In the quest to find an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional vehicles, which run on gasoline or diesel, hydrogen-powered cars look like a promising alternative.
These vehicles use a fuel cell to power an electric motor, which combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity. These cars are more commonly known as electric vehicles (or EVs), but they have a much closer resemblance to conventional cars.
These cars are refuelled, rather than charged, in a similar way to how a conventional truck might be, and often take less than 10 minutes to fill up. Their range is similar to conventional cars as well, with an average of 200-300 miles per refuel. Whereas other EVs have shorter ranges and longer charging times, hydrogen-powered cars provide a realistic alternative in the debate for cleaner cars.
Cutting emissions
Unsurprisingly, one of the greatest advantages that hydrogen-powered vehicles have is that they don’t create air pollution. There are no exhaust emissions and only water and heat are produced as byproducts of the conversion process of hydrogen into electricity. This cuts emissions by more than 30%, when compared to the cars’ petrol counterparts.
But if they’re so advantageous, why are they not more popular? There is still some room for improvement. Regenerative braking technology and an issue with cars automatically switching off the fuel cell at stop signs and in traffic are just two of the technologies that are still being developed.
The lack of infrastructure also makes hydrogen cars unattractive. Currently, only a handful of refuelling stations have been built in the UK – unless you live close to one, or can plan your route so you’re not too far away when you need to refuel, it’s difficult to decide to invest in this technology. This makes it a challenging product to market. Once this infrastructure is provided, there will no doubt be a significant increase in the uptake of these types of vehicles. Thankfully there are plans to build 65 stations across the UK by 2020, covering most areas.
A beneficial side effect of this heightened demand will be that the price of hydrogen cars will start to reduce, boosting the creation of a more robust hydrogen economy. This will be hugely aided by the government grant administered by the office for low emission vehicles that’s been announced as part of the plans to make all cars zero-emissions by 2050. Local authorities, emergency services and private companies are now bidding for government funding in order to add hydrogen-powered vehicles to their fleets.
Manufacturers that have a market in the UK are also focusing on developing hydrogen cars and contributing to the growth in this sector. Kia, for example, are developing powertrain technology, which combines a four-cylinder engine with an electric motor. As such, they plan to focus on hydrogen fuel cell technology in at least one of the 22 eco-friendly cars that are in the pipeline and due for release in 2018.
Hydrogen cars are the future. To save the environment and end the reliance on petrol and diesel, companies and consumers will gradually start embracing this kind of technology. Now that all the pieces are falling into place, the journey is ready to be started.
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