Going Green with Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Cars
Photo by jurvetson
Does the idea of a hydrogen fuel cell powered car sound futuristic? In fact, the technology is not only available, but has already been used to produce the first hydrogen-powered car.
In June 2008, Honda released its first hydrogen fuel cell powered car intended for mass production. But what are hydrogen fuel cells? Are they really better for the environment? How much do they cost?
Hydrogen has been described as the perfect fuel, because it is renewable (in fact, limitless) and can be made from sunlight and water. It leaves no trace of dangerous emissions and only releases warm water vapor as a by-product when burned as a fuel. It is an extremely eco-friendly fuel, if not the most eco-friendly.
The hydrogen fuel cell makes use of these attributes by using hydrogen as a fuel. Instead of an engine, fuel cell cars have a hydrogen cell “stack” under the hood, about the size of a microwave oven.
The car also has a pressurized hydrogen tank and an electric motor. The cell converts the hydrogen into water by mixing it with oxygen (think H2O). This process produces electricity. The flow of chemicals – hydrogen and oxygen – is continual, so the fuel cell won’t “die” like a battery.
As noted above, Honda produced its first fuel cell car in 2008, a prototype for mass production, but the technology is still experimental. There are problems with hydrogen fuel cell cars not performing well in low temperatures, for example, or only being able to drive so long without a “rest” to re-charge.
What about the cost?
There’s no doubt about it – hydrogen fuel cell cars are extremely expensive, primarily because there are so few of them. A conventional car can be converted to fuel cell power, but that, too, is expensive.
For example, according to a report by MSNBC, a hydrogen-powered Nissan Frontier pickup truck starts at $99,995, and the cost to convert a Hummer begins at $60,000 (Hummer not included). However, as more of these vehicles are produced and demand increases, the price should go down in the future.
Interestingly, toy cars fueled by hydrogen are readily available. Kits range in price from $150 to $250, and involve building your own hydrogen fuel cell powered car – albeit on a small scale!
In some ways, hydrogen fuel cell cars are a thing of the future – it will be some time before the technology is reliable and consumer demand drives the number of cars up and the price down. Nonetheless, the potential is here and now, and is likely to stay.
