The hazardous effects of pollutants from conventional fuel vehicles have caused the scientific world to move towards environmentally friendly energy sources. Though we have various renewable energy sources, the perfect one to use as an energy source for vehicles is hydrogen. Like electricity, hydrogen is an energy carrier that has the ability to deliver incredible amounts of energy. Onboard hydrogen storage in vehicles is an important factor that should be considered when designing fuel cell vehicles. In this study, a recent development in hydrogen fuel cell engines is reviewed to scrutinize the feasibility of using hydrogen as a major fuel in transportation systems. A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that can produce electricity by allowing chemical gases and oxidants as reactants. With anodes and electrolytes, the fuel cell splits the cation and the anion in the reactant to produce electricity. Fuel cells use reactants, which are not harmful to the environment and produce water as a product of the chemical reaction. As hydrogen is one of the most efficient energy carriers, the fuel cell can produce direct current (DC) power to run the electric car. By integrating a hydrogen fuel cell with batteries and the control system with strategies, one can produce a sustainable hybrid car.
Appl. Sci. 2019, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 9 of 18 It should be noted that FCEVs are more promising in city bus applications due to two reasonsthe supply of hydrogen is not crucial, because the buses refuel in one place, hence only one refilling point is required, and the price of FCs. FCs are still expensive, therefore it makes more sense to buy them for vehicles that are in use for many hours each day . As of June 2018, there have been more than 6500 FCVs delivered to consumers. California was the leading market for FCVs, with nearly 3000 vehicles being delivered due to it having the largest network of hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) . In Europe, Germanys Linde AG and Frances Air Liquide have been working together to increase Germanys stations from 15 to 100 by 2017 and to 400 by 2023. About 1000 HRS would be required to provide full coverage in countries such as Germany or France, with a cost of 1.5 to 2 billion euro [57,58]. FCV sales volumes are projected to be significant, b
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Figure 4 shows FCV sales volume anticipations based on a long-term powertrain mix scenario (million annual units) . Considering a similar scenario, the international energy agency (IEA) anticipates an FCV market share of about 17% by 2050 (35 million annual unit sales) . Figure 4. Fuel cell vehicle (FCV) sales volume. Source: IEA. All rights reserved. . Another option to increase the HRS prevalence is to use electrolysis at refueling stations to convert electricity from the grid into hydrogen. This idea could be extended to residential applications, where people would have a hydrogen refueling station in their own homes . The obstacles associated with developing an adequate hydrogen infrastructure brings up another important questionwhere will the hydrogen come from? Although hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, it rarely exists alone in nature. Today, hydrogen is mostly produce
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In this way, pollutants can be captured if the reforming is done at a central plant. However, other options, such as direct solar hydrogen from methane at landfills and hydrogen from bacteria , are continually being explored. If electrolysis is used to generate hydrogen, there may have to be an increase in electricity generation to satisfy the need for hydrogen, though the increase may be small, since hydrogen can be produced during off-peak times (e.g., overnight). Methods to generate electricity that have a minimal impact on the environment include nuclear, wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal. It is often said that, at the beginning of the hydrogen economy, most of the hydrogen will still be reformed from natural gas, but as time goes by, society will move towards more ideal sources of energy, such as wind and solar . Although generation and transportation of hydrogen is a major issue in the deployment of fuel cell vehicles, many diverse ideas are b
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Other obstacles for fuel cell vehicles include improving on-board hydrogen storage, improving fuel cell and battery durability, and increasing the efficiency and the performance of a fuel cell vehicle. The last barrier to commercialization is costa true challengeas fuel cells are still extremely expensive today. Many parts used to work with fuel cells (e.g., power electronic converters) must be custom-made and can be very expensive as a result .
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