![]() ![]() It is powered by a polymer electrolyte fuel cell. The Toyota Mirai is that company's premier hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The Mirai, Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle The vehicle made its commercial debut in 2014 and sells for around $60,000. Toyota, for example, as of December 2017, has sold 5,300 of its hydrogen cell fueled Mirai model – about half of them in the U.S. As more such factories are built or retooled, more such vehicles will be produced, and with such quantity comes a reduction in costs to build – and prices at which to sell these cars. Converting other factories and garages and fueling stations from servicing internal combustion engines to hydrogen engines also takes time and money. Gearing up a factory to produce hydrogen-powered vehicles takes time and money. Why hydrogen-powered vehicles cost so much – and why prices are going down Hydrogen, moreover, is found in water, which covers three-fourths of the earth's service. Hydrogen fuel cells are also more efficient at extracting energy than engines fueled by gasoline or diesel fuel. Hydrogen-powered vehicles are also much quieter – almost completely silent – thus they do not produce the noise pollution of internal combustion engines. The only by-product of a hydrogen fuel cell is water – in the form of a liquid or as steam. The emissions from an internal combustion engine are a pollutant. Unlike in an internal combustion engine, in a fuel cell, there is no combustion – nothing is burned. This last type is the one preferred by many automobile makers, including Toyota, which uses that technology in its Mirai.Īdvantages of hydrogen-fuel cells: no pollution, higher efficiency, cheap and endless fuel source ![]() Proton Exchange cells use a thin polymer sheet as the electrode. Solid Oxide cells use a ceramic compound of metal oxides as the catalyst. Phosphoric Acid cells use that material as the electrolyte. Molten carbonate fuel cells use high-temperature compounds of sodium or magnesium carbonate as the electrolyte. Alkali cells use compressed hydrogen and oxygen with potassium hydroxide as the electrolyte. There are several different types of fuel cells. This electric current powers a battery a stack of such batteries powers an electric motor. (It also produces water, which must be drained from the cell, or steam.) The electrically-charged particles are carried from one anode to the other by an electrolyte. The chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen produces an electric current. ![]() The hydrogen enters at one anode (known as the electrode) and oxygen enters at the other anode (the cathode). That electricity is generated when a fuel made up of hydrogen and oxygen react in a chamber. Hydrogen-powered cars are also more efficient, and better for the environment – as they do not pollute.Īutomobiles with hydrogen fuel cells run on electricity. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are thus likely to someday eclipse and eventually replace those that run on petroleum products. Hydrogen fuel cells, however, run on a gas that is found in water – a substance which covers three-fourths of the earth's surface. The earth will eventually run out of fossil fuels, and as it does the cost of the gasoline and diesel fuel that burns in internal combustion engines will rise. There are many reasons why someone would consider driving or buying a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, such as the Toyota Mirai. ![]()
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