Petrol shortages around the world and emission-related problems have forced us to turn to new areas. These areas vary from sector to sector. However, when we say petrol and emissions, automobiles come to mind first.
Automobiles with internal combustion engines are quite harmful in terms of the harmful gases they release into the environment. For this reason, institutions that make environmental decisions and automobile manufacturers constantly work in this direction.
One of these efforts is hydrogen vehicles, which are also known as fuel cell vehicles. In the continuation of our article, we will talk about hydrogen fuel and automobiles that run on this fuel.
What is hydrogen fuel used to power vehicles?
Hydrogen fuel is a highly environmentally friendly fuel with zero carbon content that burns with oxygen.
Hydrogen fuel can be produced from fossil fuels such as steam reforming, partial methane oxidation, and coal gasification, or from renewable energy sources such as water electrolysis and solar thermochemistry.
When hydrogen fuel burns, water is produced. Because hydrogen fuel also comes from processed water, this offers us an infinite energy source.
In which areas is hydrogen energy used?
The use of hydrogen energy is also quite broad. These include aerospace, oil production, deuterium separation, hydrogen cleaning, and most importantly, it has begun to be used in today's automotive sector.
We will discuss hydrogen fuel used to generate energy in automobiles in more detail below.
Use of Hydrogen Fuel in Automobiles
Hydrogen fuel is used in automobiles in various ways. Sometimes it is mixed with petrol to reduce the harm petrol causes.
However, the part that concerns us is the direct use of hydrogen fuel. These vehicles are also called fuel cell electric vehicles. These vehicles also have batteries, like electric vehicles.
The biggest feature that distinguishes these vehicles from electric vehicles is that they produce electrical energy themselves. Electrical energy in these vehicles is produced together with hydrogen and transferred to the battery.
These vehicles also have an area like an exhaust at the rear, similar to internal combustion engine vehicles. However, only water comes out of this section. Thus, the carbon value is 0.
For this reason, hydrogen-fueled vehicles are like a combination of petrol and electric vehicles.
Hydrogen refueling stations to meet the fuel needs of vehicles using hydrogen fuel
Another aspect in which hydrogen vehicles resemble petrol vehicles is the refueling method. Hydrogen vehicles also have refueling like petrol vehicles. Filling a tank also takes almost the same time as a petrol vehicle.
Hydrogen vehicles meet their fuel needs at hydrogen refueling stations. We can think of hydrogen refueling stations like petrol stations.
At hydrogen refueling stations, hydrogen is produced by water electrolysis, compressed, stored, and refueling is performed. As the use and production of hydrogen vehicles increase, the number of these stations is also increasing in many countries.