Hydrogen: Today and Tomorrow

The central question, I have been trying to explore in this blog is, "Is hydrogen a realistic fuel source for the future?"  After examining the history of hydrogen and learning about the invention of the hydrogen fuel cell, I was ready to look to the present.

Some people may not be aware, but engineers have already designed motorized vehicles that run on hydrogen gas.  Some of these vehicles even appear to run on water!  That is because water is inserted into the fuel tank, before it is converted to hydrogen gas, inside of the vehicle.  Can you imagine filling your car up with the garden hose before you went to work in the morning?  Some versions of hydrogen-powered vehicles include this design!  It looks like Jules Verne was right in his prediction, after all.

Here is a video from a company in Osaka, Japan called Genepax, which claims to have designed and built a small hydrogen powered car that uses water as a fuel source.  Does it look too good to be true?  A lot of people think so.  Genepax’s water car is just one of many to receive criticism, or even be labeled as a hoax.  Despite accusations of fraud, many still believe a car that runs on water is possible.

Genepax, a Japanese company, claims that their car uses only water as fuel.  Is this possible?

Why would a car that runs on water be possible?  This is fairly simple to answer.  Water is composed of two hydrogen molecules for every one oxygen molecule.  If there was a way to split the hydrogen from the water, inside of the vehicle, then you would have pure hydrogen gas readily available to power your PEM hydrogen fuel cell.  Thus, you could simply put water into your vehicle’s tank to power it.

Well, it turns out there is a way to split hydrogen from oxygen in water.  It is done through a process called electrolysis.  Electrolysis involves running an electric current through water in order to split the water molecules.  When used in combination with hydrogen fuel cells, it is possible to produce pure hydrogen gas to power PEM fuel cells.  By following this process, using water to power a car would be possible.  Watch the video below to see electrolysis in action:

Why do people claim the water car is impossible?  The reason is because it takes more energy to split the water in order to produce the hydrogen, than a set of fuel cells can produce from the hydrogen produced.  Overall this is what is known as a net loss.  However, this doesn’t entirely confirm the statement that water-powered cars are impossible.  Click the link to see a good article written by a certified auto mechanic about the problem of net loss.

Why are water-powered cars still possible?  Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles using water as a fuel are still possible, however in order to achieve a net gain in energy production, there has to be another energy source on the vehicle, to power the electrolysis process needed to split the hydrogen gas from the water in the fuel tank.  This can be achieved by creating a fuel cell hybrid vehicle that carries batteries in addition to fuel cells.  The batteries would be used to sustain the hydrogen production, while the hydrogen gas powers the car.  Fuel cell hybrid vehicles could realistically run on water, as long as the batteries were charged before operation, using an alternate power source; most likely a wall socket in the average home or garage.

The Honda FCX Clarity runs on compressed hydrogen from specially designed "Fast Fill," stations.  The car is currently only available in Southern California for U.S. customers.  See below.

This is just one type of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle being imagined by engineers, but there are others.  Many, or even most fuel cell vehicle designs propose filling the vehicle with hydrogen before operation, and storing it in the car.  See a U.S. Department of Energy diagram of a compressed hydrogen fuel cell vehicle by clicking here.  In June 2008, Honda took the first step towards creating a massive fleet of this type of vehicle, when it began manufacturing its FCX Clarity model, a car that runs on hydrogen fuel from specially designed “Fast Fill,” hydrogen stations which dispense compressed hydrogen in liquid form, specifically for the Honda model.

In the U.S. the Honda FCX Clarity is only available in Southern California, because it is the only location where the specially designed “Fast Fill,” hydrogen stations have been installed.  However, future designs for re-fuel stations actually involve the novel idea of refilling your hydrogen car at your house.  Imagine refueling your vehicle at home instead of having to go to a gas station!  This innovation could help interested buyers to purchase both the Honda Clarity vehicle and Honda Clarity fuel system in one package.  This system could theoretically be installed almost anywhere in the world.

Here a Honda FCX Clarity fills up with compressed hydrogen at a specially designed "Fast Fill," station.

There was a time when people thought hydrogen fuel cell vehicles would never be mass-produced.  Even a few years ago, Honda engineers thought that it would cost $1 million to produce each vehicle!  However, according to this article from Bloomberg, further research and development reduced that cost $120,000-$140,000 per vehicle, suggesting that if research continues, and costs are further reduced, hydrogen powered vehicles might one day be very common on the road.  Here is a video showing the Honda FCX Clarity in use on the streets of Los Angeles:

As you can see, the idea of hydrogen as a fuel source for the future is very intriguing.  When you consider the idea that hydrogen derived from water could be used as a legitimate fuel for vehicles, it makes you wonder, could the oceans of the world be considered a fuel source?

Could the oceans of the world power our cars?

One of the problems with hydrogen fuel cells, has always been the high cost of manufacturing.  This is partially related to the problem of the platinum coating used in the catalyst system.  Platinum is a rare element, and therefore using it in mass produced technology is expensive.  However, new research offers the opportunity to replace the platinum catalyst with a catalyst comprised of cheaper materials.

Liming Dai researches a new kind of catalyst system that could be used in hydrogen powered fuel cells.

A research team at the University of Dayton, Ohio, led by scientist Liming Dai, has created a special kind of carbon nanotube catalyst system which when combined with a small amount of nitrogen, produces a catalyst that could be used in PEM fuel cell designs, with even greater efficiency than the current platinum coated catalyst system.  Dai's carbon nanotube catalyst would cost less to mass-produce, and is more compact, as well as being more efficient.  This could clear one of the great hurdles to the hydrogen-powered vehicles of the future, the high cost of manufacturing.

Will carbon nanotubes help make fuel cells cheaper and more efficient?