No more carbon emissions? Is it possible? Hopefully, soon, you could drive in a car that produces greenhouse gasses or zero carbon emissions. Your office could even be fitted with emergency power generators that do not operate on fossil fuels but hydrogen cell technology. However, we still need to overcome some logistical obstacles. Hydrogen future fuel makes the world: ‘now’!
Hydrogen: Goal Of The Future
There are more and more technologies that make use of greenhouse gases. These are already available, but which ones exactly? Hydrogen is a clear frontrunner that offers many opportunities for energy application, production, and distribution.
Recommended: Pope Francis Believes In Hydrogen. Heavenly!
What Is An Hydrogen Cell?
Hydrogen fuel cells are a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen. As a result, exhaust gases are only produced from pure water. In these gases, chemical energy is stored that can be converted to electrical energy. This energy can be used to power temporary storage batteries, electric drive motors, or other applications. Hydrogen Future Fuel Makes The World: ‘Now’
H2-hydrogen molecules in a hydrogen fuel cell are divided into negatively charged electrons (yellow) and positively charged protons (blue). The protons travel in an electrolyte membrane, but the electrons must pass through an external circuit, creating electricity. Eventually, the electrons, oxygen molecules, and protons together form water.
Recommended: The Ideal Clean Car: A Student’s Utopian Vision
Hydrogen Continues To Grow
As a pressurized gas or liquid, hydrogen fuel is relatively easy to transport. You can refuel quickly, so you don't need long to recharge, with an electric car, for example. Hydrogen production continues to evolve toward renewable sources. This makes fuel cells and electrolyzers an interesting option for efficient, powerful, and 100 percent clean energy distribution and storage worldwide. The Toyota Mirai is an electric vehicle with hydrogen cells that have been in operation for a couple of years. It is visible on the road and is used by customers in California.
Recommended: Solar Wind And Hydrogen Powers Modern Cargo Ships
10 Industry Applications Of Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Below, we show you ten applications for hydrogen fuel cells. Some of these mentioned below you might not know.
-
Warehouse Logistics
Large warehouses want to use hydrogen fuel cells to power, among other things, clean forklift trucks, pallet jacks, and trucks.
- Global DistributionFuel cells can be used for long-distance transport and local distribution. Companies such as Hyundai, Toyota, and UPS are already building vans and semi-trailers on hydrogen.
-
Buses
Hydrogen energy is being considered to provide buses. Large cities, including London, Vancouver, Beijing, and Chicago, have experimented with hydrogen-powered buses.
-
Trains
There are already hydrogen-powered trains in Germany. Models are expected to arrive in Great Britain, Italy, South Korea, Japan, the USA, and France in the next five years.
-
Personal Vehicles
Major car manufacturers such as Toyota, Hyundai, BMW, and Honda produce hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) for personal use.
Recommended: Fly On Hydrogen: Rolls-Royce Takes Us To The Sky
-
Planes
Several experimental projects, such as Helios and Pathfinder prototypes, have investigated hydrogen fuel cells' application in space and aeronautics. A hybrid system was used in which hydrogen fuel cells were supplemented with electrical energy from solar panels. Theoretically, this made unlimited day and night flights possible.
Recommended: Transport By Airships: The Comeback Of Zeppelins
-
Backup Power Generation
Stationary fuel cells are deployed locally as part of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS); continuous availability is essential. Think, for example, of hospitals. They are increasingly looking for hydrogen to provide this power supply. Microsoft recently made it to the newspaper because they had carried out a successful test with hydrogen: a data center's servers ran on hydrogen for two days straight.
-
Mobile Power Generation
Hydrogen offers various possibilities for mobile power generation. NASA created one of the first hydrogen fuel cells to provide electricity for shuttles and missiles in space.
-
Uncrewed Arial Vehicles (UAVs)
Many new UAVs (i.e., drones) are now being used, from parcel delivery to rescue and search operations. Batteries now determine the range and power. The private and military industries are looking to use hydrogen fuel cells to make them last up to three times longer and have more capacity.
Hydrogen: Hydrogen Energy Used To Fly A Drone
-
Boats And Submarines
Hydrogen fuel cells are used on several boats. For example, the Energy Observer has solar panels and wind turbines on board to generate their hydrogen for a fuel cell system. Military stealth submarines such as the German type 212 use hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative to nuclear energy: silent sailing, low exhaust heat, and a wide range.
Safety Challenges By Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems
Hydrogen still needs to overcome some obstacles to be used properly. Hydrogen has a relatively low energy density. This means that it has to be stored in large quantities.
Local regulations limit the use of hydrogen. The industry must do its best to correct the public perception of hydrogen (think of the Zeppelin incident in Hindenburg), even though the technologies have already improved considerably.
Many infrastructural changes will still be needed to enable the transport, refueling, and storage of hydrogen. It poses logistical challenges on a large scale. Besides, there is also a fire/explosion risk.
Before you go!
Recommended: Hydrogen-Powered Energy Observer: Future Vision
Did you find this an interesting article, or do you have a question or remark? Leave a comment below.
We try to respond the same day.
Like to write your article about energy transmission?
Send your writing & scribble with a photo to [email protected], and we will write an interesting article based on your input.