News:Recently,the Supreme Court has directed the government to look into the feasibility of introducing vehicles based on a hydrogen cell technology to deal with air pollution in Delhi.
Facts:
About Hydrogen Fuel Cells:
- Fuel cells generate electricity through an electrochemical process.It converts chemical energy in fuels into electrical energy.
- It combines hydrogen and oxygen to generate an electric current with water being the only byproduct.
- The fuel cell promises power generation with high efficiency and low environmental impact.
Difference between Fuel Cells and Electric Vehicles:
- Fuel cells generate electricity through an electrochemical process unlike electric vehicle, it does not store energy and instead relies on a constant supply of fuel and oxygen.
- The internal combustion engine of the fuel cell relies on a constant supply of petrol or diesel, and oxygen.Hence,it may be seen as being similar to a conventional internal combustion engine than electric vehicles.
Advantages of Fuel Cell:
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions
- High Reliability
- Flexibility in installation and operation
- Development of renewable energy resources
- Reduced demand for foreign oil
- Improved environmental quality
Disadvantages of Fuel Cell:
- They are expensive
- Hydrogen is Highly flammable.
- Hydrogen is very hard to move around.Hence,just moving even small amounts of Hydrogen is a very expensive matter.
- The process of making hydrogen needs energy often from fossil fuel sources.This has raised questions over hydrogen’s green credentials.
Additional information:
Japan’s initiative on Hydrogen fuel Cell in Olympics:
- The Japan government has decided to use the Olympics event to introduce the world to the Japan’s state-of-the-art technology in the field of hydrogen Fuel Cell.
- It will be using hydrogen-powered vehicles and buses for official vehicles and powering the Olympic village with hydrogen.In doing so,Japan aims to promote a Hydrogen-based Society.
