Hydrogen Car Environmental Facts

Hydrogen fuel cells are touted as a means of creating completely clean, efficient and energy independent cars. There is a lot of truth to that ambitious agenda, or would be if the technical challenges to producing an economical hydrogen fuel cell car could be overcome. However, from a purely environmental point of view, the prospects of this automotive technology are a big winner.

The Upside

Hydrogen fuel cells, in and of themselves, are probably the most effective blend of producing zero emissions, while also delivering more motive power than the electric, battery-powered car. Inside the fuel cell, hydrogen reacts with oxygen to produce electricity and power the motor. The waste product is just regular water.

The Downside

The downside is that hydrogen fuel cells do not exist in a vacuum. Making hydrogen is very energy intensive, and that energy comes from the electrical power grid. Given that most electricity is still produced using fossil fuels, when the source and cost of the hydrogen fuel is factored in, hydrogen fuel cells actually put more carbon emissions into the environment than burning regular gasoline does.

Expensive Cells

Hydrogen fuel cells are also fragile, which makes them poor sources of power for a vehicle, and are expensive to produce. The source of the expense comes from the necessary use of substances like platinum to serve as electrochemical catalysts in the fuel cell.

Infrastructure

Another problem is that an entirely new distribution system would have to be built for the distribution of hydrogen fuel. That also has hidden environmental costs, which can be easily imagined once the vast network of distribution pipelines is considered.

Better Alternatives

All experts agree that it would be much more efficient if the electricity used to make hydrogen fuel were directed instead to battery-driven cars. The only hitch here is that current technology cannot produce affordable batteries of sufficient power to match a conventional engine.

Resources

• C-Net on Hydrogen Cars
• National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium