- Since fossil fuels will eventually run out, the need for a renewable energy source continues to worry lawmakers and citizens of the world each year. Hydrogen-powered vehicles are seen as one of the tools we will use to decrease our dependence on fossil-fuel sources. Using new technologies, hydrogen can be introduced into a combustion engine, which could eliminate the need for petroleum products.
- Hydrogen can be used as a fuel source in a combustion engine designed to burn hydrogen instead of gasoline. Hydrogen-burning combustion engines operate much like engines in most cars today, except for modifications in the fuel storage and engine body. They burn hydrogen as a fuel source and emit no emissions. While this technology is available today, the infrastructure to supply hydrogen to these types of vehicles is small, and the costs to build and maintain the equipment are much higher than for gasoline-powered cars and trucks. Some hydrogen-powered vehicles are used by large municipal entities.
- Using hydrogen as a catalyst to create electric energy is another way to create a hydrogen-powered vehicle. Reactive fuel cells use hydrogen to create electricity, which is used to power a car. Current technologies do not yet overcome the costs and stability needed by these types of power trains, but research and development continues.
- Someday soon, hydrogen cars will probably be on every street in America. Every year, new inventions and discoveries bring us closer to the day when we'll be able to use hydrogen as a renewable-energy source.
