Hydrogen cars use hydrogen fuel as their power source.

Although this technology is being

expored for rockets and other transport vehicles, it looks set to have the greatest impact on
automobiles in the future.

The chemical energy of hydrogen is converted to mechanical energy through a REDOX

(reduction/oxidation) reaction between hydrogen and oxygen within a specially developed fuel
cell.

Hydrogen Production

As hydrogen is not found in reservoirs or natural deposits, as with fossil fuels, it needs to be
produced from natural gas or biomass, or electrolysed from water. One  benefit of hydrogen
power is the decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, particularly when the gas is produced using
renewable electricity to convert water into hydrogen.

While hydrogen can be produced from fossil fuels like natural gas, this results in greenhouse gas
emissions, thereby removing or minimising the environmental benefits. Therefore, renewable
energy sources seem to be the answer, such as in Iceland where geothermal power is being used
for hydrogen production or in Denmark, where wind power is being used.

How Do Hydrogen Fuel Cells Work?

A hydrogen fuel cell converts potential chemical energy into electrical energy using a proton
exchange membrane (PEM) that uses hydrogen gas (H2) and oxygen (O2). However, since
oxygen is readily available in the atmosphere, the fuel cell only needs to be supplied with the
hydrogen required to power the vehicle.

Hydrogen fuel cells are made up of a negatively charged cathode and a positively charged anode
which are put in contact with an electrolyte. The electrolyte is the proton exchange membrane, a
specially treated material. Hydrogen gas enters the fuel cell on the anode side and is forced
through the catalyst by pressure. The PEM only conducts positively charged ions, while blocking
the electrons. The anode conducts the electrons, which have been freed from the hydrogen
molecules, through an external circuit. These electrons provide the power to drive the electric
motor, light bulbs, and so forth.

Meanwhile, oxygen is forced through the catalyst from the cathode side, where the negative
charge of the atoms attracts the hydrogen atoms that have been pushed through the external
circuit, before the hydrogen ions and the oxygen recombines to form water.

The following hydrogen fuel cell equation shows the process:

O2 + 4H+ + 4e– → 2H2O

2H2 → 4H+ + 4e–

2H2 + O2 → 2H2O (net reaction)

Hydrogen fuel cells vary and use different materials for the catalyst, mainly platinum
nanoparticles. These nanoparticles face the PEM and the catalyst is rough and porous so as to
expose the maximum surface area to the hydrogen or oxygen.

The fuel cells are placed together in stacks. The stacks are embedded in a module including fuel,
water and air management, and coolant control hardware and software.

Hydrogen Fuel Cells Advantages and Disadvantages

Hydrogen fuel cells offer both advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional engines.
Fuel cells are not only more reliable due to a lack of moving parts, but they are more efficient
too. This greater efficiency is because the chemical potential energy is converted directly into
electrical energy rather than having to first be converted into heat and then again for the
mechanical work – which is known as the ‘thermal bottleneck.’ Exhaust or tailpipe emissions
from hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) are also cleaner than from traditional internal
combustion engines, as they emit just water and some heat, rather than the plethora of
greenhouse gases associated with traditional combustion engines.

However, there are a number of challenges with hydrogen fuel cells, including being expensive
to produce. This is primarily due to the expense of the rare substances, such as platinum,
required for the catalyst. The earliest fuel cell designs also struggled to perform at low
temperatures, but later modifications to the technology have ensured that this has now been
addressed. The service life of fuel cells is also now comparable to that of other vehicles, with a
PEM expected to last for 7,300 hours under cycling conditions.