Why are hydrogen fuel cells not widely used?
From the point of view of a filling station owner, adding hydrogen facilities is not economically viable and potentially too dangerous; this contributes to the low production numbers. The lack of ‘push’ from legislators further hinders the progress of the hydrogen fuel cell car.
Why don’t we use hydrogen as an energy source?
Why aren’t we all driving them? There’s virtually no pure hydrogen on Earth because it’s so reactive. Most hydrogen is made from methane [natural gas] in a process that produces carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Hydrogen can also be made from water using electrolysis, but that requires electrical energy.
What is wrong with hydrogen cars?
The two prime dangers from fuel cell and hydrogen-powered vehicles are the danger of electrical shock and the flammability of the fuel. Fuel cells power vehicles by electro-chemically combining hydrogen gas (H2) and oxygen (O2) from the surrounding air into water (H20) and electrical energy.
What is a major drawback of hydrogen fuel?
Disadvantage: The Use of Fossil Fuels in Hydrogen Production In fact, hydrogen power is nearly energy-neutral – which means that it takes almost as much energy to produce as what it produces.
Are hydrogen and fuel cells an alternative power plant for ships?
Hydrogen and fuel cells were studied as an alternative power plant for maritime vessels by considering 14 case studies of various ship sizes and routes varying from small passenger vessels to the largest cargo ships. The results show that it is practically feasible to consider these zero-emission technologies for most vessels in the world’s fleet.
Are fuel cells the future of fuel cell power for cruise ships?
For cruise ships, the applications of fuel cell power include generating power for: a portion of the propulsive power. For the industry to meet its zero-emission targets this century, fuel cells should provide 100\% of the power on many cruise ships, as the hydrogen infrastructure matures.
Are hydrogen-powered passenger vessels feasible?
This work was funded by the Maritime Administration (MARAD) within the U.S. Department of Transportation. This study presents realistic designs of five commercially relevant passenger vessels powered solely by hydrogen fuel cells. All five designs are feasible to build and operate today.
Could hydrogen power the future of transpacific shipping?
The ICCT study found that 99\% of the transpacific voyages made in 2015 could have been powered by hydrogen and fuel cells, with more than half of those requiring either minor changes to fuel capacity — by replacing 5\% of cargo space with extra storage for the clean fuel, or by adding an additional port of call to refuel.