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Alternative Fuels

Fuel Cell Vehicle Benefits

No Greenhouse Gases

Burning fossil fuels such as gasoline or diesel adds greenhouse gases to the earth's atmosphere. Greenhouse gases trap heat and thus warm the earth because they prevent a significant proportion of infrared radiation from escaping into space. FCVs powered by pure hydrogen emit no greenhouse gases. If the hydrogen is generated by reforming fossil fuels, some greenhouse gases are released, but much less than the amount produced by conventional vehicles.

No Air Pollutants

Highway vehicles account for a significant share of the air pollutants that contribute to smog and harmful particulates. FCVs powered by pure hydrogen emit no harmful pollutants. FCVs that use a reformer to convert fuels such as natural gas, methanol, or gasoline to hydrogen do emit small amounts of air pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO).

Helps Strengthen National Energy Security

FCVs have the potential to strengthen our national energy security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The U.S. uses about 20 million barrels of oil per day, at a cost of about $2 billion a week. In fact, half of the oil used to produce the gasoline you put in your tank is imported. Hydrogen can be derived from many sources, such as methanol, natural gas, and gasoline, as well as renewable resources such as water. This flexibility would make us less dependent upon oil from foreign countries.

More Energy Efficient

Internal combustion engines in automobiles convert less than 20% of the energy in gasoline into power that moves the vehicle. Vehicles using electric motors powered by hydrogen fuel cells are much more energy efficient, utilitizing 40-60% of the fuel's energy. Even FCVs that reform hydrogen from gasoline can use about 40% of the energy in the gasoline.

Design Flexibility

The use of fuel cell stacks and electric motors affords automobile manufacturers a great deal of flexibility in designing vehicles.Fuel cell systems can be designed to fit almost any shape or body style. For example, the prototype on the right houses all of the vehicle's drivetrain components on a skateboard-shaped chassis. Also, instead of one large electric motor, it uses four smaller motors connected directly to each wheel.

Fuel cells can provide much more electric power than the 12 volt batteries in conventional automobiles. Therefore, FCVs can be equipped with more sophisticated and powerful electronic systems than those found in conventional gasoline vehicles. For example, some vehicle manufacturers are designing vehicles that use electronic steering and braking. Eliminating the steering column and wheel may make these vehicles safer.

Quieter

Fuel cell vehicles are much quieter than internal combustion engines although wind and road noise will still be present at higher speeds.