Car hydrogen engine: medicine from oil addiction

The first developer that submitted a hydrogen engine for the car to the general public was the Toyota concern. Back in 1997, they were presented with the FCHV SUV, which was never launched in.

Today, other companies are conducted, among them:

• Honda Motor,
• Volkswagen,
• GENERAL MOTORS,
• Daimler AG,
• Ford Motor
• BMW and so on.

How does a hydrogen engine work?

Machines on a hydrogen engine can be divided into three groups:

• auto with two energy having a highly economical engine that can work both on pure hydrogen and on the mixture of it. The efficiency of such an engine is 90-95%, while diesel - 50%, and gasoline - 35%. Such cars comply with the Euro-4 standard;
• hydrogen car with an integrated electric motor that feeds the main fuel cell mounted on board. Now created cars with efficiency above 75%;
• conventional cars operating on the mixture or pure hydrogen. The exhaust is much cleaner, and the efficiency will "grow up" by about 20%.

How does a hydrogen engine work? Allocate 2 types of power plants on the principle of operation:

• hydrogen internal combustion engines. A rotary engine is used;
• power plants on fuel hydrogen elements - their principle of operation is built on a chemical reaction. The element housing has a membrane, conductive only protons and separating chambers with electrodes - anode and cathode. Hydrogen is supplied to the anode chamber, oxygen is supplied to the cathode chamber. Electrodes are covered with a catalyst layer, for example, it is platinum. Molecular hydrogen loses electrons under the influence of the catalyst. The protons through the membrane are carried out to the cathode, under the influence of the catalyst, water is formed as a result of compounds with electrons. From the camera anode electrons go to the electrical circuit, which is connected. So the current for powering the motor is formed.

The advantages of the hydrogen engine:

• product burning hydrogen - water. And therefore this is the most environmentally friendly fuel;
• power, richness and other engine indicators are higher than that of standard - electricity provides them in full;
• low noise;
• easy service - does not need complex transmission, and less details are less;
• low cost;
• less fuel consumption and high refueling speed;
• higher stroke;
• hydrogen has great potential as an alternative type of fuel, as it can be obtained from various sources, including solar energy or wind;
• the main raw material is water - free.

Disadvantages of the hydrogen engine:

• The use of fuel cells in the usual engine is fraught with fire or explosion due to its device.
• Their cost is also very high.
• The weight of the car increases as a result of using current converters and powerful batteries.
• The process of obtaining hydrogen from water is also notice, as well as transportation of new fuel.
• Environmental problems are predicted - an increase in the amount of hydrogen in the atmosphere may adversely affect the ozone layer of the Earth.
• - Also harmful to the environment.
• One of the problems of vehicles on hydrogen is the high cost of platinum required for the chemical reaction in the engine.
• The lack of hydrogen gas stations makes hydrogen cars non-competitive compared to conventional cars.
• The question of storage is not solved. Today it is proposed to store in liquefied or under high pressure, but research continues.

Hydrogen fuel cells

In different years, hydrogen fuel cells were used:

• for tractors,
• locomotives
• submarines,
• helicopters
• in a golf car
• on a motorcycle.

For vehicles with a hydrogen engine and buses, elements on the proton and metabolic membrane (PEM) are used, they are compact and weigh.

Auto on hydrogen

• Toyota, tightened by hydrogen - Fuel Cell Sedan is comfort and capacity of the standard model. In order to increase the space in the cabin and trunk, the compressed hydrogen tanks are located in the floor of the car. The machine for five passengers is intended, the price will be $ 67500.
• Cosmos technology in ordinary life. BMW Hydrogen 7 has already proved its capabilities in practice, the order of a hundred BMW Hydrogen 7 cars were tested by outstanding cultural, policies, business and media. Test experience in real conditions has shown that the transition to hydrogen is fully compatible with the comfort, dynamics and security that you could expect from BMW. Auto can be switched from one type of fuel to another. Maximum speed of 229 km / h.
• Honda FCX Clarity Energy Generator. According to the developers, you can connect all household appliances to the transformer and supply with electricity. Hydrogen tanks are under the rear seats, and after full fuel refueling, she is enough for 500 km. Price from $ 62807.
• Part of the MAN buses works on hydrogen.

Future hydrogen motors

• New cooperation in the automotive sector began General Motors (GM) and Honda Motor. Both companies plan to jointly develop hydrogen fuel cells over the next seven years. The exchange of know-how will help reduce the costs of technology and makes the main purpose of responding to an increase in the amount of global requirements for reducing emissions, the Euro-4 standard has a strict framework.
• The power plant can serve as a power plant for the house, providing its energy within 5 days.
• Each manufacturer in the near future expects to sell at least a thousand ecokars for the year, the expected price is $ 97,000.
• By 2050, hydrogen as a fuel source will cover a third of the energy produced.

But Ilon Mask (the head of Spacex and Tesla) is extremely critical to the new fuel, considering it to create a marketing move. Mask stated that the use of technologies would not solve real transport problems and that in lithium-ion batteries, the energy storage density exceeds all hydrogen development. What do you think?