Hydrogen, like gasoline, is capable of storing and delivering energy in usable form. However, unlike gasoline, hydrogen can be found in abundance throughout nature, in the forms of fossil fuels, plant matter and water. As a result, hydrogen production plants can be constructed anywhere with a water supply. Coupled with fuel cells, which are devices that combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce an electric current, hydrogen power has the capability of being the cleanest and most abundant fuel source available.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average passenger car produces approximately 21 pounds of various pollutants (nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons) per gallon of gasoline. By comparison, a car powered by hydrogen and fuel cell emits only useful heat and water pure enough for drinking. No other alternative fuel source, with the exception of electric power, is as clean as hydrogen; many of the other alternatives are hybrid fuels containing gasoline. At the same time, hydrogen power eliminates many secondary sources of pollution related to the production of gasoline.
Hydrogen power, besides being more environmentally sound, is safer than most fuels for everyday use. Despite the fact that hydrogen, like any other gas, is toxic in high concentrations, it is rendered harmless in most cases as it dissipates rapidly when exposed to atmosphere. Due to its rapid diffusion in atmosphere, hydrogen gas is unlikely to ignite in the event of an accident or the puncture of storage tanks; there is little danger of secondary fires as hydrogen burns up quickly and radiates relatively little heat in the process. Again, many of these benefits cannot be found in other alternative fuels.
Best of all, these benefits have no negative effort on vehicle performance. In fact, vehicles powered by fuel cells, in theory, outperform those with internal combustion engines. An internal combustion engine can only utilize 30 percent of the energy stored in gasoline whereas a fuel cell can utilize 40 percent of that energy. Coupled with hydrogen as a fuel source, a cell can reach efficiencies of up to 85 percent. That is an increase in a car's mileage per gallon by nearly 300 percent. At the same time, due to the lack of moving parts in a fuel cell, fuel cell cars are silent and provide a smoother ride compared to those powered by gasoline.
In light of all the advantages that hydrogen has over gasoline, one may wonder why it is that hydrogen fuel cell cars are not out on the roads in full force. This is due to the fact that the adaptation of hydrogen power and fuel cars to private automobiles is a relatively new development. As a result, there are still several challenges that it must overcome in order to become a truly viable alternative to fossil fuels.
Currently, the most pressing challenge to the introduction of hydrogen power is that there is no efficient means of separating hydrogen from water. Tried and tested methods are relatively slow and always require large amounts of energy, which typically come from fossil-fuel-burning plants. Thus, in the end, more pollution is created in producing hydrogen than is prevented. However, this problem is not an insurmountable one. Researchers are currently working on harnessing solar power, along with the use of catalysts like zinc (also cheap and abundant), to produce hydrogen efficiently.
Another challenge that proponents of hydrogen power face is that the United States and other nations lack the infrastructure to distribute and produce hydrogen, due to the fact that our industries and related infrastructures have been built to supply fossil fuels. However, as more governments and car companies begin advocating the introduction of hydrogen power, fuel companies will be forced to invest in hydrogen infrastructures. In 2002, General Motors said that it planned to be the first to sell 1 million fuel cell vehicles in the next decade. Together, DaimlerChrysler, Ford and GM have spent nearly $2 billion on fuel cell vehicles. In 2003, President Bush announced a $1.7 billion investment for the research of alternative fuels, with a focus on hydrogen power. Several nations, including the United States and Great Britain, have already begun implementing pilot hydrogen-powered public transportation systems with great success.
Though the effort and costs associated with switching to hydrogen power seem daunting, the dividends of such an investment are well worth it. The use of hydrogen-powered cars and introduction of a hydrogen-based economy will result in cheaper fuel prices, drastically reduced levels of pollution and energy and fuel independence from foreign nations.
Oh can be reached at joh08@amherst.edu