Automotive

Can Hydrogen Cars Run on the Road in the Future?

Hydrogen Cars

Hydrogen cars seem to overcome the extensive technological challenges regarding production, consumption of hydrogen and fuel cells and transportation. In spite of this, hydrogen cars are likely to leave their well-earned place from the car world under the extreme political pressure within a few years.

The major car brands have reinstated their commitment to develop a common fuel cell technology. This would enable the car makers to produce feasible fuel cell cars by 2017.

Well, when these car makers are emphasizing to bring out fuel cell cars to the markets, there are other car makers stressing on hydrogen cars.

If you look at this carefully, you will find there involves a lot of woes. The leading car brands like Toyota, General Motors and others have made an investment worth billions of dollars in tools to turn hydrogen into the future fuel. These three companies claimed that they have several years of collective experience in fuel cell automobiles and their models have run over 10 million miles.

If you see the global car sales statistics, the fuel cell-powered cars have made an increase in car sales. This has lead to more fuel-cell car productions as well. For instance, the sale of FCX Clarity has jumped 150% in 2012 from two units in 2011 to five units in 2012.

This margin is still raising. It is quite interesting that the hydrogen car makers are not compelled to use fuel in the car making by a specific government mandate. Instead of this, governments across the world are putting an emphasize on raising mileage standards. Whereas U.S Government is concerned, they have set a target of meeting an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Well, car makers can achieve that target only by concentrating on dropping car weight or battery-powered cars. They are making investments into the making of hydrogen-powered cars depending on their hopes.

Let us find out why these car owners are stressing on hydrogen cars.

Whereas electric cars are concerned, they emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions as opposed to any other cars. They offer a great level of accelerations. They are silent. They re-introduce the drivers to the excitement of motorized transportation. It is guaranteed if you take a test drive, you will become a fan of an electric car.

The key problem is to store electricity in a car. As far as batteries are concerned, they are quite expensive. Simultaneously, weight is added to the cars by them; which brings down the mileage. Earlier the battery pack of some of the leading manufacturers weighed around 1,000 pounds. Though engineers continue to improve the features of car batteries, less improvements have been done so far.

Now comes hydrogen. Hydrogen gets drawn through a catalytic membrane in a hydrogen-powered car. During the transmission, an electron is taken away from he hydrogen to supply power to the car. The water-a waste product disperses from the tailpipe. A thin membrane tied with expensive components helps carry out the chemical reaction. The fuel cell component is lighter than batteries. It takes only minutes to fill a fuel cell car, while a typical EV car takes an hour.

Fuel cell-powered cars are as efficient as electric cars. Internal combustion engines offer 15 percent more efficiencies as opposed to electric vehicles. Is your car engine emitting heat? This heat is nothing but waste heat. The fuel you buy when not used properly by your car engine, it results in waste heat. The fuel cell can be 50 percent more efficient in this regard.

When you will think of good factors of the fuel cell, you will come to the conclusion that fuel cells are a cool substance for cars.

Producing energy through chemical reaction has been in the practice since 1839. Fuel cells have in common with geothermal or nuclear power. Therefore, hydrogen power shows a whole new way to produce energy.

Where a hydrogen fuel cell shows a great expectation, it is not without a few challenges. While being created by the chemical companies, it produces a large amount of greenhouse gases.

Despite of these challenges, fuel cells show some approaches where innovation can open the door to impressive changes. Lets us hope for a good number of hydrogen cars to roll down the roads soon.

Jeff Miguel has been writing on car shops, car servicing and repair and used car for many online publications. He is contributor writer at Sumaru's Auto Repair. He often attends car shows and auto exhibitions so as to collect information on the latest car models and their user's reviews .

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