Hydrogen Fuel Cars ? When Will We See Them? | Free Travel ...

There are hydrogen fuel cars on the streets of some cities. However there are two methods by which hydrogen can be used to power cars. The first method is to use hydrogen to actually drive the internal combustion engine, in much the same way as many cars use Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG). The second way is to use the reaction of hydrogen with oxygen in fuel cells as a battery, which makes the car a form of electric car.

The dream of producing hydrogen in the car while driving along by electrolyzing water is still a long way off, so we are still at the phase of batteries and filling the tank with hydrogen gas. This is the nub of the problem for potential users and manufacturers. There are merely sixteen hydrogen filling stations in Los Angeles and none in 99% of other cities worldwide.

In fact, some of the big name motor manufacturers have pulled out of the contest to get the first commercially feasible hydrogen powered car on the streets. Ford and GM have announced that they are pulling out in America and so has Renault in France.

However, the Japanese companies are pressing on. In fact, Honda introduced its first hydrogen fuel cell car in 1999. It was called the FCX and they are now ready with introductory models of the second generation hydrogen cars known as the FCX Clarity. Guess where they are beingoffered for sale? The one city in the world? Yes, Los Angeles, because of its hydrogen stations.

Honda says that, they could go into full-scale production of the FCX Clarity by 2020, if the world is ready for them by then. Hyundai have on-going plans to produce fuel cell (FC) cars and say that they will be in place to launch full-scale production by 2012. Daimler also announced that they would be manufacturing 100,000 FC vehicles in 2012-2013.

Then there are hydrogen powered buses in quite a few European cities including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid. Porto Stockholm and a few more. Lotus, the makers of London taxis, have stated that they intend to set up a fleet of new, hydrogen powered taxis in time for the London Olympics in 2012.

So, the hydrogen vehicle and the hydrogen passenger car is out there and the numbers will be swelling fairly soon. The buses, talked about above, go back to their depot, where an electrolyzing machine turns water into fuel for them to fill up on and the same will be the case for many of London?s taxis. Regrettably, acquiring fuel is not the only problem for the average motorist, some of these vehicles, like the FCX Clarity cost about $300,000 each.

However, here are a couple of interesting facts for those who like trivia. Francois Isaac de Rivaz designed the first hydrogen powered car in 1807 and Paul Dieges filed a US patent for a conversion to the internal combustion engine in 1970 which enabled a petrol engine to run on hydrogen and 200 years later we are still attempting to get it right.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now concerned with how to get Stapletons tyres. If you would like to know more, please go to our web site at Car Tyres For Sale.

Source: http://www.travel-direct.net/travel-and-leisure/hydrogen-fuel-cars-when-will-we-see-them/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hydrogen-fuel-cars-when-will-we-see-them

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