Jitendra Singh, the Union Minister of state for science and technology, inaugurated a hydrogen fuel cell bus that KPIT-CSIR in Pune has developed. The hydrogen fuel cell produces just heat and water while generating electricity using hydrogen and air.
Hydrogen and oxygen atoms are combined to create power in hydrogen fuel cells like the one on the bus. In an electrochemical cell resembling a traditional battery cell, the two gases react to produce electricity, water, and minuscule amounts of heat. Electric motors then use this energy to move the car forward.
The US Department of Energy claims that while fuel cells function similarly to the typical batteries used in electric vehicles, they don’t run out of charge and don’t require an electrical source to recharge them. As long as there is hydrogen available, they can keep making electricity. Anode (negative electrode) and cathode (positive electrode) are sandwiched around an electrolyte in a fuel cell, just like in conventional cells.
Hydrogen fuel cell electric cars (FCEV) have zero tailpipe emissions as its main benefit. They only release warm air and water vapour. They are more effective than cars with internal combustion engines, which is another benefit.
In terms of refuelling time, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles have an additional benefit over battery-powered electric vehicles, making them more useful for use in public transit. A battery-powered electric bus could require hours to charge, even with the quickest charging methods. In contrast, a fuel cell vehicle can refuel with hydrogen in a matter of minutes, which is comparable to how quickly an internal combustion engine can be refuelled with fossil fuels.
For battery-powered personal vehicles, this drawback might not be a significant problem, but for buses and other public transportation, it might mean that a key asset is out of commission for a significant portion of the day while it is being charged.
The use of battery-powered electric vehicles does not imply that the vehicles produce no emissions, but rather that they do not emit any tailpipe emissions, which is an important distinction to make. These vehicles do produce a significant amount of emissions due to their use because the bulk of the power in the nation is produced using fossil fuels, and the largest source of hydrogen in the world right now is also a fossil fuel.
But just as we are going toward renewable sources of energy for electricity, we might do the same for hydrogen generation in the future. Therefore, even if these vehicles currently do contribute to emissions, the fuel they require might be generated using sustainable techniques like solar and wind energy.
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