A Guide to Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars
Hydrogen Fuel Overview
The ongoing debate for and against hydrogen as a fuel. Or is it only an energy carrier?
Hydrogen can be used to power vehicles in two ways. It can be burned using a hydrogen internal combustion engine (sometimes called an H2ICE), which is basically a modified gasoline engine. It can also be used in a fuel cell.
Unlike a traditional car engine, a fuel cell does not burn fuel and has few moving parts. Inside the fuel cell, a chemical reaction takes place that converts the chemical energy of a fuel into electricity. Fuel cells are a little bit like batteries, except that you never have to charge them. To keep them operating, all you do is provide a constant supply of fuel. For automobiles, that fuel is hydrogen.
Fuel cell cars can be refueled in about 5 minutes, just like today's cars. And just like a common hybrid, the fuel cell car stores energy captured during braking and deceleration in a battery to further improve efficiency.
List of Hydrogen-Powered Cars
| Sort by: | Name | Combined MPG | Type | MSRP | Available | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honda FCX Clarity | 74 MPG | Sedan | n/a | Concept | A limited number of southern Californians will have the opportunity to lease a Honda FCX Clarity in the next few years. This is the first time a customer can obtain a fuel cell car directly from a retail dealer. | |
| Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell | 43 MPG | SUV | n/a | Concept | A fleet of 100 Chevy Equinoxes running on hydrogen have been tested by more than 3,000 thousand real-world drivers. | |
| BMW Hydrogen 7 | n/a | Sedan | n/a | Concept | The BMW Hydrogen 7— essentially a 7 Series sedan—burns sub-zero liquid hydrogen in its conventional V-12 engine. | |
| Cadillac Provoq | n/a | SUV | n/a | Concept | Over-the-top plug-in hydrogen-electric fuel-cell luxury hybrid concept SUV. |
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