A leap forward for technology.
With the fuel cell, the technological complexity is a leap forward: the battery of your car recharges while driving, it is the most virtuous solution. Theoretically.
With the fuel cell, the technological complexity is a leap forward: the battery of your car recharges while driving, it is the most virtuous solution. Theoretically.
Latest news on hydrogen
No problem of autonomy, no endless recharging. Hydrogen, which is used to power what is called a fuel cell, appears as a miracle solution. Especially since this gas, which is abundant on our planet, has the enormous advantage of being three times more energy than gasoline: at equal quantity, its capacity to produce energy is three times higher! On the pollution side, the balance sheet stands out as ideal: in the exhaust, a car with a fuel cell discharges only water. Thus, the painting appears almost too beautiful.
Rare metals
However, there are two brakes. First, this revolutionary fuel cell, whose principle was discovered 180 years ago and whose first application (Nasa satellites) dates back to 1960, remains extremely expensive: for an average car, it costs several dozen thousands of euros. Very sophisticated, it contains rare metals, such as platinum. Second brake: hydrogen, so abundant on earth is never found alone in the natural state, it is always associated with other atoms. It is a component of water. To isolate it from water, it is necessary to implement a complex, expensive and very energy-intensive process.
No "green" hydrogen production
The whole ecological dimension depends on how to produce hydrogen. Good solutions exist: from wastewater and using solar, wind or geothermal energy. But currently, there is no "green" production of hydrogen on a large scale: 95% is obtained with fossil energy, polluting. For Pierre-Étienne Franc, Vice President of Hydrogen Energy at Air Liquide, "the fuel cell is ultimately the best compromise" zero emissions "possible. It combines the comfort of the electric and the ease of the petrol engine: no problem of autonomy, a recharge time of 3-4 minutes. This battery, which charges while you ride, removes all battery faults.
Very expensive stations
The other big question is the storage of this gas. Hydrogen, known for its explosive nature, is scary. Because it is the smallest atom: it can escape through nanoscale openings and is highly flammable. But it has long been used extensively by the industry without a known accident. It will build highly technical stations, estimated at 2 million dollars, ten times the cost of a traditional gas station.
Zero emission
Today, there is a trompe-l'oeil effect linked to the mass of investments needed for hydrogen. But prices will go down. The classic battery only prepares the ground for the future arrival of hydrogen, which appears inevitableAdvantages disadvantages
Advantages: all the advantages of electric and gas combined. Zero pollution at the place of use.
Disadvantages: very expensive technology.
Hydrogen fuel is finished
Hydrogen fuel hydrogen experiment has been abandoned. | BMW
An attempt with hydrogen fuel was made by BMW in 2007, with the large sedan Series 7. One hundred units were built, all leased to US customers handpicked, on an experimental basis. This Hydrogen 7, powered by a 12-cylinder, absorbed 3.5 kg of hydrogen per 100 km. As a result, its 8 kg tank allowed only a little more than 200 km of autonomy with this gas, for significantly lower performance compared to the original model. The engine was also running on gasoline, to compensate for the weakness of its autonomy.
BMW has sliced
Since then, this solution of feeding a reworked conventional engine to absorb liquid hydrogen, under pressure, has been abandoned. BMW will return to hydrogen, but in the form of fuel cell, from 2021. It is this solution that is retained by all the manufacturers working today on hydrogen. The route of hydrogen directly as fuel in an engine seems abandoned
