A hydrogen fuel cell is comparable to a battery in that it can produce electricity without relying on combustion or emissions. But unlike batteries, fuel cells don’t need to be recharged, as long as they have access to a source of hydrogen and oxygen. Because proper battery disposal can ...
Two chemical reactions occur within a fuel cell, the results of which are based on the fuel that is used for the energy system. The electrolyte that is used in a fuel cell is highly dependent on the type of fuel cell it is. If hydrogen is used as a fuel, the anode acts as a cata...
In 1839, Sir William Grove invented the first fuel cell. He knew that by sending an electric current through water, it could be split into hydrogen and oxygen (a process called electrolysis). He hypothesized that by reversing the procedure, you could produce electricity and water. He created ...
Photo: Fuel in the tank—in the trunk of Ford's hydrogen fuel cell car. Photo courtesy of NASA Kennedy Space Center. How does a fuel cell make electricity from hydrogen? What happens in a fuel cell is called an electrochemical reaction. It's a chemical reaction, because it involves two ...
Hydrogen can be pumped into a vehicle’s fuel tank just like gas. You can fill up quickly, the same way you would with gas or diesel. And once it has a full tank, a fuel-cell vehicle can travel just as far as a gas vehicle. The Toyota Mirai has the shortest range of any ...
Electrification, automation and various hybrid and alternative fuel solutions are already attracting a lot of attention. However, one possibility that has been overshadowed in comparison is hydrogen fuel cell technology.
How does hydrogen work in a car then? From its tank, the hydrogen is passed through an anode in a fuel-cell. The anode has a catalyst – usually platinum – which forces the hydrogen to split into protons and electrons. The protons get sucked across a ‘proton exchange membrane’ (PEM...
How a fuel cell worksOnce methane is converted to hydrogen inside the cells, the hydrogen is reacted to produce electrons, as described above. The reforming reaction also produces carbon dioxide. The high efficiency of fuel cells mean they emit less carbon dioxide per kWh of power generation ...
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Green hydrogen fuel cells become both increasingly viable and vital as an energy choice in the age of climate change.