Are Hydrogen-Powered Cars in Our Future?
We’ve discussed some of the pros and cons of electric automobiles in this space, but it now appears that the wave of the future in environmentally-friendly vehicles that are also less expensive to operate than standard gasoline- and diesel-powered cars and trucks might just rest with the lightest and most abundant element on earth: hydrogen. Many in the automotive industry, along with legions of environmentalists, believe that the power of hydrogen fuel cells just might hold the key to the proliferation of zero-emission vehicles.
Honda, Hyundai and Toyota have all designed cars that run on hydrogen fuel cells, and Hyundai actually plans to begin marketing a hydrogen-powered SUV in California in the spring of 2015. The vehicle, the Tucson FC, will be the first low-volume production hydrogen vehicle available in this country. The roll-out of vehicles, which will be available for lease at an announced price of $499 per month, is slated to occur in Southern California for one crucial reason. According to the United States Department of Energy, there are currently only 10 hydrogen fueling stations in the United States, and eight of them are in Southern California (the other two are in Emeryville, CA and Columbia, SC). As additional fueling stations are built across the country, Hyundai plans to offer the Tucson FC in wider distribution. The state of California has also announced plans to have 70 hydrogen fueling stations available by 2016, with an ultimate goal of 100 for the state. Unlike electric vehicles, which take many hours to recharge, hydrogen-powered vehicles require less than 10 minutes, once you get to a fueling station.
The beauty of the hydrogen fuel cell as an environmentally-friendly alternative to combustion engines that run on fossil fuels (and electric cars that run on electricity often produced by fossil fuels) is that the vehicles are powered by a combination of hydrogen and oxygen. Those elements combine in the fuel cell to yield electricity that powers the car, and leave only one byproduct: water, which is emitted from the tailpipe as harmless steam. Admittedly, some of the processes employed to extract the hydrogen used in the fuel cells do emit greenhouse gases. However, research indicates that the overall carbon footprint for hydrogen-powered vehicles is lower than that of both electric cars and other alternative-fuel vehicles.
Of course, the big drawback is the dearth of hydrogen fueling stations in this country. The reason for this is largely a lack of government funding for fuel-cell research, as the Department of Energy soured on the viability of hydrogen-powered transportation during President Obama’s first term and, as a result, slashed funding for it. The tide appears to be turning now, as once-favored electric vehicles failed to gain a large following. Stay tuned.