A process known as reverse electrolysis takes place in a fuel cell. Hydrogen reacts with oxygen in the process. The hydrogen comes from one or more tanks in the car while the oxygen comes from the ambient air. The only things this reaction produces are electrical energy, heat and water, which exits through the exhaust as water vapor – with no emissions at all.
The electricity generated in the fuel cell takes two routes, depending on what the specific driving situation demands. It flows to the electric motor and directly drives the vehicle, and/or it charges a battery that acts as temporary storage until the energy is needed for the drive. This “buffer” battery is significantly smaller than the battery of an all-electric car – meaning it’s also lighter. It’s also being constantly recharged by the fuel cell.
Like other e-cars (➜ Read also: All about charging e-cars), hydrogen vehicles can also recover or “recuperate” braking energy. In this process, the electric motor converts the car’s kinetic energy back into electrical energy and feeds it into the buffer battery.
Hydrogen cars are powered by an electric motor and are therefore classified as e-cars. The common abbreviation is FCEV, short for “Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle” – in contrast to battery-powered electric cars, or Battery Electric Vehicles, BEV for short.
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2. The pros and potential of hydrogen cars
- Hydrogen cars are powered purely by electricity and drive with zero local emissions. The driving experience is therefore similar to that of electric cars. Namely: dynamic, virtually silent acceleration, since electric motors provide their full torque even at low speeds (➜ Read also: All about torque in cars).
- The main pro – and the biggest competitive advantage – is the short refueling time. Unlike the charging time of e-cars, which are dependent on both the model and infrastructure, it just takes three to four minutes to refill the hydrogen tank of a BMW iX5 Hydrogen (pilot fleet). This brings vehicle availability and flexibility into line with those of a regular car
- Hydrogen vehicles have a similar range to e-cars with very large battery storage. A single hydrogen refueling in the BMW iX5 Hydrogen will take you 504 kilometers (according to WLTP (➜ Read also: WLTP explained)). The range of hydrogen vehicles does not depend on the outside temperature, so it does not deteriorate in cold weather.
- Hydrogen drives can help put the infrastructure on a broader footing to meet the increasing demand for electric charging stations for all BEVs. Hydrogen is also one of the most efficient ways to store and transport renewable energy so it plays an important role in the future energy supply.
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FCEVs use the same electric drive as BEVs, but they differ in the way they store energy. This means that marketing hydrogen cars benefits both fuel cell and battery technologies in equal measure – which will reduce costs for all in the long term.
There is one crucial difference to other electric vehicles: hydrogen vehicles produce the electricity themselves. This means that their power does not come from a built-in battery, as is the case with purely electric vehicles or plug-in hybrid vehicles, which can be charged from an external power source (➜ Read also:
All types of electric cars). Instead, hydrogen cars effectively have their own efficient power plant on board, which converts the hydrogen in the fuel tank into electricity. And this power plant is the fuel cell.
Reference : https://www.bmw.com/en/innovation/how-hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-work.html
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