A Guide to Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars

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.

Fuel cells are even more efficient than hybrids, but they have their drawbacks. The new technology is extremely expensive, and significant questions remain about fuel cells’ reliability, durability, and performance under various conditions. Yet, full-function full-size four-door fuel cell vehicles are now offering real-world driving range well beyond 200 miles, with 100+ mph performance. With production line processes and higher volume of any technology comes cost reduction via economies of scale.

The benefit of hydrogen is that it will always be a "domestic resource" since it can be made with a variety of feedstocks, including water and methane, and local energy sources including renewables, such as wind, hydro, biogas and solar. However, the production, transport and storage of hydrogen presents many technical and economic challenges. Today, very few hydrogen-fueling stations exist.

List of Hydrogen-Powered Cars