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.

List of Hydrogen-Powered Cars