Hydrogen fuel cells haven’t gained much momentum till date, but at a time when world faces an impending energy crisis, they are our biggest hope. Taking this belief of experts a step further, students of the Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, have developed world’s first student-built hydrogen-powered racing car that will participate in Formula Student, an international educational motorsport event in which students from over 500 universities will participate to showcase their engineering skills.
The car, named Forze IV, has been developed by Delft’s hydrogen race team Forze which has 50 student members. According to the Forze team manager, Wouter Krul, the top speed of the car is 120kph and it can accelerate just as fast as a Porsche. The new car is larger, has a complex suspension system and uses a new hydrogen fuel cell system.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program, the hydrogen fuel cells are two to three times more efficient than the traditional combustion engines. Still, baring a few examples like Forge IV, there has not been much positive development in the regular use of hydrogen fuel cells. In 2008, BMW started the limited production of a hydrogen powered car for a small section of people after tests on a BMW Hydrogen 7 demonstration vehicle revealed that it performs better than super-ultra low-emission vehicle standards.
The commercial viability of the hydrogen fuel cells remains to be tested. The biggest hurdle is the unavailability of hydrogen refueling centers. Secondly, according to an assessment by the researchers at MIT, it takes a lot of energy in producing hydrogen from hydrocarbon fuels even though the vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells have zero emissions and use less energy while on the road.
Via: Science Daily
