Buckingham Charter

Fuel Cell Vehicles

(Chemistry Research Paper / Writing Project)

Omari Prince
Mr.Hill
Chemistry , Period 4
3/26/15

Omari Prince
Mr.Hill
Chemistry,4th period
3/25/15
Fuel Cell Vehicles
Cars today are a beautiful thing. Cars help with transportation and is an essential
necessity in most American lives. Like everything else in life ,cars also have a bad side. Most
cars today are not really good for the environment. Cars emit greenhouse gasses, such as carbon
dioxide, which contribute to global warming. Some air pollutants from cars can be deposited on
soil and surface waters where they enter the food chain. Cars need gas and gas in America is
pretty expensive. A solution for that would be fuel cell cars.
In 1885 Karl Benz invented the first automobile. Benzs automobile featured an internal
combustion engine. The internal combustion engine is a engine that receives power by burning
gasoline or oil with air inside the engine, the hot gases produced being used to drive a piston or
do other work as they expand. modern cars use what is called the Four-Stroke engine. Fourstroke engines is the main cause for pollutants being released in the air. A fuel cell is a device
that produces electricity through a chemical reaction between a source fuel and an oxidant. Fuel
cell was discovered by William Robert Grove in 1839, years before the first automobile was
created. Grove conducted a series of experiments with what he termed a gas voltaic battery,
which ultimately proved that electric current could be produced from an electrochemical reaction
between hydrogen and oxygen over a platinum catalyst(Today). Hydrogen is the main energy
source in fuel cell cars. The hydrogen converts to electricity, giving off only heat and water as by
products. Hydrogen fuel cell cars are powered by a group of individual fuel cells, known as a

fuel cell stack.The stack is designed to contain enough cells to provide the necessary power for
the automotive application.
In 2013 the Toyota Miria was announced at the Tokyo Motor show in japan. The Miria
will be the released in 2015 and will be the first hydrogen fuel cell car to be commercially sold.
This is one major step in changing a lifestyle. One day there might be a highway full of fuel
celled cars. The Mirai is not the first fuel cell car, many have tried but none have been successful
for example in 2008 Toyota released a prototype called the Toyota FCHV-adv it was not
successful because it was not powerful enough.
Fuel cell cars have an effect on our everyday lives .Hydrogen fueled cars are ideal for
the future because it seems as if hydrogen fueled cars are safe and good for the environment.
Fuel cell cars are clean, quiet and powerful to an extent. Hydrogen fuel cell cars are similar to
electric cars they are very quiet and compact some people compare the sound of the engine to a
vacuum cleaner. It is proven that Hydrogen can be produced domestically from several sources,
reducing our dependence on petroleum imports.What this means is that less people will be
spending money on gasoline saving them a great profit (Hydrogen). Fuel cell cars also have
drawbacks. Everything good thing has its problems. Hydrogen fuel cell cars are very expensive
the 2015 Toyota Mirai cost $58,325 the 2015 Hyundai Tucson cost even more. Hydrogen fuel
cell cars are also very hard to find and are unavailable at most retailers. Also Hydrogen contains
much less energy than gasoline or diesel on a per-volume basis, making it difficult to store
enough hydrogen onboard an FCV to go as far as a comparable gasoline vehicle between fill
ups (Disadvantages).
"Disadvantages." Disadvantages. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
<https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hydrogen.shtml>. (Disadvantages)

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Web. 26 Mar. 2015. <http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/history>. (Today)
"Hydrogen." Hydrogen. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
<https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hydrogen.shtml>. (Hydrogen)

"Toyota Mirai The Turning Point." Toyota Mirai The Turning Point. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.toyota.com/fuelcell/>.
"Energy Expert Weighs in on Toyota's Ambitious Fuel Cell Hydrogen Car Plans GeekWire."GeekWire. 2 Feb. 2015. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.geekwire.com/2015/energy-expert-weights-toyotas-ambitious-fuel-cell-hydrogencar-plans/>.