As oil continues to increase in price and diminish in quantity, many people are looking for new ways to power their cars. Hydrogen is considered an appealing alternative to petrol because it is much more efficient and friendly to our environment. Unfortunately, there are several drawbacks to hydrogen cars which are delaying the development of this technology. Before we get into the various pros and cons of hydrogen cars, it is important to point out that there are two primary types of cars that can run on hydrogen.
Yes, there is some power in Hydrogen
The first form of hydrogen car relies on an internal combustion engine that can burn hydrogen. This type of internal combustion engine functions similarly to one that is designed to burn petrol. The concept of a hydrogen internal combustion engine is actually not a new idea. Back in 1970, a patent was awarded to Paul Deiges for an internal combustion engine that could burn hydrogen. Another type of hydrogen car engine relies on special fuel cells to power the vehicle. These hydrogen fuel cells react to water which in turn creates the electricity that is needed to power the engine. This technology has also been around for several years, with experimentation on the design beginning as far back as the late 1950s.
There are distinct advantages to each type of hydrogen car. The hydrogen internal combustion engine is often a favoured model because it is easier to modify the design of a standard car to allow it to burn hydrogen. Due to the ease of modification of this type of engine, the cost to produce these cars is much lower. Cars that operate on hydrogen fuel cells can utilise the energy created very efficiently. The problem is that many fuel cells are delicate and unsuitable for use inside a vehicle which may be subjected to any number of bumps and bruises throughout its lifetime. Hydrogen fuel cells can also be expensive to make as precious metals are required to produce them. Developers of hydrogen fuel cells need to work towards a version that is both durable and cost effective to produce in order to make them an appealing alternative to petrol.
Car power
The tricky thing about hydrogen is that it actually needs to be produced. You can’t exactly go drilling for hydrogen deep within the Earth. Instead, processes like thermolysis and electrolysis would be relied on to produce the hydrogen that would be necessary to power our cars. You may be thinking it does not sound like a big deal to produce hydrogen. In reality, the process of producing hydrogen requires a great deal of energy. In some cases, more energy is consumed in the process than is actually produced. A great example of this is when electrolysis is used to separate hydrogen from water. This is considered to be one of the least effective ways of generating hydrogen today. Once you have produced the hydrogen, it has to be stored. There are plenty of suitable ways to store hydrogen including cryogenically or simply compressed within a tank.
Tanks made out of metal hydride are considered advantageous for hydrogen storage because they are lightweight. After the hydrogen has been produced and stored, it still needs to make its way to the owner of the hydrogen car. Although there are numerous plants that produce hydrogen around the world, most people do not have direct access to them. As we have numerous stations that sell petrol today, a similar setup would be required to sell hydrogen if this type of car were to become more popular in the future. The cost of establishing an effective hydrogen distribution infrastructure would be enormous. Billions would need to be spent in order to construct the necessary facilities which would be required to fuel the hydrogen cars. It is likely that government regulation of this industry would also become more prevalent, which could increase the cost of development.
Just like a petrol pump, but slightly cleaner
For those that like the idea of a hydrogen car because they are environmentally friendly, there are a few things that you should keep in mind. Because hydrogen does need to be produced, carbon emissions are typically produced during this process. There are ways to create hydrogen by using renewable energy sources, but there are disadvantages to doing so. Many argue that the renewable energy sources can be used to create more efficient sources of energy such as biofuel. A serious drawback to renewable energy sources is that there are simply not enough of them to produce the amount of hydrogen that would be necessary to power our cars.
Much more land would need to be dedicated to things like wind farms and other renewable energy sources. Due to the many obstacles that the hydrogen car industry faces, it will likely be decades before there is widespread use of this type of transportation. Perhaps more environmentally friendly and more fuel efficient means of transportation will be created before the hydrogen car ever really takes off. For those that just can’t wait all of those years for a hydrogen car, there are several specialised manufacturers that will happily convert your ordinary car that is equipped with a fuel burning internal combustion engine to one that burns hydrogen instead. Although for this type of luxury, expect to pay a great deal of money. Most manufacturers require several months to make the necessary modifications to your engine also.
These things are the only way to proper clean energy
Anyone considering this type of purchase should look around their area to ensure that hydrogen is readily available to fuel your car after the conversion is completed! At this point in time, it is simply unknown what the future holds for hydrogen cars. Perhaps manufacturers will have a breakthrough with the technology that will make it a more appealing alternative to petrol powered cars. There has also been a great interest in electric cars, which are considered to be more efficient than even hydrogen cars. For the most part, hydrogen cars will not be a part of mainstream technology in the near future, but this could one day change.
