ARE WE FORGETTING ABOUT HYDROGEN FUEL CELL CARS?

I wrote an article a few weeks back where i talked about electric cars becoming the future of transportation. The newer generation of electric cars have much better designs and higher mileage compared to when they were first introduced but they are still marred by the lack of infrastructure and limited ranges. The Tesla model S has an a range of 315 miles on a full charge and that is the highest range for presently existing electric vehicles. While the range might seem phenomenal, it is still not enough to put people off internal combustion engines yet but i believe overtime they will improve.

in 2015, toyota unveiled its prototype hydrogen fuel cell car. The technology is still been developed but so far toyota has over 5000 patents to the technology and is willing to share its findings to other car manufacturers.

A hydrogen fuel cell car has an electrochemical cell which is connected to the electric motor. The car takes in hydrogen as fuel and this hydrogen is sent to the membrane which is located in the cell. The hydrogen mixes with oxygen from the atmosphere and generates electricity. Former chemistry students might say when you combine hydrogen and oxygen you get water, yes you do. However, the hydrogen gets split up on the fuel side of the car into a proton and an electron. the membrane is a proton carrier and an electron barrier. The proton can cross through the membrane to the other side but the electron has to take an external path to the traction motor that drives the car and when the electron comes back through the air it combines with the proton and oxygen to form water. in lay mans terms you got hydrogen on one side, oxygen on the other and you end up with electricity and water vapour and there are zero carbon emissions.

This are quite interesting times we live in, I would love to see toyota go ahead and release a public hydrogen fuel cell car but as well as electric cars they are bound by the lack of infrastructure. However, hydrogen makes up 5 percent of the earths atmosphere. we just have to find ways to mine it.

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