Hydrogen (H2) is being aggressively explored as a fuel for passenger vehicles.

It can be used
in fuel cells to power electric motors or burned in internal combustion engines (ICEs).
It is an environmentally friendly fuel that has the potential to dramatically reduce our
dependence on imported oil, but several significant challenges must be overcome before it
can be widely used.

Benefits
Produced Domestically. Hydrogen can be produced domestically from several sources,
reducing our dependence on petroleum imports.
Environmentally Friendly. Hydrogen produces no air pollutants or greenhouse gases when
used in fuel cells; it produces only nitrogen oxides (NOx) when burned in ICEs.

Challenges

Fuel Cost & Availability. Hydrogen is currently expensive to produce and is only available
at a handful of locations, mostly in California.
Vehicle Cost & Availability. Fuel cell vehicles are currently far too expensive for most
consumers to afford, and they are only available to a few demonstration fleets.
Onboard Fuel Storage. Hydrogen contains much less energy than gasoline or diesel on a
per-volume basis, making it difficult for hydrogen vehicles to go as far as gasoline vehicles

between fillupsabout 300 miles. Technology is improving, but the onboard hydrogen
storage systems do not yet meet size, weight, and cost goals for commercialization.

Several challenges, technical and otherwise, must

be overcome before fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) will
be a successful, competitive alternative for
consumers.

Onboard Hydrogen Storage

Some FCVs store enough hydrogen to travel as far as gasoline vehicles between fill-ups
about 300 milesbut the storage systems are still too large, heavy, and expensive.
FCVs are more efficient than conventional cars, and hydrogen contains three times more
energy per weight than gasoline does. However, hydrogen gas contains only a third of the
energy per volume gasoline does, making it difficult to store enough hydrogen to go as far as
a gasoline vehicle on a full tankat least within size, weight, and cost constraints.

Hydrogen can be stored in three basic ways:

As a gas in high-pressure tanks. Current FCV

designs use high-pressure (5,000- to 10,000-psi)
tanks to store hydrogen. These systems are large,
heavy, and costly, but they are the most cost-

effective solution in the near term.

As a liquid at sub-zero temperatures (-423F). Since hydrogen is densest as a
liquid, this method allows more hydrogen storage than gaseous high-pressure storage
but costs 30 times more and suffers from safety and performance issues. Liquid
storage isn't likely to be commercially viable for more than a decade.
Materials-based storage. Hydrogen can be stored inside solid materials through
absorption, adsorption, and chemical reactions. Materials-based systems have the
potential to be small and lightweight and may prove to be the best solution in the long
term. However, they are still in the early stages of development.

Vehicle Cost
FCVs are currently too expensive to compete with hybrids and conventional gasoline and
diesel vehicles. Manufacturers must bring down production costs, especially the costs of the
fuel cell stack and hydrogen storage.

Fuel cell system costs have decreased significantly over the past several years but are still
nearly twice as high as those for internal combustion engines.
Likewise, onboard hydrogen storage costs are currently $15$18/kWh for high-pressure
gaseous storage, while the commercialization target is $2/kWh. There is potential to reduce
this cost using lower-cost carbon fiber tanks or materials-based storage technologies, such as
metal hydrides.

Getting Hydrogen to Consumers

The extensive system used to deliver gasoline from refineries to local filling stations cannot
be used for hydrogen. New facilities and systems must be constructed for producing,
transporting, and dispensing hydrogen to consumers.

Competition with Other Technologies

Manufacturers are still improving the efficiency of gasoline- and diesel-powered engines,
hybrids are gaining popularity, and advances in battery technology are making plug-in
hybrids and electric vehicles more attractive. FCVs will have to offer consumers a viable
alternative, especially in terms of performance, durability, and cost, to survive in this ultracompetitive market.

Safety
Hydrogen, like any fuel, has safety risks and must be handled with caution. We are familiar
with gasoline, but handling compressed hydrogen will be new to most of us. Therefore,
developers must optimize new fuel storage and delivery systems for safe everyday use, and
consumers must become familiar with hydrogen's properties and risks.

Public Acceptance
Finally, fuel cell technology must be embraced by consumers before its benefits can be
realized. Consumers may have concerns about the dependability and safety of these vehicles,
just as they did with hybrids.