Hydrogen Fuel Cars - Do They Exist?
Posted by Owen Jones in Uncategorized, tags: cars, fuel, history, hobbies, hybrids, hydrogen cars, leisure, other, product reviews, recreation, science, technology, transport, UncategorizedThere are hydrogen fuel cars on the streets of some cities. However there are two methods by which hydrogen can be utilized to power cars. The first way is to use hydrogen to actually power the internal combustion engine, in much the same way as numerous cars use Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG). The second method is to use the reaction of hydrogen with oxygen in fuel cells as a battery, which makes the car a form of electric car.
The dream of creating hydrogen in the car whilst driving along by electrolyzing water is still some way off, so we are still at the phase of batteries and filling the tank with hydrogen gas. This is the nub of the difficulty for potential users and manufacturers. There are just sixteen hydrogen filling stations in Los Angeles and none in 99% of other cities worldwide.
In deed, some of the big name motor manufacturers have pulled out of the race to put the first commercially feasible hydrogen powered car on the streets. Ford and GM have announced that they are pulling out in America and so has Renault in France.
However, the Japanese firms are pressing on. In fact, Honda introduced its first hydrogen fuel cell car in 1999. It was called the FCX and they are now poised with introductory models of the second generation hydrogen cars known as the FCX Clarity. Guess where they are available for sale? The one city in the world? Yes, Los Angeles, because of its hydrogen stations.
Honda reckons that, they could go into full-scale production of the FCX Clarity by 2020, if the world is prepared for them by then. Hyundai have on-going plans to manufacture fuel cell (FC) cars and say that they will be in a position to launch full-scale production by 2012. Daimler also declared that they would be producing 100,000 FC vehicles in 2012-2013.
Then there are hydrogen powered buses in several European cities including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid. Porto Stockholm and a few more. Lotus, the makers of London taxis, have stated that they propose to set up a fleet of new, hydrogen powered taxis in time for the London Olympics in 2012.
Consequently, the hydrogen vehicle and the hydrogen passenger car is out there and the numbers will be growing pretty soon. The buses, mentioned above, go back to their depot, where an electrolyzing machine turns water into fuel for them to fill up on and the same will be true for lots of of London’s taxis. Regrettably, procuring fuel is not the only problem for the average motorist, a number of of these vehicles, like the FCX Clarity cost about $300,000 each.
However, here are a couple of interesting facts for those who enjoy trivia. Francois Isaac de Rivaz designed the first hydrogen powered car in 1807 and Paul Dieges filed a US patent for a modification to the internal combustion engine in 1970 which allowed a petrol engine to run on hydrogen and 200 years later we are still trying to get it right.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with how to get Stapletons tyres. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Car Tyres For Sale.
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