Hydrogen Cars Are Not All Hot Air

Wonder what may be in the future of automobiles?
Check out this interesting article about hydrogen.

By: Shaun Mackey

Ever hear of hydrogen cars? This new breed of cars being
developed far exceeds the current gasoline-electric hybrid cars
as far as cleaning up the environment and lessening the U. S.
dependence upon foreign oil. Automakers expect to have hydrogen
cars in the showrooms in the next 5 - 10 years.

So, what's all the hoopla about hydrogen? Plenty. Hydrogen is
the most plentiful element in the universe. With such abundance,
there is no change of running out unlike the fossil fuels. If
you remember your high school chemistry, you'll know that water
is made up of two parts hydrogen and one part water.

That means that hydrogen can be created for hydrogen cars by
splitting water via electrolysis. It only means that by using
fuel cells to power hydrogen cars, that hydrogen and oxygen can
be run through a cell (generating electricity and heat) and
joined together at the end of the process to produce its only
bi-product, water.

This means that hydrogen fuel cell powered cars will only
dispense a small amount of steam (water in the air) and no
pollutants. This kind of zero pollution vehicle will help with
current smog problems, air quality-related health problems,
greenhouse gases, global warming and the hole in the ozone. You
just can't get a greener green car that a hydrogen car.

The other benefit of hydrogen cars running on "hydrogen
highways" (as both President George W. Bush and California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger are calling them) is that this
will lessen the U. S. dependence upon foreign oil. By using
hydrogen as an alternative fuel source, no longer will OPEC have
the stranglehold upon our economy and subjugating us to
ever-increasing gasoline prices.

What has to happen to make this a reality? With current
technology, the hydrogen cars are still too expensive for the
consumer market, so prices will need to come down as new
technology is developed. In addition, the infrastructure will
have to be in place to support a hydrogen highway network. Fuel
stations, such as the 15 currently operating in California, will
need to be expanded to a nationwide network. And probably the
most important aspect of having the hydrogen highway become a
reality is stepping up economical production of hydrogen for use
in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Hydrogen does not occur in any significant amounts by itself in
nature. Hydrogen can be found in compounds however, such as
water or in natural gas and methods can be used to extract the
hydrogen from the other compounds. With current technology, the
energy needed to extract the hydrogen is nearly the same as the
energy gained by the hydrogen itself, so more advanced and
economical methods of producing hydrogen from solar, wind, hydro
and gas reformation power will be need so that enough hydrogen
is available to support the new hydrogen economy.

It may be another 5 - 10 years away until the new line of
hydrogen cars start rolling off the showroom floors, but h2
vehicles, as they are already known will be the "next big thing"
in the automotive industry for this century.

About the author:
©2005 Hydrogen Cars Info. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen
Cars - Shaun Mackey writes for Hydrogen Cars, a resource
site featuring the latest concept autos, hydrogen highway, fuel
cell technology, H2 engines, production and infrastructure
issues.