How Does Hydrogen Cause a Car to Run?

The Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices with some similarities to batteries. They combine reactive substances to create electricity. They differ only in that the reactant substances are consumed in the process. In a hydrogen fuel cell, oxygen is combined with hydrogen, using platinum as a catalyst. The only waste product produced by a hydrogen fuel cell is water. Most fuel cell designs require active water to be in a vaporous state and therefore perform badly in freezing weather.

Using Hydrogen Instead of Gasoline

Before the 1990s, when people talked about hydrogen-powered automobiles, they meant substituting hydrogen for gasoline in a nearly normal car. The first internal combustion engine, invented at the beginning of the 19th century, was hydrogen fired. These engines are so similar to their conventional, gasoline-powered counterparts that kits are available for converting most any regular car to hydrogen fuel. But these cars aren't as clean as hydrogen fuel cell cars. When burned instead of reacted in a fuel cell, hydrogen creates a variety of nitrous oxides as exhaust. Emitted into the open air, these can combine with organic compounds in the atmosphere to become a very dense smog.

Rocket-Powered Cars

Hydrogen has been used to power rockets since the earliest days of modern rocketry, and are therefore frequently found driving rocket cars. The typical rocket car works by injecting hydrogen peroxide onto a silver plate. This hydrogen peroxide is dozens of times purer than the stuff available on the pharmacy shelf. The silver acts as a catalyst, forcing the extra oxygen atom in the hydrogen peroxide to split off. This creates water and an enormous amount of heat energy. The heat boils the water, creating a super-hot steam jet and a lot of thrust.

Resources

• HydrogenMotors.om
• DOE: HICEVs
• Rocket Cars Using Hydrogen Peroxide