Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car: Paving The Way For A Hydrogen Highway?

This year, Honda is suppose to put out a hydrogen fuel cell car, and within the next few years we are going to be seeing more hydrogen vehicles and soon we could be off on the hydrogen highway. That's right, the hydrogen highway. In the future we could be looking at all kinds of hydrogen powered things and not just vehicles. Since the use of hydrogen has been said to improve fuel efficiency it will also help save on other systems it can be used for. It's also said that 35%-90% can be saved, depending on whether the waste heat is utilized.

So what are some benefits we are looking at for running hydrogen power and not just a hydrogen fuel cell car? Well running hydrogen power, the only byproducts are electricity, heat and water. Since there are no moving parts, it allows for a quieter and reliable engine. We all know that fossil fuel combustion leads to by products that damage our environment, but with hydrogen, the only byproducts are electricity, heat, and water, and these are only to name a few.

Now as always, if there are benefits to something, there are always risks as well, right? And Hydrogen does have risks. The costs of fuel cells need to be low enough to be able to gain acceptance, the cost of fuel cells are a constant concern. It's also possible that fuel cell technology may not be suitable for vehicle applications. Sure we have Hybrid technology and we all know its gaining popularity which in turn could slow down research on actual fuel cell technology. A large part of fuel cell technology is "Platinum" but it is also a scarce earth resource that can be prone to shortages.

So yes, even with its benefits, it does have its risks, but who knows what we'll be able to see in the years to come, maybe we will be living in a hydrogen world. Only time is truly going to tell what we're going to see. What we do know though, is that with a hydrogen fuel cell car, we are promised renewable and clean energy.

Sure we're promised this, but the future is only going to let us know if it will live up to it's reputation. If it does however, it does seem then that we will be living on the hydrogen highway in the next few years. But hey, if it's going to help in the environment, let's hope this hydrogen highway comes sooner and not later.