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Hydrogen Fuel Cell: All about fuel cell vehiclesMost people seem to argue for either battery electric vehicles or fuel cell vehicles but are they really that different? A while ago most manufacturers seemed to be focused solely on fuel cell vehicles and battery electric vehicles (BEV) seemed to take a back seat. But these days BEV’s seem to be all anyone hears about and fuel cells have been largely forgotten about by the media. 
So what are these hydrogen fuel cells all about? Cars can run on hydrogen as if it was just like petrol, with a few tweaks of the engine. Hydrogen fuel cells are different though. They act like a battery because they produce electricity from hydrogen and oxygen mixing which then turns the electric motor. So instead of recharging the battery in a wall you just top it up with more hydrogen. The problem is finding a place to fill up your tank with hydrogen! 
The great thing is that just like a BEV, a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle produces no emissions as there’s no combustion going on in a fuel cell. There is the trouble of producing the hydrogen in the first place though which requires electricity. This electricity can come from renewable sources though and overall has a much lower impact than any internal combustion engine (ICE). Well there are buses, scooters, planes, boats and basically any type of transport you can think of, but the cars are always going to get the most attention. The Honda FCX Clarity is one that is on trial in California at the moment and is a great looking family sized car which can travel a pretty good distance and speed. Fuelcells.org has some great info on what fuel cell vehicles are out there and the prototypes made already by manufacturers.  When you see all
the prototypes made you would think that there has to be at least one made it to market but most of these are experiments and each car usually represents a big step forward
in the technology.
It seems that the one big problem with them is the price. BEVs are pretty expensive too but compared to the fuel cell vehicles they pocket change. This is partly because it’s such a new technology and most fuel cell vehicles are only prototypes at the moment. Mainly though it's because the platinum which is used in the fuel cells is ridiculously expensive. There are people working to come up with new materials to use in fuel cells though so don't despair!  It seems
like fuel cell vehicles are where electric cars were a few years ago with all manufacturers promising something that they keep putting off.
The difference is that fuel cell cars don’t have a DIY movement like BEV’s do so people who follow fuel cell vehicles are at the mercy of the manufacturers at the moment.
Hopefully manufacturers can build on their hydrogen fuel cell vehicles alongside the battery electric cars in the future and not have one always put to the side while the other is in the spotlight. Back from Hydrogen Fuel Cell to Electric Vehicles Home |
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