And best of all, I drove with the smug knowledge that when a vehicle is powered by hydrogen, the only exhaust product is water. Quite a difference from my own year-old, one-litre petrol engine: noisy, slow and undeniably dirty. So why, I wondered, is this clean, green technology lagging far behind the hybrid and all-electric sectors? The relatively small hydrogen market is dominated by the Asian giants: Toyota, Honda and Hyundai. In early October in Tokyo amid great razzmatazz, Toyota unveiled its latest fuel cell Mirai saloon, which it hopes to launch in late European brands including BMW and Audi are also fine-tuning their own hydrogen vehicles.
But this is a sector in which the upstart start-up can claim a modest place too. Outside Llandrindod Wells, a small market town in central Wales, Riversimple aims to lease, not sell, its futuristic hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to a strictly local market. They have just two cars on the road so far, with Numbers 3 and 4 under construction in Riversimple's meticulously clean production facility. That sounds impressive - so how do hydrogen powered cars work?
At the heart of the car is a fuel cell, where hydrogen and oxygen are combined to generate an electric current, and the only by-product is water. There are no moving parts in the fuel cell, so they are more efficient and reliable than a conventional combustion engine. While the cars themselves do not generate any gases that contribute to global warming, the process of making hydrogen requires energy - often from fossil fuel sources. So hydrogen's green credentials are under question. And then there is the question of safety.
Hydrogen is a notoriously explosive gas. That's why manufacturers disclose plenty of reassuring detail on their websites. It was unveiled by researchers from Warwick University in Beer — New Zealand became the first country in the world to fuel cars using yeast left over from brewing beer in Solar — While you won't find many commercial solar cars on the road, people have been building their own models -- and racing them -- since Teams from across the globe compete in the World Solar Challenge - a 3, km solar-powered vehicle race between Darwin and Adelaide.
A Dutch car, Nuna 9, pictured won the race this year, traveling at an average speed of Charcoal — When gasoline imports ceased in Senegal in the s, people had to improvise. Pictured here are two Senegalese men stoking a charcoal-burning automobile called the "Gas-o-gene" in Liquid nitrogen — This liquid nitrogen-powered vehicle has an insulated tank to hold the liquid nitrogen and two fans at the rear of the vehicle that draw air through heat exchangers. Once the high-pressure nitrogen reaches room temperature it drives a piston engine in the front of the vehicle.
It was built at the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington in Wind — The Ye Zi, or Leaf, concept car is fitted with solar panels on the roof, while tiny wind turbines on the wheels top up its batteries. The experimental Chinese car looks like a praying mantis on wheels and was developed by Shanghai Automotive Group Co in It hasn't made it beyond the concept stage.
The current climate for hydrogen vehicles. There are currently fewer than refueling stations around the world, according to the Hydrogen Council, a global advocacy group of energy, transport and industrial companies. Globally there are only about 7, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road, compared to an estimated 2 million electric vehicles, as per the Global EV Outlook report.
Japan is the biggest market for hydrogen cars, and is home to just under hydrogen filling stations. But production is limited, even for big commercial players like Toyota. The company produces approximately 3, hydrogen-powered Mirai cars each year, according to Toyota Group manager Jean-Yves Jault.
The Toyota Mirai, pictured at a hydrogen station in Tokyo, has a range of kilometers. While Toyota is currently selling and leasing its Mirai in a way that reflects what the market can absorb, it intends to ramp up production to 30, units by How clean is hydrogen? Despite hydrogen cars having zero tailpipe emissions, hydrogen production is energy intensive.
Currently, most hydrogen is extracted from methane, which, when exposed to high-temperature steam, separates into hydrogen and carbon monoxide while producing a small amount of carbon dioxide. But even taking into account hydrogen production, Riversimple says running its vehicle has a much smaller carbon footprint than the lowest emitting cars on the market today.
The Rasa's trunk is big enough to accommodate two small suitcases and a box of wine. What's more, both Spowers and Jault agree that hydrogen cars will prove to be the most attractive "clean" alternative for the average driver. That doesn't mean hydrogen is the only solution. Hydrogen is introduced to the anode, and oxygen from air is introduced to the cathode. The hydrogen molecules break apart into protons and electrons due to an electrochemical reaction in the fuel cell catalyst.
Protons then travel through the membrane to the cathode. The electrons are forced to travel through an external circuit to perform work providing power to the electric car then recombine with the protons on the cathode side where the protons, electrons, and oxygen molecules combine to form water. More Hydrogen Publications All Publications.
More in this section Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles. Hydrogen Fueling Station Locations by State.
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