is timed correctly and hydrogen concentration is optimized.

There are two different approaches to using hydrogen as fuel to power cars. One approach uses many fuel cells. The other uses modification of the internal combustion engine to enable the use of hydrogen.

Hybrid vehicles use a combination of petroleum based fuel (gasoline) and hydrogen. Instead of one tank, there are two: one for gasoline and one for the hydrogen. Using hydrogen reduces the amount of gasoline that we use making this a great alternative not only because we will get better gas mileage, but because the way it is done makes it so oxygen is released into the air instead of carbon.

When using hydrogen fuel cells, the motor vehicle runs on hydrogen and electricity. The hydrogen in water reacts with oxygen, producing vapor and electricity for powering the car.

The only problem we have right now for using hydrogen as fuel for cars is that it cannot yet be used as an exclusive source of energy. For now, we need to use fossil fuels. We need to figure out how to extract the power from the hydrogen. That is what scientists and researchers are working on right now - a way to extract and use hydrogen exclusively that does not cost an arm and a leg. In order to store hydrogen, it must stay in a liquid form. The temperature must be 253 degrees Celsius in order to stay liquid. If it gets any warmer, it will turn into gas. Right now, this calls for huge storage tanks that are well insulated and vented. Complete hydrogen power is not yet cost-effective.

This is the major hurdle we need to get over before the full benefits of using hydrogen as fuel are seen. In addition, we need to have more hydrogen stations available. What is the point of having one of these cars if you don’t have a place to refuel? Last of all, hydrogen powered vehicles are too expensive to be a viable option for the general public.

These issues must be resolved before the world can get the full benefits of using hydrogen power in its vehicles.

There is some hope on the horizon. Many car companies are already designing hydrogen powered motor vehicles. The prices for these are not much more than for the gasoline powered cars we are using right now.

If you would rather not wait for science and research to solve all the problems, you do have the option of turning your vehicle into a hybrid or having your car converted into a hydrogen/electric car. The second option will be more expensive and you will have the challenge of finding hydrogen stations, but you will also be among the first to use hydrogen as fuel for motor vehicles.

We can fully expect that using hydrogen as fuel to power cars will be the norm in the future. Just remember that we don’t have to wait for this to happen before we take other steps to improve our environment.