Is it possible to run a vehicle by hydrogen?

Question

Is it possible to run a vehicle by hydrogen?

Answer 1

Hydrogen/Fuel Cells

What is it?

The concept is similar to hybrids: an electric motor would drive the car much of the time. In this case, the motor would be charged by something under the hood called a fuel-cell stack, which converts hydrogen and oxygen into electricity that flows to the battery. The on-board fuel would be hydrogen.

What's good about it?

Many things. Hydrogen is widely available, in natural gas and water, for instance. The only tailpipe emission is water. Pound for pound, hydrogen fuel has more inherent energy than gasoline, which could mean higher mileage: A prototype Honda fuel-cell vehicle gets the equivalent of nearly 70 miles per gallon.

What's bad about it?

While it can be extracted from water, the cheapest source of hydrogen is natural gas, an unrenewable hydrocarbon. There's no distribution system or standardized method of storage, which is crucial since hydrogen fuel is a gas that must be kept under high pressure.

How much will it cost?

If mass-produced and widely distributed like gasoline, the cost of hydrogen fuel could be equivalent to $2 per gallon or less. Plus, fuel cells are about three times as efficient as gas engines, which means better mileage. But building an infrastructure to deliver hydrogen would cost billions, which would certainly add to consumers' cost.

When's it coming?

Could still be 10 or 20 years away. There are major technical hurdles in terms of producing the fuel, distributing it widely, and storing it in cars.

What's taking so long?

Researchers are still searching for cost effective ways to produce the fuel, transport it, and store it in a car. An even bigger problem is building a hydrogen infrastructure comparable to a gas station on every corner, which would cost billions and require the unprecedented cooperation of automakers, energy companies, and the government.

Who's doing it?

Most of the big automakers have fuel-cell programs. GM has recruited ordinary consumers to test a fleet of 100 fuel cell vehicles on the east and west coasts. Honda plans to lease a fuel-cell car, for about $600 per month, to a few consumers in 2008. Others could announce similar programs.

Could it be a silver bullet?

Maybe. If the technology matures, costs fall, and hydrogen fuel becomes widely available, it would solve several problems: Hydrogen could come from renewable sources and generates no tailpipe emissions. And theoretically, it would be affordable—maybe even cheap.

Answer 2

Not very safe...

Answer 3

ROFL!! I love the answers you have gotten so far.

The reality is that you can run hydrogen in ANY vehicle currently on the road. It requires adjustments to the vehicle timing because hydrogen burns at 40000 feet per second vs the 5000+ that gasoline burns at. Instead of firing at 10 degrees before top dead center. The engine will fire at or just after top dead center. This is done because of that much faster hydrogen burn rate.

In addition to the timing change, you will need a fuel storage tank, fuel lines and probably new injectors.

Total, it would probably coast about $2500 per vehicle to switch one over.

Answer 4

Yeah, though it needs to be built specifically for that purpose (you can't just bolt on an aftermarket kit to a standard car).

Answer 5

yes they already make them (very rare) they have a hydrogen station down in washington D.C.

Answer 6

yes. arnold Schwarzenegger has one. whats great about them is there only byproduct is water coming out of the tailpipe.  the downside is that hydrogen can be unstable and when there is a car accident there is a high probabilty the car will EXPLODE!!

Answer 7

yes actually i believe the japanese came up w/ a car that runs on water or hydrogen and theres also a chevy commercial w/ little kids talkin to a guy about a hydrogen or water powered car.