How Do Fuel Cell Cars Work
Widespread use of fuel cell hydrogen cars could also potentially reduce the worlds.
How do fuel cell cars work. Hydrogen fuel cell features. How do fuel cell electric vehicles work using hydrogen. Written by agustin galetti. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles combine the range and refueling of conventional cars with the recreational and environmental benefits of driving on electricity.
If on the other hand fossil fuels are used this will ultimately have a knock on effect on the carbon footprint of the fuel cell cars using the hydrogen. Some of these things may change with time as the two rival technologieshydrogen fuel cells. Most fuel cells designed for use in vehicles produce less than 116 volts of electricityfar from enough to power a vehicle. With a fuel cell chemicals constantly flow into the cell so it never goes dead as long as there is a flow of chemicals into the cell the electricity flows out of the cell.
Because fuel cell vehicles are only beginning to enter the us market interested drivers should ensure they live near hydrogen refueling stations. In this respect hydrogen fuel cell cars are no different from other electric vehicles. The electric careven though lithium based batteries have shown important progress in the past few years it is still not possible to generate the same energy density as traditional fuels do. Where battery technologies arguably work best in small cars fuel cells are equally good for larger vehicles and trucks.
Fuel cell cars by contrast get much the same range as ordinary gas vehicles although their performance does degrade as they age. Interest in cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells has grown in recent years because fuel cells are more efficient and create less exhaust emissions than cars powered by conventional fossil fueled engines. Like all electric vehicles fuel cell electric vehicles fcevs use electricity to power an electric motorin contrast to other electric vehicles fcevs produce electricity using a fuel cell powered by hydrogen rather than drawing electricity from only a battery. If we compare the energy contained in a kilogram of liquid fuel used in an internal combustion engine with the energy.
Therefore multiple cells must be assembled into a fuel cell stackthe potential power generated by a fuel cell stack depends on the number and size of the individual fuel cells that comprise the stack and the surface area of the pem. During the vehicle design process the vehicle manufacturer defines the. A fuel cell hydrogen car works by combining hydrogen with oxygen in a process that produces energy. How strong that effect is depends on the energy mix used.