Cars With Fuel Cells

This is a simple process that is more commonly known as electrolysis. Sir William Grove assumed that if you reversed this process it would be possible to produce water and electricity. From this initial idea he went on to study the process in much more detail in order to try to prove his hypothesis.

It took Sir William Grove many years to create a very basic version of a fuel cell which he called a gas voltaic battery. However this battery did work and was capable of producing energy which could be used to run basic machinery. Fifty years after this discovery Charles Langor and Ludwick Mond began attempting to create a version of this battery that would be capable of producing electricity.

Today these fuel cells can be used to fuel cars and there has been much research into this form of technology. Right now there are six different versions of fuel cells however these are not all suitable for use in cars. For example the SOFC (solid oxide fuel cell) is much more suited to power generators which are stationary and could be used to power large factories.

How Do These Cells Function?

In very basic terms car fuel cells work by using an electro chemical reaction in order to produce enough electricity to fuel a car. These fuel cells do not work on the principle of traditional thermodynamics – they can maintain increased conversion efficiencies which mean they can be up to 60% more efficient. However if all of this sounds very complex it is easier to think of car fuel cells being able to convert oxygen and hydrogen into water, which in turn creates electricity.

Unlike a traditional battery however which will go dead after some time, car fuel cells will not. This is due to the fact that the chemicals inside a battery are unable to be refuelled. A car fuel cell on the other can be refuelled which means it will always have the necessary chemicals inside it to create electricity.
As mentioned there are different versions of fuel cells and not all of them are suitable for use in a car. The main cell that has the best potential for use within a car is the PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) which has the ability to start up and operate in low temperatures. This means that the start up times for this cell is quicker than many of the other types of fuel cell that are currently on the market.

Refuelling Your Car

In general there are three main fuels which can be used in the different types of car fuel cells – petrol, hydrogen and methanol. As petrol and methanol are available in liquid form it would mean that filling up your car with these would be very much like going to a traditional filling station. In fact it could be the case that methanol would be available side by side at gas stations if cars powered by fuel cells became much more popular.

Refuelling a cell that requires hydrogen is a different process altogether. In order to do this safely a connection that is flexible enough to reach from the car to the hydrogen pump would be required. This would have to be fully sealed in order to prevent any hydrogen from escaping from the pump or car. As a result these refuelling stations would be much more expensive to create and run.

However there are many countries in the world that have used demonstration vehicles that run on fuel cells and these are currently building hydrogen stations. The countries that are having these built include: London, Madrid, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Barcelona with many more coming on board.
Online Information

The very best place to go if you want more information on car fuels and the technology that goes into creating them is the internet. Online you will be able to find in depth explanations of how these forms of fuel work and how they are currently being developed. You will also find that if you look at various websites on a regular basis you will be able to keep up to date with any advancements that are currently being made in this area. Take a look at the websites below to get a good idea of what car fuel cells are and what people can expect from them in the future.

If you are interested in the different hydrogen stations that are being built and already in place throughout the world take a look at the H2 Stations website. The website which you can find here http://www.h2stations.org/ is very easy to understand and have a comprehensive list of all our hydrogen stations in the world. It also has lots of information relating to fuel cells which is well worth reading if you are interested in alternative fuel sources.

On the Honda Website you can take a look at what they are doing to create cars that use car fuel cells. The website which can be found here http://world.honda.com/FuelCell/ is very informative and has up to date information on the cars that will be able to use fuel cells. The website also has an article that looks at the hydrogen refuelling stations that are being created in Southern California. You can also take a look at the time line for Honda’s fuel cell vehicles which is very interesting to read.

The Next Green Car™ website goes into a lot of detailed information about how these car fuel cells could be implemented in the future. The website which is located here http://www.nextgreencar.com/fuelcellcars.php#q1 also discusses how these cells work and how you would be able to be refuel a car that had a fuel cell. You will also be able to find out how much these cars would cost to run as well as the impact that they would have on the environment.