How Alternative Energy Works - Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Energy has been the topic of many discussions in recent years. What has sparked this fierce and sometimes violent debate is the fact that our Earth is running out of it. Fossil fuels are greatly depleted as wars are being fought for the control of these resources.

The natural solution to the shortage problem we're facing is to find some other source of alternative energy. But, where can we find them? And if we do, how do we harness it sufficiently enough to save power in the long run? The answer to the questions is simple - let's turn to the Earth4energy.

The main source of power for all living things on Earth is the sun. The light emitting from that flaming ball of hydrogen hanging in the vast reaches of space is used in plants as part of their photosynthesis. We humans, in turn, consume these plants and have the energy transferred to us.

But, we could use the energy contained in sunlight more directly in the form of solar power. In certain parts of India and the United States are vast collections of mirrors that reflect sunlight into a receiver that contains water. The concentrated heat produced boils the water and the vapor moves along several pipes and spins a turbine that causes it to generate electricity. However, the cost of erecting these huge structures is dear and they're only feasible in certain regions. So far, civilian solar powered homes are not that effective in saving power and reducing electricity bills.

Wind power is also a popular option for those who don't receive scorching sunlight all-year around. In the Netherlands, the government has built windmills, placed strategically on the nation's wind-swept plains. The principle of the windmill is the same as solar cells, except that they use the wind to turn the turbines. This form of alternative energy is apparently efficient enough to power a whole country.

Geothermal energy is another way we can turn to the Earth4energy. We can actually harness the heat and power that is trapped between the Earth's crusts and use it in our power stations. The potential of this alternative energy is vast, since this is the type of might that causes earthquakes and volcanic explosions.

The possibilities of alternative energy are still largely unexplored. What we need is proper funding and brilliant minds who can find cost-efficient ways to build windmills and solar cells. Fossil fuels are almost gone, people. We need alternative energy, like solar power and wind power to save power and reduce electricity bills.

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Hydrogen Vehicles

Hydrogen cars are becoming more and more popular as car manufacturers are heeding the call to become more energy efficient. Last week there were a few posts regarding various initiatives, namely Norway's HyNor and California's Hydrogen Highway Network, which looked at how these two places were working on ways to bring the technologies of hydrogen to their locations. Today, I thought we would end the month by looking at various hydrogen vehicles that are currently manufactured.

Audi A2H2

Audi's combines sports car features with hydrogen storage tanks and an electric motor. The vehicle can operate up to 109 miles per hour, and can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under just 10 seconds. The car uses regenerative braking, which means it is able to recharge the battery pack using kinetic energy.

BMW Hydrogen 7

This luxury car is different than other hydrogen vehicles in that it is not powered by fuel cells. It instead incorporates a 12 cylinder internal combustion engine. Like the Audi mentioned above, this BMW can also go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under just 10 seconds. Rather than compressed hydrogen, this car uses liquid hydrogen. It beats the Audi in speed, as its maximum speed tops out at 143 miles per hour.

Chrysler ecoVoyager

There is definitely a reason why "eco" is included in the name of this hydrogen vehicle from Chrysler. Using fuel cells, plus the motor's "Range-extended Electric Vehicle technology," this car can go up to 300 miles before having to refuel. Like the Audi above, the ecoVoyager is able to recharge itself using kinetic energy. Surpassing the two previously mentioned hydrogen vehicles, this Chrysler hits 60 miles per hour in less than 8 seconds.

Ford F-250 Super Chief Tri-Flex Fuel Truck

Though not the only hydrogen vehicle manufactured and sold by Ford, it is worth adding this one to today's post simply for the fact that it is a truck. In a world dominated by hydrogen cars, this truck utilizes a tri-flex fueling system, allowing the owner to use traditional gasoline, E85 ethanol, or hydrogen. The driver can travel a total of 500 miles when using all three options during the trip.

GM HydroGen3 Minivan

GM has quite a few hydrogen vehicles on the market already. This minivan is used by FedEx in an attempt to test it out by driving them daily. FedEx delivery is done throughout each day, so this is an ideal scenario to really see how the vehicle can operates under these conditions. In comparison to the above vehicles, the HydroGen3 is definitely not a "speed racer" with its 16 second rate of going from 0 to 60 miles per hour.

Suzuki Ionis

Another minivan, the Suzuki Ionis features the technology of hydrogen fuel cells. Due to the fact that the smaller fuel cells are located beneath the cabin floor, the interior of the vehicle allows for more space. It offers LED lighting, as well as a rounded design, making for a very futuristic look.

David Tanguay is dedicated to providing research, reviews & helpful information to consumers and businesses. For more information related to Green Energy and Fuel Cells please visit http://greenenergyonline.org

BMW's Hydrogen Hybrid Future

With BMW's announcement that they're developing several models of hybrid vehicle to be introduced over the next few years a new market segment is starting to emerge - the luxury hybrid. Well known for innovation, quality, and style in the standard car market, BMW's entry into the hybrid market is sure to have a positive effect on the future of non-fossil fuel powered vehicles.

BMW 7 Series Hybrid

The first BMW hybrid model to be available will be in the popular 7 Series. Already in testing, this car will run on both Hydrogen and gasoline. The primary challenge of developing this kind of hybrid in comparison to the fuel cell technology that other manufacturers are using is in keeping the Hydrogen in liquid form so it's usable by the engine.

Because Hydrogen is only liquid at very low temperatures and the natural state of the engine compartment is very hot, keeping the hydrogen from getting too hot and evaporating is a significant challenge. Issues with transporting and storing Hydrogen at fuel stations is also an issue as is making the fuel available in enough locations to give motorists enough places to refuel to make owning the car practical.

Hydrogen Power

In contrast to other car manufacturers who are concentrating on gas/electric hybrids with the eventual goal of producing all-electric vehicles, BMW's plan has nothing to do with electricity or the heavy and expensive batteries that storing and delivering electricity to a vehicle requires.

BMW already boasts a car that runs completely on water and, with their proven technology that produces Hydrogen from sunlight, they believe an entirely self-sustainable fuel system using solar cells to product Hydrogen that will then power the vehicle is viable within the next decade.

Into the Future

The driving force behind BMW's push for Hydrogen fueled vehicles are the benefits they believe Hydrogen has over alternate fuels like gasoline, electricity, or other solid fuels. Not does Hydrogen pose no environmental threat and produce no emissions it's also a completely renewable form of energy that uses no natural resources that aren't easily replenished.

BMW's plan to eventually produce a car that runs entirely on Hydrogen produced by boiling water with energy from the sun (through solar cells) is certainly an exciting notion. Only time will tell if they can pull it off but the incredible promise of what they're trying to do makes this writer hope that they do.

Jack is a freelance writer with a wide variety of interests and writing on a wide variety of topics. Take a look at his latest website on the slant fin baseboard at http://www.slantfinhumidifier.net/

Hydrogen Powered Cars and Vehicles

One of the promising "future fuels" is hydrogen. Although hydrogen is already used as fuel in vehicles like cars, buses, and rockets, it still is not feasible to have it propagated to the masses. Hydrogen powered cars are now available but only for fleet lease and commercial vehicles.

Hydrogen shares the same principle as fossil fuel in terms of being used as fuel. Hydrogen is still burned in the combustion chamber that will eventually convert it to mechanical energy. In fuel cells, hydrogen is reacted with oxygen to produce electricity (with a by-product of water) that will power an electric motor. Also they are considered as zero-emission vehicles.

Hydrogen powered cars are slowly gaining popularity in industrialized nations. With the government's heavy subsidies, people are slowly flocking to the hydrogen fuel cell cars. Many car manufacturers have a hydrogen car in their model line-up. But they are mostly prototype or leased to private corporations. But in June 2008, Honda unveiled the first commercial hydrogen fuel cell car, the FCX Clarity. It plans to produce 200 cars in the next three years. This is initially available in California because of the hydrogen infrastructure existing there.

The integral part of the FCX Clarity is the fuel cell. Simply put a fuel cell converts chemical energy into electrical energy. A fuel cells output is DC voltage which will then power an electric motor. The type of fuel cell depends on the electrolytes that it will use. Also there are types for stationary or mobile-portable use. A fuel cell will convert energy more efficiently than gasoline engine. According to some calculations, if hydrogen is used as primary chemical in fuel cell, it could convert 80% of hydrogen into electricity. Converting this electricity into mechanical energy uses an inverter; a reasonable efficiency ratio for this is around 80%. Getting the overall efficiency we will get around 64% comparing to a gasoline engine with and efficiency ratio of around 20%

So why are hydrogen power not coming online as fast as we expect? First is the problem of producing hydrogen itself. The economics of producing it is not yet feasible for mass production. In fact, hydrogen production could contribute to emission of more greenhouse gases because of the fossil fuel used to in its process. It will be more prudent if we could make hydrogen using alternative fuels like solar, wind, or nuclear power. Hydrogen infrastructure to support a big mass base is still not yet developed. Either you have more hydrogen filling station or bring an insanely big tank of hydrogen whenever you travel. Another problem is the storage issue of hydrogen. As this is a very volatile gas greater care must be practiced in handling it.

Fuel cell cost is also a big issue right now. The components that make up this fuel cells are very costly specially the rare metals that are used in it. Currently a PEMFC (a common type of fuel cell membrane) generation cost is at $110 per kilowatt, compared to the $35 per kilowatt for gas powered cars.

But hydrogen is still a great and promising alternative fuel. If developments will continue to move along we could expect a hydrogen-car filled future.

If you want to read more about hybrid cars or hybrid car technology, go to Hybrid Car Freak

Will Hydrogen Ever Be Developed Into an Effective Fuel?

Hydrogen is another source of fuel that can be used to power a car and other types of motorized vehicles. This includes wheelchairs, boats, submarines, cars, buses, tractors, motorbikes, trains, rockets, and aircraft. These vehicles can run on hydrogen as they convert its chemical energy into mechanical energy. This is done by burning hydrogen in an internal combustion engine or by reacting hydrogen and oxygen in a fuel cell which can then be used to generate electric motors. This makes hydrogen a very attractive type of alternative fuel in present world.

However, hydrogen is not considered to be a source of energy as it is not one of the natural elements of the earth. Instead, it is known as an energy carrier. In present day, hydrogen is developed from methane and other types of fossil fuels. But it can also be made from a variety of other sources such as solar, wind, and nuclear energy. At the moment, researchers are trying to develop ways to produce and deliver mass quantities of hydrogen so it can be utilized as a widely-used source of energy. However, they need to keep the costs down if it is going to be able to compete with traditional sources of fuel.

There are many companies and researchers around the world who are trying to develop and perfect technologies that would see hydrogen become a popular source of energy for mobile uses. These people would like to see hydrogen used as a fuel for various types of vehicles because if it is prepared without the input of fossil fuels, hydrogen will emit a lot less carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere of the earth. However, it does have a few drawbacks. These include low energy content per unit volume, very high storage tank weights, as well as the storage and transportation of the gaseous or liquid hydrogen.

As with most types of alternative fuel vehicles, the concept of hydrogen cars is being taken very seriously. Many manufacturers around the world are currently in the process of trying to come up with a reliable and low-costing hydrogen car. However, the Ford Motor Company has scrapped the idea as it plans to concentrate on the development of electric-driven cars. Renault-Nissan has also cancelled plans for researching and developing hydrogen autos. But on the other side of the coin, a lot of the major car manufacturers in the world are going full steam ahead with their plans to produce hydrogen-propelled vehicles.

The hydrogen cars that have been built are generally only available in demonstration form. They are not being made for general public use at the moment. But, private and government funding may see this change, especially in the U.S. There are a few hydrogen filling stations available in America, with most of them being located in the state of California.

But while hydrogen may be seen as a fuel of the future, many people are against its use as it still gives of greenhouse gases and is difficult to store and transport. The debate over hydrogen being introduced as a popular fuel may see the whole idea taking several years to develop, if it does at all.

When was the last time you checked to make sure that you have not only cheap car insurance, but the very best insurance coverage for your situation? Free insurance quotes are good only if they provide the protection you need.

The Time for Hydrogen Cars is Now

A serious effort to reduce dependency on oil requires a rapid conversion to the use of hydrogen to power vehicles. While the fuel cell concept in which water is split into hydrogen and oxygen and then passes through a fuel cell to create electricity to run an electric motor remains distant and cost prohibitive, a simpler solution based on existing technology already exists.

Furthermore, until advances are made using water and solar energy (and why not also wind turbines beneath the hood to harness the energy created by moving vehicles?) to provide hydrogen to run vehicles, existing methods (e.g. through natural gas) can be used. New advances are being reported almost weekly -- for example, German and Australian scientists just announced that genetic engineering of the 'Chlamydomonas reinhardtii' algae has increased its hydrogen output by 16 to 20 times.1

Gas stations should be given government grants to install hydrogen fueling pumps. If more than $120 billion can be spent on the Iraq War, a one-time investment of a similar amount would be well-spent in paying for installation of these pumps to create an infrastructure. A crash program, similar to the Manhattan Project, could likely result in completion within a year or two.

Next, instead of using water, an electrolyzer, and hydrogen fuel cells, vehicles could use existing internal combustion engine technology and hydrogen. "Internal combustion engines do not need gas to operate. Hydrogen can also power them."2

With Honda's invention of an efficient holding tank utilizing "a newly-developed hydrogen absorption material that doubles the capacity of the tank to 5 kg of hydrogen at 350 atmospheres," hydrogen could power vehicles for up to 350 miles before the need to refuel, which is even beyond the Department of Energy's (DOE)2010 target range.3 Of course, the question arises, would competitor automakers be willing to purchase hydrogen holding tanks from Honda to power their own vehicles? Such an arrangement, though, would be a win-win for both Honda and automakers who purchase their tanks since with a hydrogen infrastructure in place, consumers would likely purchase these vehicles knowing that they are not only saving money from the high price of gasoline but doing an socio-ecological service by weening the world from its addition to oil, which is likely to run out in 45 years.

Best Case Scenario: The 2004 British Petroleum "Statistical Review of World Energy" predicted that global oil reserves will be gone in 2045, based on known reserves and current rates of consumption, called the R/P ratio. By the same measure, US reserves will be exhausted in 2015.

Worse yet, global oil reserves are likely to be depleted even sooner since the rate of consumption is dramatically increasing due to China's rapid industrialization and economic growth and the developed world's efforts to maintain their own economic expansion. With such dire prospects, it is imperative that a switchover to hydrogen-based fuels be made now rather than a decade or later from today.

The red "oil light" is already on, demanding urgent attention. An immediate transition utilizing existing technologies is necessary to prevent the "engine" that runs the economy from locking and to guarantee a continuation of the state of mobility and standards of life enjoyed today.

_________________________________________________________________

1 Hydrogen from algae – fuel of the future? DNA Evolutions. 16 May 2006. 16 May 2006. http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1029553&CatID=5

2 W. “Skip” Hauth. Hydrogen should be the fuel of America’s future. Opinion. The Buffalo News. 15 May 2006. 16 May 2006. [http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060515/1037599.asp]

3 Honda’s More Powerful Fuel Cell Concept with Home Hydrogen Refueling. Green Car Congress. 19 October 2005. 16 May 2006. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/10/hondas_more_pow.html

William Sutherland is a published poet and writer. He is the author of three books, "Poetry, Prayers & Haiku" (1999), "Russian Spring" (2003) and "Aaliyah Remembered: Her Life & The Person behind the Mystique" (2005) and has been published in poetry anthologies around the world. He has been featured in "Who's Who in New Poets" (1996), "The International Who's Who in Poetry" (2004), and is a member of the "International Poetry Hall of Fame."

Hydrogen Cars

There is an abundance of hydrogen on our planet.

Many can not wait until we see hydrogen refilling stations on every corner. To be able to use the fuel cell concept in vehicles as a power source it needs to be pure hydrogen. Pure hydrogen does not happen naturally, it must be harvested by employing a chemical or electrical process. At the moment the most inexpensive way to yield hydrogen is 'last "steam methane reformation". Another concept undergoing research and development is a procedure involving solar energy. Fuel companies can save ten percent if they use the environmentally safe solar energy to remove the hydrogen.

Automotive corporations like Toyota, Honda, and GM are paying a lot of attention to fuel cell powered vehicles. Toyota assures us that fuel cells are the most efficient energy source for a car and much more cost effective than internal hydro combustion engines. A battery and a fuel cell are very much alike, by means of an electron chemical response between hydrogen and oxygen to build energy.

Toyota has begun to investigate on a broad array of fuel sources such as natural gas, gasoline and liquid hydrogen, in addition to development of components to utilize with such types of energy. Toyota is justifying thoughts whether or not they should propose a fuel celled car meant for the general public for retail sale before than October of 2014 and at a very expensive price tag.

The major problem that has to be conquered if fuel celled cars are going to be usable by the general public is the infrastructure. The infrastructure will have to include company's input, Chevron Texaco, who are developing a unique gas station that hosts a on a small scale an onsite steam reforming of natural gas, to produce hydrogen is a great example.

Traditionally hydrogen cars meant a lack of performance. Toyota has made colossal success with a prototype high powered vehicle. We will not be seeing hydrogen cars on the market until auto makers figure out an optimal way to manufacture the cars in order to drop the price tag. Currently there are no commercially available hydrogen powered cars for consumers, but the government and the automotive companies are aiming for the year 2010 to have the infrastructure in place.

John Ray
http://www.hydrogen-powered-cars.net/

Alternative Energy - Honda's New Hydrogen Car the FCX Clarity

Tired of being overcharged every time you need to refuel your car at the gas pump? Remember how prices last summer it all the way up into the $4.50 per gallon range and everyone was complaining about finding alternative energy sources for vehicles? Now that the gallon of gas is under two dollars that hype has gone down a bit, but we shouldn't let down our guard because as long as we are slaves to these oil companies and OPEC we will never know when another gasoline price spike will hit us again. There are a few good alternatives that are being talked about right now like the all electric Chevy volt or the solar powered car that Toyota is working on. China is currently beating us to the market on the solar energy car which it has right now. This car can be bought for just under $6000 but the only negative part of it is that it takes 30 hours to recharge but it does have a pretty good 90 mile range.

The other alternative energy source that should be researched more and have more money poured into it is hydrogen fuel. It is one of the most bountiful energy sources in the universe and it's available all around us and even water is comprised of it. In fact we owe our life on this earth to the life-sustaining hydrogen atoms that are contained in the sun.

Honda is one of the companies that is on the cutting-edge as far as using hydrogen to fuel a vehicle with its recently released FCX Clarity model. It uses no gasoline at all and it is powered by a fuel cell which converts an isotope of hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, and this electricity is then used to power the engine of this car.

Another good part of this is that it doesn't emit any harmful gas into the atmosphere, as it only emits vapor water. Honda has also equipped this vehicle with bio-fabric, a material made exclusively from plants and this fabric makes up the seats of the car. The only bad point of this car is the price. They have a leasing program that allows you to lease the car at $600 a month which right now seems a bit out of the reach of the average American, but as our knowledge of this technology and fuel cells advances so will our ability to produce cars like this at a much cheaper price future. Keep this car and this technology on your favorites list in the future because one day you will be driving green and doing your part in saving our environment.

For all the latest Biofuel news visit us today at http://www.biofuelguide.net

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Hydrogen - The Fuel of the Future

Like most systems that endeavor to become large scale production first start out as small toys and concept devices. The Hydrogen fuel car from Horizon is one of those quirky toys that has a serious market potential.

Many people are well aware that the need to reduce carbon emissions from one of the main culprits, which is of course, is car emissions. The H2 Racer is a small toy car but it's powered by Hydrogen and although it's only a small amount of hydrogen is used it's still a fairly dangerous toy and requires to used carefully.

The H-racer runs on 100% clean fuel produced by a clever designed hydrogen station, which can generate hydrogen, by solar power so totally environmentally friendly. The heart of the H racer is the Hydrogen fuel cell the cell is capable of converting the hydrogen to electricity to drive the vehicle.

The Hydrogen is converted to electricity without combustion so producing the ultimate clean fuel. At present there are a number of car company's producing hydrogen vehicles mainly as concept cars and possible future production of them is BMW that has produced a V12 saloon hydrogen powered vehicle.

As hydrogen is the most abundant element in our universe then it would be great if this turns out to be our solution to clean fuel that re balances the effects of global warming and perhaps gives our children a more reliable stable future.

As oil runs out and the continuing unstable elements of Iraq and Iran show that our efforts needs to be placed as far away from this instability as possible. As preparation to Hydrogen cars being realistic option service stations our now being equipped to be able to handle Hydrogen as a raw material to be inserted into cars and over two hundred hydrogen re fuelling stations exist. This may seem like a small amount but it's a start and a step in the right direction.

A Hydrogen fuel cell works on the following principles. The fuel cell is a special assembly of advanced material layers including a layer called a Proton Exchange Membrane. This is the clever bit that producers the electricity by exchanging Hydrogen plus atoms with O2 negative atoms.

An average fuel cell of this type can be between 40% and 60% energy efficient which is a lot better than petrol. As more effort from car manufacturers are made and the price of having a zero emissions car becomes a reality then there is also the small problem that most governments rely on the tax of petrol and diesel for there revenue.

It will be very interesting to see how long governments push tax breaks on energy efficient cars because as the balance changes there will be a need to generate revenue income of green cars too. At the moment the only hydrogen car I have at the moment is a toy H-racer it's a superb example of being able to see the future.

I think that with these toys we can teach the children about how to push for a better environment and better conditions for our planet. It also looks like the space race is on for the moon as the resources of the moon could solve our next major electricity generation problem. Helium 3 may be the answer to producing a sun type fusion power station on earth.

The next 50 years will see vast changes to our eco system and hopefully toy's like this will see that there is possibilities to have a better world.

(c) 2009 Andy Bolton 41 Liverpool UK

Author / Web Designer / Autmation Engineer / Diver / Hot Air Balloonist

Hot Air Balloons

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Should We Wait and Build Hydrogen Cars Instead of Making Expensive Electric Hybrids?

It is simply amazing all the money going into hybrids and all-electric vehicle research these days, but there are some significant hurdles to cross if we are going to make all this work and keep the costs down for consumers. Plus, we have to deal with all those old batteries in our landfills, and whereas, some will be able to get recycled, they will not last forever, and those casings will be discarded along with the toxic waste in and around them.

Not more than a month ago, I was discussing this with an overseas acquaintance who lives near a Volvo Plant in Europe. They too were interested in "other-than-fossil-fuel" run vehicles. Such as all-electric, hybrids running bio-diesel, and the future of hydrogen cell powered transportation. "I think Hydrogen can be a very good thing when it gets going, however by the time hydrogen fuel hits the market, is there not a big chance that batteries and solar cell tech is also ready then?"

Meaning, cars can run all-electric and keep the batteries charged and topped off with the sun. Okay so, right, then why do it at all? That is to say why make 30 million electric cars, get stuck with all those less-than-efficient batteries in landfills with all that light and heavy metal pollution seeping in ground water, when you can wait until they are viable, and you have those problems figured out? Besides by then Hydrogen tech will be viable, so invest in research, not subsidies, or tax credits to buy stuff that is not good enough yet?

Are you beginning to see the relevant arguments against such technologies, forgetting about the most important challenge - cost to the consumers, and thus, perhaps like you, my acquaintance asks; "and if so, what is best to choose? The US already has infrastructure for hydrogen, but not so many other countries I guess?" Referring of course to the reality that most US homes are piped for natural gas, which has lots of hydrogen atoms to separate out for hydrogen fuel.

Also, within 5-10 years we will have a low energy electrolysis technique and one can separate water H20 - two hydrogen atoms, release the oxygen into the atmosphere. If a country doesn't have fresh water it's not a viable place to live anyway, or they have desalination happening to serve those populations. Now then, I don't wish to trash anyone's vision for our future, but we risk killing everyone's dream if we don't act prudently.

Plus, very soon we will have conquered another hurdle for hydrogen fuel and that is we will have carbon nano-tubes and other materials for the hydrogen fuel tanks for our future flying cars.

Indeed, I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.







Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 22,700 articles was a lot of work - because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off.

Hydrogen Cars Are Not All Hot Air

Ever hear of hydrogen cars? This new breed of cars being developed far exceeds the current gasoline-electric hybrid cars as far as cleaning up the environment and lessening the U. S. dependence upon foreign oil. Automakers expect to have hydrogen cars in the showrooms in the next 5 - 10 years.

So, what's all the hoopla about hydrogen? Plenty. Hydrogen is the most plentiful element in the universe. With such abundance, there is no change of running out unlike the fossil fuels. If you remember your high school chemistry, you'll know that water is made up of two parts hydrogen and one part water.

That means that hydrogen can be created for hydrogen cars by splitting water via electrolysis. It only means that by using fuel cells to power hydrogen cars, that hydrogen and oxygen can be run through a cell (generating electricity and heat) and joined together at the end of the process to produce its only bi-product, water.

This means that hydrogen fuel cell powered cars will only dispense a small amount of steam (water in the air) and no pollutants. This kind of zero pollution vehicle will help with current smog problems, air quality-related health problems, greenhouse gases, global warming and the hole in the ozone. You just can't get a greener green car that a hydrogen car.

The other benefit of hydrogen cars running on "hydrogen highways" (as both President George W. Bush and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger are calling them) is that this will lessen the U. S. dependence upon foreign oil. By using hydrogen as an alternative fuel source, no longer will OPEC have the stranglehold upon our economy and subjugating us to ever-increasing gasoline prices.

What has to happen to make this a reality? With current technology, the hydrogen cars are still too expensive for the consumer market, so prices will need to come down as new technology is developed. In addition, the infrastructure will have to be in place to support a hydrogen highway network. Fuel stations, such as the 15 currently operating in California, will need to be expanded to a nationwide network. And probably the most important aspect of having the hydrogen highway become a reality is stepping up economical production of hydrogen for use in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Hydrogen does not occur in any significant amounts by itself in nature. Hydrogen can be found in compounds however, such as water or in natural gas and methods can be used to extract the hydrogen from the other compounds. With current technology, the energy needed to extract the hydrogen is nearly the same as the energy gained by the hydrogen itself, so more advanced and economical methods of producing hydrogen from solar, wind, hydro and gas reformation power will be need so that enough hydrogen is available to support the new hydrogen economy.

It may be another 5 - 10 years away until the new line of hydrogen cars start rolling off the showroom floors, but h2 vehicles, as they are already known will be the "next big thing" in the automotive industry for this century.

?2005 Hydrogen Cars Info. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen Cars - Shaun Mackey writes for Hydrogen Cars, a resource site featuring the latest concept autos, hydrogen highway, fuel cell technology, H2 engines, production and infrastructure issues.