There are two ways that hydrogen can be used to power an automobile. Burning hydrogen can be used in the standard combustion engine that has been employed since cars were first developed. Generally, it requires no modification of the engines in order to achieve this, which makes this option very appealing. BMW has already adapted some of their demonstration models for this type of fuel source and it has been demonstrated in other venues as well.

The other option is to use fuel cells in the car’s engine to convert the hydrogen directly to electricity, which is then used to power all of the vehicle’s systems. Electric cars have been in development for a long time, but they never grew in popularity because they required frequent battery recharges. Using hydrogen to create electricity on demand eliminates this requirement and makes it a much more viable option. In this scenario, the hydrogen is allowed to chemically react with the oxygen in air to create electricity and water. This process is almost twice as efficient as using the same amount of hydrogen to power traditional internal combustion engines.

Continue: Hydrogen Powered Cars - Fuel Storage

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