There are two ways for automobile engines to utilize hydrogen fuel. The first is a Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine or HICE. With HICE, hydrogen is injected directly into the combustion chamber and burnt as part of the fuel mixture. With slight modifications, many existing gasoline engines can be converted to run directly on hydrogen.
Another method of using hydrogen is through a fuel cell. With this method, hydrogen and oxygen is injected into a chamber where it reacts with a catalyst to produce electricity. They are very efficient and small fuel cells produce enough electricity to power electric cars. However fuel cells are very expensive to build.
A Hydrogen Fuel Cell produces electricity to power electric cars. An Internal Combustion Hydrogen Engine burns hydrogen directly.
Hydrogen Powered Engines - Development History
The first inventor of the hydrogen engine was Reverend W. Cecil James in 1820. His engine worked in a similar fashion as the steam engine, where he had used hydrogen to drive a piston. Although his design ran satisfactorily with a recorded revolution of 60 cycles per minute, but the explosions caused considerable noise. Forty years later, by 1860, many other gas engines had been developed by other inventors. Some of them had strange designs including double-acting versions where fuel was combusted on both sides of the piston. However none of them had any real commercial success with the main drawback being the excessive gas consumption.
With the discovery of gasoline in the 1860s and the invention of the carburetor in 1893, brought with it a new breakthrough in engineering. Gasoline engines could now be used both practically and safely, causing interest in other fuels to subside.
It was not until the 20th century that interest in hydrogen was again rekindled. It had found many uses including hydrogen filled airships, the hydrogen bomb, experimental hydrogen powered aircraft, and used most extensively in the rocket space program as rocket fuel.
In recent years, however, interest in hydrogen energy peaked at a feverish rate as concern for cleaner air and global warming fueled the search for an alternative energy source to replace fossil fuels. Various car manufacturers took to the challenge and began research and development of hydrogen powered cars.
The early 1990s saw the arrival of the Shelby Cobra, a freelance vehicle conversion project from gasoline to hydrogen power. Other more renowned car manufacturers such as Honda introduced their first prototype, the Honda FCX in 1999. A few years later in 2002, Mercedes Benz introduced their first generation of fuel cell vehicles. By 2004, Peugeot had joined this elite group and at the same time BMW’s Hydrogen Powered program produced the first breed of racecars to run on liquid hydrogen.
A 1965 Ford Shelby Cobra Hydrogen Powered BMW H2R
Today, hydrogen powered prototypes and concept cars are being developed by Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Fiat, General Motors, Ford, Peugeot, Chrysler and other less prominent manufacturers. Many are approaching commercial viability such as Honda to begin limited marketing of their latest fuel cell vehicle in 2008. General Motors has stated that it can produce a commercially viable model by 2010.
