1/2/2024 0 Comments Hydrogen powered cars![]() ![]() Nearly 60 years later, hydrogen vehicles are slowly becoming mainstream along with other alternatives to fossil fuels. Hydrogen-powered cars have come a long way since Chevrolet’s Electrovan. A hydrogen truck would take about 15 minutes to refuel, saving time for truckers and promoting sustainability with clean fuel. For example, a long-haul electric truck needs a long time to recharge-up to six hours. The element burns with a flame nearly invisible to the human eye, so any hydrogen-powered vehicle needs a special flame detector.ĭespite these questions, there are advantages to using hydrogen fuel instead of other green energy sources. Hydrogen is more flammable than gasoline, electric or natural gas vehicles. In addition to its production, hydrogen fuel has raised questions about its safety in vehicles. Heavy-duty trucks, like this one from Hyundai, is where hydrogen may find a home Hydrogen is the most abundant element on earth, but the molecule doesn’t exist alone, so you must use technology like electrolysis to extract the hydrogen. For the production side, it’s more challenging to create this fuel than its alternatives. Some of hydrogen’s cons-which have slowed its development in recent years-are its production and safety. There are pros and cons to every energy source. Factors like regulation, investments and research and development will come into play.īuses and trains will likely be some of the first applications to transition to hydrogen (several buses are already running in revenue service), with the Hydrogen Council predicting heavy-duty trucks will fall farther out on the curve with about 2.5% of hydrogen adoption in 2030. The future of hydrogen cars is more promising in other vehicles. Today, there are nearly 8,000 fast-charging stations for electric cars in the United States (and many more of the slower Level 2 type. Electrified vehicles (hybrid-electrics) have been commercially available since the late 1990s with the Toyota Prius. Electric is among the most popular because it’s been prevalent for longer and there’s been considierably more research. In 2022, consumers have multiple choices for alternative-fuel vehicles. Other companies, led by Toyota and Honda, focused on fuel cell vehicles that converted hydrogen to electricity on board so were essentially electric vehicles. Research on hydrogen vehicles dipped until the 1990s when European countries announced plans for more hydrogen-centered car power, such as the 2005-07 bi-fuel BMW 7-Series with a V12 engine that ran on either compressed hydrogen or gasoline. ![]() NASA used hydrogen fuel for its Apollo 11 mission and continued to do so for more undertakings in the 1980s and 1990s. In addition to the Electrovan, developers used hydrogen for other ventures like space missions. It could drive approximately 124 miles and had a top speed of nearly 70 miles per hour. This van ran on a fuel cell utilizing liquid hydrogen and oxygen. Many people credit General Motors with the first hydrogen-powered vehicle in 1966, which looks like a solid-color version of Fred’s Mystery Machine. To understand the status of hydrogen vehicles, knowing their history helps. The 1966 GM Electrovan didn’t leave much room for passengers or cargo (image from ) ![]()
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