Cars of the Future

Today the phrase “Going Green” is tossed around a lot and is forcing several companies and businesses to find new ways of producing energy, by reducing their carbon footprint. The first industry that was hit hard by the environmental crisis was the automobile industry. Emissions from automobiles are one of the biggest factors that are harming the environment and are responsible for about 33% of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions (Going Green with Hydrogen). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set regulations that would require all automobiles to have a minimum fuel economy as well as limit the amount of CO2 that was emitted from a vehicle. In 1999, Honda released the world’s first hybrid electric car, the Honda Insight. In 2008, Honda came up with another way to help reduce the carbon footprint of a vehicle and released the Honda FCX Clarity, a hydrogen fuel cell car (About Fuel Cells). Even though hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell cars both reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, hydrogen fuel cell cars seem to be a more logical choice for the future. Hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells bring something new to the automobile market, their impact on the environment, refueling and dependence on foreign oil. Today, the most important thing to look at would be the car’s impact on the environment.
In the hydrogen fuel cell cars, the fuel cells take the hydrogen fuel and convert it into energy. As a by-product of this process, only water and heat are emitted from the car causing no harm to the environment (About Fuel Cells). Like hydrogen fuel cell cars, hybrids help to reduce the amount of CO2 emitted into the air, it reduces emissions by 25% to 35% (Dunn). In hybrid cars, a gasoline engine much like the one of a normal car can be found. Both types of cars have increased fuel economy, this does not only mean a decrease in the times you will need to visit the pump but it also decreases the amount of gas that is burned into the air. For hybrid vehicles, the estimated average fuel economy is 35 mpg, while the hydrogen fuel cars get an estimated average of 70 miles per kilogram (About Fuel Cells). While looking at these types of cars, the fuel economy and impact on the environment may look great, but when it comes to refueling, there is something a little different.
Though both the hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell cars lower the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the air, they both differ when it comes to refueling. Currently there are only 36 hydrogen fueling stations in the United States alone and a majority of them are located in the state of California. While normal gasoline is dispensed by the gallon, hydrogen fuel is dispensed by kilogram and takes only minutes to refuel. There is also talk about creating a “Home Energy Station” in which you can refuel your hydrogen fuel cell car right at home. The Home Energy Station converts natural gases into hydrogen that can be used for refueling a car as well as providing heat and electricity throughout the home (About Fuel Cells). Hybrid cars use a combination of gasoline and batteries to power the car. The batteries in a hybrid can be recharged either while using the brake pedal while driving, at an at-home recharging station, or now several parking garages in large cities have designated parking for hybrid vehicles so that they can recharge their battery. These two types of automobiles also impact our dependence on foreign oil.
The reason the United States imports so much oil is because most of the cars and trucks in the country use gasoline in order to run the vehicle. Currently, the U.S. imports 55% of the oil it uses by consumers and that number is expected to rise by 10% by the year 2025. By utilizing hydrogen fuel cell automobiles, the United States will eliminate its dependence on foreign oil. Hydrogen fuel can be created from natural gases, coal, liquefied petroleum gas, and even water by using the process of electrolysis. Hydrogen fuel also has the highest energy content per unit of weight compared to gasoline (U.S. Department of Energy). With hybrid vehicles, even though we are decreasing our CO2 emissions and increasing our fuel economy, we still need gasoline to power hybrids and therefore we are still dependent on foreign oil.
Automobiles are one of the top sources of CO2 pollution into the air. Hydrogen fuel cell cars will help reduce the carbon footprint greatly, though changes will not be noticed now, they will be surely noticed in the long run. Hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell cars are two types of automobiles that will help eliminate the amount of CO2 in the air, however, hydrogen powered cars are the best choice for the future. With the Home Energy Station currently in the works, consumers will be able to refuel their vehicle without ever leaving their garage and at the same supplying heat and electricity to the home. It will not be long before automobile manufacturers start to mass produce hydrogen powered cars and helping to reduce their carbon footprint worldwide. Hydrogen fuel cells cars are clean, fuel efficient cars of the future.