Hydrogen Gas In Cars Is On the Horizon
Your vehicle is probably running on ethanol-enhanced gasoline as this is currently the cheapest fuel you will find at the gas station. Ethanol has been touted as the answer to reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil supplies as well as reduction in greenhouse gas emission levels. People are beginning to question this proposition as producing swathes of crops is possibly as inefficient as the fuel it produces. Ethanol is a fuel that cars have been using to run without optimization for a long time, so obviously it’s not the right choice. A new contender for better fuel economy is using hydrogen gas in cars.
Using hydrogen gas in cars gives numerous more advantages over ethanol and gasoline fuels. Hydrogen gas is a better and cleaner burning fuel leaving no carbon behind but emits only water vapor consisting mainly of majority of nitrogen. Nitrogen makes up more than three-quarters of the air we inhale. Hydrogen fuel roughly gives two-thirds better fuel economy at half the cost of gasoline.
The lack of available hydrogen fueling stations and the complications of on-board fuel generation are the two biggest problems facing advocates of this new solution to our fuel needs. Hydrogen-powered vehicles will never be commercially available until it is easy to buy hydrogen fuel at a location convenient to you.
The process of generating large amounts of hydrogen on board the vehicle for burning in place of gasoline is still facing some technological limitations limiting use of the technology on the open road. Some auto manufacturers that plan to offer fully hydrogen-powered vehicles are also working on producing home hydrogen gas fueling stations. The home hydrogen fueling station has the potential to not only fuel your car but also power your home as well, offering tremendous saving both financially and environmentally.
A few viable alternatives exist for converting your gas-powered car into a hydrogen fuel hybrid which will let you benefit from both increases in fuel economy and a big reduction in the car’s emissions. There are kits for sale that output a small amount of hydrogen fuel. They do this by using a supply of water and the electricity from your car to produce hydrogen and mixing that with the existing gas that is already powering the car. Such kits can be simple models that can be purchased for a few hundred dollars, or specialty deluxe models that will set you back thousands.
Large-scale commercial production of hydrogen fuel shows signs of expanding, and it will likely become more widely available. This will allow us to begin seeing innovative new methods of using hydrogen gas to fuel vehicles. some prototypes exist in the major car manufacturers research facilities, but they are purely research cases. No commercial prospects yet exist. Until that day, backyard mechanics and car enthusiasts can experiment with putting together their own version of a hydrogen gas hybrid using a few easy-to-find parts and water. You can find instructions for this so-called “water4gas” kit at various websites.
Government, energy companies and auto manufacturers starting now to focus on hydrogen fuel as an alternative fuel choice. Even backyard mechanics are looking at hydrogen fuel with the water4gas kits. With further research and better technological advances, there will be a great move to use hydrogen gas in cars.
