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Hydrogen Car Info FAQs: Answers to Questions You Have

Rapidly fluctuating oil prices have reignited interest in alternative sources of energy. This is especially true for the automotive industry and its customers. Some SUV owners have traded in the vehicles for more fuel efficient options, and many are now interested in gas/electric hybrids.

Car owners and those looking for greener alternatives want to know all they can about Hydrogen cars. Some popular questions are: What is a Hydrogen Car? How does a hydrogen car work? How much is a hydrogen car? This article will answer these questions and more.

What is a Hydrogen Car?

A hydrogen car is simply a car that uses hydrogen to provide power to get the vehicle to move. The hydrogen is converted to energy either through combustion, similar to typical internal combustion engines, or by an electrochemical process in a fuel cell.

How does a hydrogen car work?

While internal hydrogen combustion engines are not that different from gasoline powered vehicles, a fuel cell’s by-products are heat and water. Through the use of a catalyst, the hydrogen is separated into protons and electrons. It is these electrons and protons that meet to produce the electricity needed to power the vehicle. As long as oxygen and hydrogen are fed into the cell, it will produce energy. In that way it is different from the typical car battery in that it won’t die as long as the process is maintained.

How much is a hydrogen car?

These cars are still fairly expensive to purchase. Information available online indicates that they cost around $74,000. There is little doubt that as supplies increase prices will go down.

Are hydrogen cars currently available?

Wide scale availability of hydrogen cars is still quite a few years off. However, major companies do have some available but the price does not make them readily available to the average consumer. However, some manufacturers have revealed when they expect to have their cars on the general market:

BMW: 2008
General Motors: 2010 – 2015
Honda: 2008 – 2010
Madza: 2008
Peugeot: After 2010

Which Companies are Manufacturing or Experimenting with Hydrogen Cars?

Quite a few companies are making and or experimenting with hydrogen cell-fuelled cars. One of the forerunners is Honda, who’s FCX Clarity can be had on lease for around $600 per month in California. Other motor companies in the hydrogen zone are Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, GM and Ford.

GM (General Motors) for instance has stated that they will have affordable hydrogen-powered vehicles for sale by 2010. However, their HydroGen3 is priced at about $1 million.

What are the advantages of a hydrogen car?

One of the main advantages of a hydrogen powered car over gas is the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

Can I convert my car to run on hydrogen?

Yes, it is possible to convert a car to run on hydrogen fuel. The best bet at this time is to get a company that specializes in this type of conversion to do the job for you. Some companies include:

AFVTech
The Hydrogen Car Company
Quantum Technologies (known for converting the Prius to Hydrogen fuel power)

In addition, the American Hydrogen Association provides useful information on conversion as well as conversion workshops.

Where will I get hydrogen to buy?

Currently there are not many options for fueling a hydrogen car as the number of vehicles available does not provide economic motivation to open stations. The AHA makes three great suggestions on handling this issue now and in the immediate future. The most feasible option currently may be to ‘convert your vehicle to a natural gas/hydrogen hybrid and switch over to hydrogen when fuelling becomes easier. The other two options would include “building your own fuelling center or holding off on getting a hydrogen car until public fuelling stations are available.”

Is hydrogen dangerous?

Hydrogen is highly flammable but no more so than gasoline. There is no evidence that hydrogen is more likely to ignite when used to provide power. As with any other form of fuel, precautions should be taken when handling hydrogen. One good thing about hydrogen is that because it is so light, if there is a leak it will quickly dissipate. It has also been shown that there are no ill effects from breathing hydrogen.

Yes, it seems that the future of hydrogen cars is definitely here. However before deciding on such a purchase, it is important to arm yourself with as much information as possible.

Recently posted hydrogen car articles:

Hydrogen Car Conversion (NEW!) - Hydrogen fuel burns up to eight times more efficiently than petroleum and there are hydrogen cars which are now for sale to the general public so the concept isn’t just a dream anymore. Unfortunately most hydrogen cars are really expensive and out of reach of many car consumers. If you can’t afford something in the 150K price range than a conversion is probably your best bet...

Scorpion Hydrogen Car - The V-6 Engine takes this sleek original from 0 to 200mph fast enough to make Lightening McQueen’s tires spin. For those readers without kids, that’s another way of saying fast, really fast. The Scorpion hydrogen hybrid can move, it’s unbelievably sexy and it’s green. Environmentally green that is, with zero emission proprietary technology unlike any other car in the world...

FCX Clarity Hydrogen Car - Greener roads are ahead with the Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen car. This zero emissions car uses domestic fuel to help slow the increase in greenhouse gases. With a hydrogen tank, high performance and superior safety, the Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen car promises to be the choice vehicle of the future...

X7 Hydrogen Car - Hydrogen fuel is one of the most compelling innovations of the 21st Century, with countless possible future applications. We are starting to finally see hydrogen powered fuel cells used in mainstream technology, although as of yet, many designers and manufacturers still do not realise the potential of this technology. Thames and Kosmos, the company famous for their science kits, have recently unveiled their latest innovation, the X7 Hydrogen car...

Do Hydrogen Cars Work - Do hydrogen cars really work? The answer is definitely “yes”. Because fossil fuels are destined to run out eventually, hydrogen was introduced as a fuel source in a combustion engine rather than gasoline. There are also innovators using hydrogen to create electric energy to power up a vehicle instead of using gas. As research and development continues, hydrogen cars promise to be the green wave of the future...

First Hydrogen Car - Hydrogen, the first element on the periodic table and the most abundant element in the universe, has powered the fusion reactions of stars for billions of years. On Earth, attempts to use it as a fuel date back over 200 years, when Swiss inventor Francois Isaac de Rivaz used both hydrogen and oxygen gas to power the first internal combustion engine in 1806. While Rivaz’s vehicle was commercially unsuccessful, additional attempts were made to harness hydrogen as a fuel over the next 150 years, meeting with limited success. In 1966 the world’s first hydrogen Car, the 1966 GM Electrovan, was built, and the age of hydrogen cars as we know them was born...

Hydrogen Car Plans - The auto industry worldwide is facing unprecedented challenges. In addition to the financial hits taken recently, the auto industry has also been perceived as stagnant and out of touch. Some blame the current financial crisis of the auto industry on a lack of true innovation. Yet, innovation is taking place, and a whole new breed of cars is on the horizon. Hydrogen powered cars are the next new thing, and they’re coming sooner than you may think...

Honda Hydrogen Car - After years of evolution, Honda hydrogen cars are on the road. Committed to pursuing clean energy sources, Honda put the first dedicated platform hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the market so everyday people have the opportunity to drive them...

Hydrogen car conversion - Hydrogen-powered cars are likely a decade away from mass production, but can the consumer really wait that long, especially in light of record gas-price increases in 2005? In what has become the “Now Generation,” scientists and consumers alike are anxious to experience this very moment the opportunities hydrogen-powered vehicles have to offer. They can not wait to eliminate the dependability on gasoline. They hunger to use a fuel cell to run an electric motor, leaving the nightmares of spending more than $3 a gallon of gasoline behind....

Hydrogen car manufacturers and prices - Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are now available, with many automobile manufacturers revealing models this year in their showrooms, but affordable styles are still about five to 10 years away. General Motors, which currently has a fleet of six HydroGen3 vehicles in Washington, D.C., announced in October that by 2010 it will widely develop economically viable models of the hydrogen-powered vehicle. The largest automobile manufacture is already in the process of building a New York fleet of 40 cars under the U.S. Department of Energy's Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation Project. General Motors puts a price tag of...

Oldies but Goodies:

Hydrogen Water Car - Gas prices are soaring. People are scrambling to make ends meet. In this difficult economy, can you really fuel your car with water...

Ford Hydrogen Car - Like almost all of the major car manufacturers, Ford has been researching alternative fuels and energy sources for many years...

Honda Hybrid Car - Anyone watching the recent Honda Civic hybrid television commercial is likely to want more information...

BMW Hydrogen Car - Question: How is BMW’s new Hydrogen 7 like the hard-earned cash flocks of people are spending to own one? Answer: It’s green!...

Electrolysis Hydrogen - As consumers and automobile drivers, we all can see and feel the horrid crunch of the continually rising gas prices...

GM Hydrogen Car - There is a GM hydrogen car called the Sequel that is tantalizingly close to full scale production for the many people (im)patiently waiting for a hydrogen powered vehicle...

Hybrid Cars - With fuel prices spiralling, deciding on purchasing hybrid cars has become a major discussion point. However, although the term may indicate what a ‘hybrid car’ is, not many persons know enough about hybrids...

Buy Hydrogen Car - Hydrogen-powered cars are catching on with major automobile manufacturers, but will attempts to gain uneducated consumers in this new technology dissolve into thin air?...

How Hydrogen Cars Work - A Car That Runs on Water? No Longer Science Fiction! With gas now in some places in the US over $5 a gallon, and even higher in other locations in the world, a gasoline-free car is now becoming a holy grail for car manufacturers...

Fuel Efficiency - Gas prices are down, some argue because it’s an election year, but odds are they will be on the rise again soon...