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Hydrogen, Electric, and Hybrid Vehicles

With the current issues on global warming, carbon footprints, fuel economy, and

stringent regulations on gas emissions, giant automobile companies are now investing on

alternative fuel resources. Recently, there have been intensive efforts for the research and

development for the electric, hydrogen, and hybrid automobiles that are reliable, low-cost,

environment friendly, and highly sustainable. The use these novel concepts for transport system

have advantages and disadvantages that are considered by the public and incessantly resolved by

automobile industries through nonstop research. The reliance of transport system with oil and

fuel is gradually diminishing. Alternative energy sources through use of hydrogen, electricity,

and hybrid will soon replace the traditional fuel.

Hydrogen is an alternative energy source that is derived from extraction from substances

found in nature such as water, hydrocarbons, and other organic matters. Hydrogen is used in fuel

cell vehicles (FCV) to produce electricity. Electricity is another alternative fuel used in Plug-in

electric vehicles (PEV). Electricity is drawn from various energy sources such as coal, oil,

nuclear energy, solar energy, and even stored hydrogen. PEVs have on board rechargeable

batteries where they store electricity and used during transit. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are

the advanced vehicles with their internal combustion engine are powered with the combination

of electric motors and engine with energy stored in batteries (AFDC).

There is a strong vision for the FCVs in the future due to increased efficiency. With the

use of hydrogen, it reduces the dependence on oil. Hydrogen is a renewable resource making it

very environmentally sustainable where its emissions are composed only of water and minimal

heat (Crabtree).The fuel cells produce electricity through isothermal chemical reaction that does

not include burning of fuels. Hence, no pollutants are produced. FCVs operate quietly and
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provide comfort in the ride. Major issues related to FCV include the reliability and limited life

cycle of fuel cells. It also has high cost for fuel cell, hydrogen storage, production and

transportation (Chan). PEVs are also promising vehicles that are two to four times more efficient

than gasoline engine. The electric motor is also simpler with only one rotating shaft inside the

stationary housing. Electricity is supplied by a battery. Just like FCVs, PEVs also has zero

emissions and promote independence from crude oils (Chan). The major challenge for PEVs is

the battery, where it requires long storage capacity to allow long drives. The development for

batteries with higher energy density is still under research until now. It also has issues with

charging facilities due to limited availability. Cost is also another disadvantage since it requires

high initial expenses (AFDC).

Hybrid vehicles (HEV) have the potential to dominate the transport sector in the coming

years. With their hybrid technologies, they can be utilized for both engines and fuels. They are

more efficient in terms of fuel use since they optimize the operation of engine as well as the

recovery of the kinetic energy particularly during brakes. Similar with PEVs, and FCVs, HEVs

are also environment friendly due to low emission (Chan). HEVs have two drive trains, where

the engine and motor have their respective tasks for maximum efficiency. Hence, it is

economically efficient in terms of fuel use. The disadvantage of this technology is the added cost

for the supplemental technology of the gasoline engine. It is also more complex due to multiple

source of energy, affecting the management and optimization of the vehicle (AFDC).

The emergence of these advanced technologies in the automobile industry provides

environmentally sustainable solutions for the increasing carbon footprints contributed by the

global transportation sector. The HEV has the greatest potential to improve the environmental

sustainability in the future as it maximize engine and motor capacity allowing longer and
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strenuous driving which are the limitations of FCVs and PEVs. Man in his social duty should

continue to promote environmentally sustainable technologies and have these innovations be part

of the legal practices and policies to ensure global compliance. The realization of these advanced

technologies in the future is very helpful in the reduction of carbon footprints, in which man’s

moral obligation towards the planet will be fulfilled for the good of the future generations to

come.
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Works Cited

AFDC. “Alternative Fuels and Advance Vehicles”. US Department of Energy. 2018.

https://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/ . Accessed 11 July 2018.

Chan, C.C. “The State of the Art of Electric, Hybrid, and Fuel Cell Vehicles”. Proceedings of the

IEEE. Vol 95, No. 4. 2007.

https://www.eee.hku.hk/doc/ccchan/TheStateoftheArtofElectric,Hybrid,andFuelCellVehi

cles.pdf Accessed 11 July 2018

Crabtree, George. “Electric and Plug-in Hybrids”. Rice University. 2018.

https://cnx.org/contents/I5_uSFCt@2/Electric-and-Plug-in-Hybrids Accessed 11 July

2018