What is a hydrogen powered car?

Some more thoughts about non diesel and petrol powered cars.

In the news there is a lot of talk about hydrogen powered cars – what is a hydrogen powered car?

They are also known as fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) – basically an electric car that uses a hydrogen cell system in the form of Hydrogen Stacks.

The vehicles have a hydrogen tank which is filled in the same sort of way as a fuel pump for diesel and petrol. The hydrogen is stored at 700bar – that’s a lot of pressure! These have been tested even to the point of being shot at to make sure they are safe.

The hydrogen stacks work at a molecular level where protons in the hydrogen atoms are attracted through a polymer exchange membrane. The electrons left behind produce an electrical current which in turn powers the motors.