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.
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