Fuel cells - the way of the future?

The days of the fossil-fuel-powered combustion engine are not gone, but they are numbered. They may not perish during our lifetime, but the writing is definitely on the wall. Gradually dwindling crude oil reserves and the environmental impact of petrol/diesel-powered motors mean they won't be around forever.

So, what will fill in the void? The smart money is on the hydrogen fuel cell -- a clean form of propulsion that uses the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, which, in turn, powers the electric motor that actually propels the car.

The concept of a fuel cell isn't new (it dates back to 1838), but its application in cars certainly is, and although many manufacturers have experimented with the technology for the past couple of decades, none have taken the plunge and offered it in anything that could be called a mainstream model.

The 1966 GM Electrovan was the automotive industry's first attempt at a vehicle powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. Although it weighed more than twice as much as a normal van, the Electrovan could still attain a speed of 110km/h and it had a range of 200km.

Another fuel-cell milestone was the 2001 Chrysler Natrium (based on a Town & Country minivan), which featured its own onboard hydrogen processor. This system produced hydrogen for the fuel cell by reacting sodium borohydride fuel with borax, both of which Chrysler claimed were abundant in the USA.

General Motors recently announced its plans to have 100 hydrogen-fuel-cell-equipped Equinox SUVs on North American roads before the end of 2007 as part of a public trial, but this doesn't really classify it as a bona fide production vehicle.

GM isn't the only other manufacturer besides Honda in the hydrogen arena, as DaimlerChrysler and Toyota have also announced their intention to start selling fuel-cell cars by 2012 and 2015 respectively.

Just as fuel-cell cars are in their infancy, so too is hydrogen-refuelling infrastructure. The first public hydrogen refueling station opened in Reykjavik, Iceland in April 2003. This station serves three buses built by DaimlerChrysler that are in service in the public transport network of Reykjavík.

The station produces the hydrogen it needs by itself, with an electrolysing unit and it doesn't need refilling as it requires just electricity and water. The station has no roof, in order to allow any leaked hydrogen to escape to the atmosphere. In the subsequent years since then, a small number of hydrogen-refuelling stations have cropped up across the US and Europe.

Fuel-cell vehicles should not be confused with BMW's Hydrogen7 (more here). In the case of the BMW semi-production vehicle, power is provided by a conventional combustion-engine fuelled using hydrogen.

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