How Hydrogen Powered Cars Work

Hydrogen gas can be produced using a wide variety of methods, several of which could include incineration of trash to produce the heat necessary to release hydrogen from both water and natural gas. While we may not be able to toss a banana peel into the gas tank and head off al a back to the future, that very same banana peel when used in a hydrogen production facility can ultimately be a key ingredient in the production of the fuel that will fill the tank of hydrogen powered cars.

There are several different ways in which cars can be adapted to run on hydrogen fuel, and eliminating the need to burn gasoline at all. The same exact internal combustion engine used for gasoline powered vehicles can be used for hydrogen powered cars with modifications to burn hydrogen as the energy source.

Cars can be converted to run totally on hydrogen as a fuel, replacing gasoline altogether. Cars can also be adapted with kits that add hydrogen gas to the existing air fuel mixture of the gasoline engine. This can result in improvements in gas mileage and a reduction in vehicle emissions.

Hydrogen powered cars are roughly three times more efficient than their fossil fueled counterparts and have low to zero emissions resulting in a carbon footprint free vehicle. Electric vehicles can be set up to utilize hydrogen as the fuel for on board electrical generation. An electric or fuel cell vehicle has a storage tank for hydrogen gas, which is fed into a fuel cell where the hydrogen is converted into electricity to power all vehicle systems.

Production of gasoline in the United States currently requires approximately three hundred billion gallons of water to produce the fuel. Producing the same amount of hydrogen gas would only require one hundred billion. The cost of hydrogen per gasoline gallon equivalent is roughly half the price of gasoline.

Every major car maker is testing a different line of hydrogen powered cars. Several of these vehicles will be available in limited numbers starting this year. You will see more of these vehicles as the infrastructure for fueling hydrogen-powered cars is expanded. Several of these car makers are going further by researching home hydrogen production systems, which will be able to supply hydrogen fuel for your car and electricity for your house.

Hydrogen powered cars are at least as safe as any gasoline-powered car. The hydrogen comes in specially designed tanks that won't leak any hydrogen fuel, even under extreme conditions.