Hydrogen Cars, Coming Down the Pike

Something that many of us have forgotten about in the roar of electric car news is the promise of fuel cell vehicles. Specifically, hydrogen fuel cells that have only the by product of water – an amazing alternative to current fuel sources.

Of course, don’t forget that the hydrogen has to come from somewhere – while it obviously exists in large quantities, it isn’t just floating around as great big bubbles of pure hydrogen. It needs to be processed and refined, and this has an energy cost of it’s own. Still, it is interesting that this powerplant method is being pursued and appears to be about ready to make it debut on the car stage:

Several major automakers, including Toyota, Honda and Hyundai, have started or will soon start selling these cars, which will be more expensive than comparable gasoline models but a lot cheaper than they were just a few years ago.

Executives at Toyota say that the cost of making the critical components of hydrogen vehicles has fallen 95 percent since 2008. That is why the company plans to market its first mass-produced hydrogen car, the Mirai, in the United States next year. Other companies, like General Motors, Ford and Audi, are working on similar cars.

The broad adoption of hydrogen-powered cars, which emit only water and heat, could play an important role, along with electric vehicles, in lowering emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants responsible for climate change. Cars and other modes of transportation account for about 28 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, second only to power plants, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Instead of an engine that burns gasoline, cars like the Mirai have fuel cells that combine hydrogen with oxygen from the air to generate electricity that powers a motor. The hydrogen is stored in tanks that can be filled in a few minutes, just like a conventional gasoline tank. By comparison, a gasoline-electric hybrid car like the Toyota Prius also uses an electric motor and generates electricity in part by burning gasoline. And all-electric vehicles like the Tesla Model S store power in batteries that are usually charged from the electricity grid. Hydrogen Cars, Coming Down the Pike

You can also read Hydrogen Cars, Coming Down the Pike on E-Z Transport.