Hydrogen for the Eco-Friendly Generation

Are you Eco-friendly? Environmental pollution has always been an issue in the 21st century. Ever since we noticed that we were running out of fossil fuel, there has been a need for a new energy source that does not run out and is reliable. Scientists came up with solar power, wind power, and many other alternative energy sources, and they made progress; however, none of these were powerful enough to completely replace our current use of oil and gas. Amongst these researchers, Toyota, a motor company, succeeded in developing their idea of using Hydrogen as a new source of energy.

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. It has powered stars for billions of years, which provide heat and light for Earth. Hydrogen is indeed highly capable of replacing fossil fuel. Hydrogen is plentiful easy to obtain as well, as it is in water and air. Toyota is trying to harness this potentially clean energy source, through actively developing and producing fuel cell vehicles (FCV).

So how do you actually make energy from hydrogen? First, hydrogen is stored inside a tank where gasoline would normally be in. Oxygen is obtained from air. These two elements chemically combine inside a fuel cell, generating electricity to power the motor. The waste product is, surprisingly, water! No carbon-dioxide, no methane, no harmful gases! Because its resource and waste are both environmentally friendly, hydrogen-powered fuel cells are an awesome replacement for gasoline engines.

Using this amazing technology, Toyota has created the first commercial fuel cell vehicle called the Toyota Mirai (Japanese for ‘Future’). It was available in Japan since last year, and will be available globally this year. This car features a full hydrogen-powered fuel cell, and 0 carbon-dioxide emission. It is silent and smooth, takes only 3 minutes to recharge, and has a cruising range of 650 km — comparable to a normal gasoline-powered vehicle today. It can also act as a battery to power a house in case of a blackout. Overall, this car is a miraculous machine, which proves that hydrogen is truly an alternative to gasoline.

Although the release of Mirai shows stability in hydrogen power, there is still a need for improvements. One example is the process of obtaining hydrogen. We normally use electrolysis to obtain hydrogen from water. However, this costs a lot. Unless a new method to obtain pure hydrogen is discovered, this plan will meet a stall in cost problems.