Many folks who have purchased giant SUVs are now suffering an extreme case of remorse as they watch gas prices getting higher and higher. Even those of us who have smaller, more practical vehicles are seeking something that can help ease the high price of gasoline. There are many fuel saving technologies coming out of the woodwork, but what seems to be the most promising is fuel cell technology.
Imagine a giant battery that never runs out of power. That is exactly what a fuel cell is. Sound exciting? Well, it is, but it doesn’t mean we’ve created a method to have infinite power. Like ordinary batteries, a fuel cell operates when two chemicals react, producing electricity. Except in a fuel cell, one of the chemicals is constantly refreshed. This means the cell can keep producing electricity in a consistent manner.
Today’s common place gasolines (gas and diesel) are petroleum based fuels. The biggest problem we’re facing is that petroleum, unlike hydrogen, is of limited supply. What does hydrogen have to do with fuel cell technology?
Vehicles designed to leverage fuel cell technology will be able to run on hydrogen – NOT petroleum based gasoline. Hydrogen is the most plentiful element in the universe. The problem is that all of that hydrogen is most commonly found as water. This means that we need a way to separate the hydrogen and oxygen in order to use it. As you probably already realize, this requires a power source of it’s own. Thankfully, there are many ways to produce this necessary power.
One of the greatest benefits of a properly designed fuel cell enabled vehicle, is that it’s only emission is plain old water. Imagine a society where you no longer have to breathe in the terrible fumes that our vehicles today pollute the air with. With our vehicles emitting water, we can run into problems in freezing conditions. In those cases, the water would need to be collected somehow. This doesn’t seem like a lot to ask for when in return, we would be receiving extremely affordable fuel and drastically reducing society’s pollution levels.
An important issue to address regarding fuel cell technology is the infrastructure to support it. Today, we drive up to our favorite gas station and fill our cars up with petroleum based gasoline. One day, we may all be pulling up to our local fuel stations and filling our gas tanks up with hydrogen. The infrastructure required to supply hydrogen is a big step for many communities. Even so, there are fuel cell vehicles entering the market in the very near future, and there are actual hydrogen stations being built all throughout the nation. Many big cities already have several.
Curious as to how much money you could be saving with a fuel cell powered vehicle? As it stands, you’d be achieving what’s equivalent to fifty miles to the gallon. That’s pretty impressive, considering that most hybrid vehicles are only achieving about forty miles to the gallon. Keep in mind though, right now hydrogen is only available at select locations. As supply meets demand, hydrogen will become more easily accessible and even more affordable than it is currently.
