Can you generate hydrogen at home? Yes, it’s possible to generate hydrogen in a science fair kind of way by electrolysing water. A liter of water will get you about 111 grams of hydrogen if you can capture it all. A kilogram of hydrogen is the fuel cell car equivalent to a gallon of gas.

In oxygenic photosynthetic microorganisms electrons and protons produced from water and redirected by the photosynthetic electron-transport chain via ferredoxin to the hydrogen-producing enzymes hydrogenase or nitrogenase. By these enzymes, e− and H+ recombine and form molecular hydrogen.

Hydrogen, along with carbon and oxygen, are the three primary elements plants use in the largest amounts, and they perform as the building blocks for plant growth. Hydrogen ions are vital in both aiding proton gradients to help drive the electron transport chain in photosynthesis, and for plant respiration.

Currently, most hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, specifically natural gas. Electricity—from the grid or from renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, or biomass—is also currently used to produce hydrogen. In the longer term, solar energy and biomass can be used more directly to generate hydrogen.

Steam reforming

They’re also more expensive than petrol or diesel. If you want to buy a hydrogen car outright, it’ll cost considerably more than an equivalent petrol or diesel model, for example the Hyundai Nexo will set you back £66,000.

There are currently only three hydrogen fuel cell cars available for UK buyers: Hyundai Nexo and the Toyota Mirai.

Long Answer: The average price of hydrogen for a light-duty fuel cell electric vehicle (passenger car) in California is $16.51 per kilogram, according to the 2019 Joint Agency Report (p17).

We convert petrol engines to run on hydrogen. Types: Two types available, a hydrogen engine conversion for stationary and transport applications. Use: Similar to any standard engine, the only difference being the fuel that is hydrogen. Emissions: No CO2 and very low NOx emissions (and in some cases zero NOx).

LIQUEFACTION: Chilled to near absolute zero, hydrogen gas turns into a liquid containing one-quarter the energy in an equivalent volume of gasoline. The technology is well-proven: For decades, NASA has used liquid hydrogen to power vehicles such as the space shuttle.

The key challenges include: Weight and Volume. The weight and volume of hydrogen storage systems are presently too high, resulting in inadequate vehicle range compared to conventional petroleum fueled vehicles.

Hydrogen is difficult to store because has very low volumetric energy density. It is the simplest and lightest element–it’s lighter than helium. Hydrogen is 3.2 times less energy dense than natural gas and 2700 times less energy dense than gasoline. Hydrogen can be compressed, liquefied, or chemically combined.

When liquid hydrogen is stored in tanks, it’s relatively safe, but if it escapes there are associated hazards. Topping the list of concerns is hydrogen burns. In the presence of an oxidizer — oxygen is a good one — hydrogen can catch fire, sometimes explosively, and it burns more easily than gasoline does.

In the future, fuel cells could power our cars, with hydrogen replacing the petroleum fuel that is used in most vehicles today. If pure hydrogen is used as a fuel, fuel cells emit only heat and water as a byproduct. Hydrogen-powered fuel cells are also far more energy efficient than traditional combustion technologies.

The main issue, according to Fenske, is that batteries simply aren’t as energy dense as gasoline. That means more space is required to hold a given amount of energy with batteries than with good old dinosaur juice. A gallon of gasoline is equivalent to 33.7 kilowatt-hours of energy, according to Fenske.

The fuel cell stacks are designed to last the lifetime of the vehicle, about 150,000–200,000 miles. At the end of its lifespan, the fuel cell will be disassembled and the materials recycled, similar to what happens with vehicle components today.

Hydrogen fuel cells are a clean, reliable, quiet, and efficient source of high-quality electric power. They use hydrogen as a fuel to drive an electrochemical process that produces electricity, with water and heat as the only by-products.

Hydrogen is not expected to cause mutagenicity, embryotoxicity, teratogenicity or reproductive toxicity. Pre-existing respiratory conditions may be aggravated by overexposure to hydrogen. Inhalation risk: On loss of containment, a harmful concentration of this gas in the air will be reached very quickly.