Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Automobile’s Future

Amey Gugale And Anuj Wadekar

Gharda institute of technology,khed.

sustainable development implies smooth transition to more

Abstract— effective technologies from a point view of an
This paper discusses some crucial energetic, environmental environmental impact and energy efficiency. new hydrogen
and sustainability issues and the role of hydrogen and fuel cell powered fuel cell technologies in both its high and low-
technologies as one of the potential solutions to these issues. temperature derivatives are more effective and cleaner than
The commercialization plans in various industrialized conventional energy technologies, and can be considered
countries (USA, Canada, Japan, etc.) for these technologies
one of the pillars of a future sustainable energy system.
have started by identifying the most likely early markets for
hydrogen as an energy carrier and fuel cells as power Future perspectives for fuel cells and develop a long-term
producing devices from micro- to macro-applications, and set hydrogen-based scenario of the global energy system. The
realistic near-term and mid-term goals for selected market key role of hydrogen in a long-term transition towards a
penetration. The plans outline the major barriers to achieving clean and sustainable energy future. Hydrogen from
those goals and recommends activities to capitalize on the renewable, coupled with fuel cell generation on demand,
incentives and overcome the market barriers. The paper also provides an elegant and complementary solution to this
presents possible future hydrogen energy-utilization patterns
problem. Therefore, it is suggested that not only are fuel
for better environment and sustainable development, and
shows how the principles of thermodynamics via energy can cells a future economically competitive option for
be beneficially used to evaluate hydrogen and fuel cell systems sustainable energy conversion, they are also a
and their role in sustainability. Throughout the paper, complementary option in the sustainable energy system of
current and future perspectives regarding thermodynamics the future. The main goal of this paper is to discuss the role
and sustainable development are considered. of hydrogen and fuel cell systems for sustainable future,
. and present a case study on the life cycle assessment of fuel
cell vehicles from energy, environment, and sustainability
I. INTRODUCTION points of views. The role of energy in performance
assessment and sustainability achievement is also
Energy is a key element of the interactions between discussed.
nature and society and is considered a key input for the
environment and sustainable development. Environmental [Link] FACTS
and sustainability issues span a continuously growing range
of pollutants, hazards. Some of these concerns arise from
observable, chronic effects on, for instance, human health.
Many environmental issues are caused by or related to the
production, transformation, and use of energy, for example,
acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion, and global climate
change. Recently, a variety of potential solutions to the
current environmental problems associated with the
harmful pollutant emissions has evolved. Hydrogen energy
systems appear to be the one of the most effective solutions
and can play a significant role in providing better
environment and sustainability.
In the literature, there have been limited studies on
sustainability aspects of hydrogen energy criteria
comprising performance, environment, market, and social Figure 1. Evolution of global market shares of different final energy
indicators the assessment procedure is adapted for the Carriers for the period 1990-2100.
assessment of the selected options of the hydrogen energy
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) have a significant
systems and their comparison with new and renewable
potential to reduce emissions from the transportation sector,
energy systems. Pointed on that sustainable development,
because they do not emit any greenhouse gases (GHGs)
although a widely used phrase and idea, has many different
during vehicle operation. Their lifecycle GHG emissions
meanings and therefore provokes many different responses.
depend on how the hydrogen fuel is made.
In broad terms, the concept of sustainable development is
an attempt to combine growing concerns about a range of  A future mid-size car in the 2035-2045 time
environmental issues with socio-economic issues. The frame, powered by fuel cells and using
 hydrogen generated from natural gas, is described below, are combined in series to make a fuel cell
projected to have lifecycle GHG emissions stack. There are several different types of fuel cells, each of
slightly lower than that for a hybrid electric which is suited for a different application. Fuel cells are
vehicle (HEV), powered by gasoline. A fuel typically grouped according to their operating temperature
cell vehicle would produce 200 grams of carbon and the type of electrolyte used. The amount of power
dioxide-equivalent per mi (CO2e/mi), generated by a fuel cell is determined by several factors
compared to 235g CO2e/mi for a HEV. An including fuel cell type, size, operating temperature, and
FCV would have near-zero lifecycle GHG pressure at which the gases are supplied to the cell. The
emissions if the hydrogen were made, for most common type of fuel cell used in FCVs is polymer
example, from electrolysis powered by electrolyte membrane (PEM). A fuel cell is composed of
renewable electricity. an electrolyte, placed between an anode (a negative
 Several major hurdles to commercial electrode) and a cathode (a positive electrode), with bipolar
deployment must be overcome before any plates on either side. A fuel cell works as follows:
environmental benefits from FCVs are realized.  First, the hydrogen gas flows to the anode.
These challenges include the production, Here, a platinum catalyst is used to separate the
distribution, and storage of hydrogen; fuel cell hydrogen molecule into positive hydrogen ions
technology; and overall vehicle cost. (protons) and negatively charged electrons.
 The PEM allows only the protons to pass
III. BACKGROUND through to the cathode, while the electrons
travel through an external circuit to the cathode.
Hydrogen FCVs are a potential option for reducing The flow of electrons through this circuit
emissions from the transportation sector. Combusting fossil creates the electric current (or electricity) used
fuels to power conventional vehicles releases GHG to power the vehicle motor.
emissions and other pollutants from the vehicle exhaust  On the other side of the cell, oxygen gas,
system. In addition, there are also emissions associated usually drawn from the outside air, flows to the
with producing petroleum-based fuels. FCVs emit no cathode.
tailpipe GHGs or other pollutants during vehicle operation,  When the electrons return from the external
and depending on how hydrogen is produced, there can be circuit, the positively charged hydrogen ions
substantially lower upstream GHG emissions associated and electrons react with oxygen in the cathode
with producing hydrogen fuel. to form water, which then flows out of the cell.
Fuel cells are already used to generate electricity for The cathode also uses a platinum catalyst to
other applications, including in spacecraft and in stationary enable this reaction.
uses, such as emergency power generators. Although the
concept of a fuel cell was developed in England in the
1800s, the first workable fuels cells were not produced until
much later, in the 1950s. During this time, interest in fuel
cells increased, as NASA began searching for ways to
generate power for space flights.

IV. DESCRIPTION
FCVs resemble normal gasoline or diesel-powered
vehicles from the outside. Similar to EVs, they use
electricity to power a motor that propels the vehicle. Yet
unlike EVs, which are powered by a battery, FCVs use
electricity produced from on-board fuel cells to power the
vehicle.
Figure [Link] working of hydrogen fuel cell.
An FCV includes four major components:
1. Fuel cell stack: The fuel cell is an electrochemical 2. Hydrogen storage tank: Instead of a gasoline or diesel
device that produces electricity using hydrogen and tank, an FCV has a hydrogen storage tank. The hydrogen
oxygen. In very simple terms, a fuel cell uses a catalyst to gas must be compressed at extremely high pressure at 5,000
split hydrogen into protons and electrons, the electrons then to 10,000 pounds per square inch (psi) to store enough fuel
travel through an external circuit (thus creating an electric to obtain adequate driving range. In comparison,
current), and the hydrogen ions and electrons react with compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles use high-pressure
oxygen to create water. To obtain enough electricity to tanks at only 3,000 to 3,600 psi. FCVs can also be powered
power a vehicle, individual fuel cells, like the one by a secondary fuel – e.g., methanol, ethanol, or natural gas
– which is converted into hydrogen onboard the vehicle.
Vehicles powered through a secondary fuel emit some air VI. HYDROGEN PRODUCTION PATHWAYS
pollutants during operation due to the conversion process.
3. Electric motor and power control unit: The power
control unit governs flow of electricity in the vehicle. By
drawing power from either the battery or the fuel cell stack,
it delivers electric power to the motor, which then uses the
electricity to propel the vehicle.
4. Battery: Like HEVs, FCVs also have a battery that
stores electricity generated from regenerative braking and
increasing the overall efficiency of the [Link] size and
type of these batteries, similar to those in HEVs, will
depend on the “degree of hybridization” of the vehicle, i.e.,
Figure 4. Availability of hydrogen
how much of the power to propel the vehicle comes from
the battery and how much comes from the fuel cell stack. Natural gas: Nearly all of the hydrogen used in the
United
States (95 percent) is produced through a process called
steam methane reforming. This process breaks down
methane (CH4), a hydrocarbon, into hydrogen and carbon
dioxide (CO2). The methane in natural gas is reacted with
water (in the form of high-temperature steam) to produce
carbon monoxide and hydrogen. These gases are reacted
with water again, in a process called a water shift reaction,
to produce more hydrogen and CO2.
Electrolysis: In electrolysis, an electric current is used to
split water into hydrogen and oxygen’Net GHG emissions
from electrolysis for hydrogen production depend on the
source of the electricity used.
Figure 3. Reaction in hydrogen fuel cell With nuclear high-temperature electrolysis, the
efficiency of the process increases. In this type of
[Link] BENEFIT/EMISSION REDUCTION electrolysis, the heat from the nuclear reactor is used to
POTENTIAL increase the water temperature and thereby reduce the
amount of electricity needed for electrolysis.
Because FCVs are more energy efficient than vehicles High-Temperature Thermochemical Water-Splitting:
powered by gasoline and because hydrogen as a This is another water-splitting method that uses high
transportation fuel can have much lower lifecycle GHG temperatures from nuclear reactors or from solar
emissions than fossil fuels, FCVs have the potential to concentrators to generate a series of chemical reactions that
dramatically reduce GHG emissions and other air pollutants split water, producing hydrogen. The process is in the early
from the transportation sector. stages of development but considered a potential long-term
FCVs are more energy efficient than gasoline-powered technology, since it is powered by non-GHG emitting
vehicles. A fuel cell uses about 40 to 60 percent of the technologies and yields a very low-carbon hydrogen fuel.
available energy in hydrogen. Internal combustion engines Photobiological and Photoelectrochemical Processes:
use only about 20 percent of the energy available in These processes use energy from sunlight to produce
gasoline, although this is expected to improve over the long hydrogen, although both are currently in early stages of
term. EVs are more efficient than FCVs, using about 75 research. Photobiological processes use microbes, such as
percent of available energy from the batteries. green algae and cyanobacteria. When these microbes
There are two models of FCVs available. The Honda consume water in the presence of sunlight, hydrogen is
FCX Clarity for model has a fuel economy equivalent to produced as a byproduct of their metabolic processes.
60 miles per gallon of gasoline (mpg), while Mercedes- Using special semiconductors and sunlight,
Benz F-Cell has a fuel economy of 53 mpg. photoelectrochemical systems produce hydrogen from
Hydrogen can be produced from fossil fuels (coal and water as well.
natural gas), nuclear, renewable energy technologies (wind, With these levels of market penetration, the study
solar, geothermal, biomass), and hydroelectric power. estimated that gasoline use would decrease by 24 percent in
With biomass gasification or electrolysis, lifecycle 2035 and by nearly 70 percent in 2050, compared to
emissions for an FCV are lower than all other vehicle types, business-as-usual (BAU) levels. GHG emissions for light-
with the exception of EVs recharged using electricity from duty vehicles would decline by 20 percent in 2035 and by
renewable sources. more than 60 percent in 2050, as compared to BAU
levels.23 There are multiple options for reducing GHG commercial success. These are limited by the properties of
emissions from transportation over the long-term. catalysts and available membrane materials. Targets set by
industry aim for an operating life of 5,000-5,500 hours and
17,000 start/stop cycles for a fuel cell system. Achieving
this target would allow FCVs to be competitive with
conventional vehicles in terms of [Link]-board
hydrogen storage: Although hydrogen contains three times
more energy per weight than gasoline, it contains one-third
of the energy per volume. Storing enough hydrogen to
obtain a vehicle range of 300 miles would require a very
large tank, too large for a typical car. Currently the most
cost-effective option is using high-pressure tanks, yet these
systems are large, heavy, and too costly to make FCVs
cost- competitive.
Hydrogen production: Hydrogen can be produced using a
variety of methods, with substantially different GHG
Figure 5. Graphical representation fuels. For FCVs to be competitive as a GHG-reduction
strategy, more development of low-cost and low-GHG
VII. COST hydrogen production methods will be needed.
Distribution infrastructure: There is currently no national
The lowest production costs for an FCV with an 80 system to deliver hydrogen from production facilities to
kilowatt (kW) system with production levels of 500,000 filling stations, similar to that for diesel or gasoline. A
systems a [Link] 2015, the study projected that costs completely new distribution infrastructure will be required
would decrease to $39/kW. The DOE goal for that year is to allow mass market penetration of FCVs.
$30/Kw. Vehicle cost: For FCVs to become cost-competitive,
In addition to system costs, the costs of hydrogen storage high production volumes are needed to make vehicle plus
are still much higher than the target set for fuel costs less than those for a gasoline vehicle.
commercialization Safety and public acceptance: Safety concerns include
Overall vehicle costs are also substantially higher than the pressurized storage of hydrogen on-board vehicles.
that for conventional vehicles. Toyota has announced plans Hydrogen gas is odorless, colorless, and tasteless, and thus
to sell an FCV in 2015 for $50,000, approximately two unable to be detected by human senses. It is also more
times that for a comparable conventional [Link] a 2008 combustible than gasoline.
study, the NAS estimated the average cost of an FCV from
2008 to 2023 at $39,000 per vehicle [Link]
 High energy efficiency.(40-60%)
 No harmful emission so eco-friendly.
[Link] DISTRIBUTION
 Renewable.
 Readily Available.
Currently, there is no infrastructure for distributing
hydrogen, like that for fossil fuels. Because hydrogen has XI. DISADVANTAGES
less energy per unit volume, distribution costs are higher
 Expensive.
than those for gasoline or diesel. Most hydrogen is
produced either on-site or near where it is used, usually at  Production, distribution, and storage of
large industrial sites. It is then distributed by pipeline, high- hydrogen.
pressure tube trailers, or liquefied hydrogen tankers.  Overall vehicle cost.
Pipeline is the least expensive way to distribute hydrogen;  Safety problem.
the last two, while more expensive, can be transported
using different modes of transportation – truck, railcar, XII. REFERENCES
ship, or barge.  [Link]
Building network of pipelines and filling stations for cells/pubs_educational.html
FCVs would require high initial capital costs
 [Link]
[Link]
IX. OBSTACLES TO FURTHER DEVELOPMENT/DEPLOYMENT
 [Link]
[Link]
Fuel cell technology: Significant improvements in fuel
cell durability and costs are needed for FCVs to achieve  [Link]
l,