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>> Hey Guys! >> Welcome to Sourcefed, I’m Trisha Hershberger
and sometimes I like to nerd out about cars, specifically cars with new tech. And while
Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles aren’t exactly new, mass producing them in the US is! And
that’s exactly what Hyundai is doing this spring with the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell.
>> So for those of you who aren’t familiar with Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles, Imma break
it down. Basically, you fill the tank with compressed Hydrogen (no it’s not a bomb,
we’ll get to that later), that hydrogen is split and becomes energy via the fuel cell,
and the only thing that comes out of the tailpipe is water – pure water – you could drink
it. I mean, it’s steam, but you could try. Pretty cool right? In addition to putting
out zero pollution, the car can run about 300 miles per charge, charge in under 10 minutes,
puts out 134 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque, and hydrogen is readily available in our atmosphere
so we don’t have to worry about it running out.
>> Now Hyundai isn’t the first manufacturer to start making Fuel Cell vehicles. In fact,
Honda has had the FCX Clarity on the road for awhile! But only a few of them and mostly
only if you are a celebrity. I got to drive one once – it was AWESOME. (Picture attached
to this email)
>> So why aren’t fuel cell vehicles available everywhere? Well, like with any new tech,
there are still some things to be worked out. Some people are concerned that driving around
with a tank full of compressed hydrogen could turn a car accident into a mini Hiroshima.
Fortunately, that’s not the case. Hydrogen Fuel Cell tech doesn’t use nuclear fusion
tech like bombs do – so we’re good there. Others question how high the cost is to manufacture
this tech – Good call! You still can’t buy them – they are lease only.
But the prices have come down. The new Tuscon will be $499/mo with 3 grand down – pricey
– but it does include your fuel and maintenance charges. Hmmm? Other downsides include a crappy
infrastructure. To lease any hydrogen vehicles you must live within a certain radius of hydrogen
fueling stations. Supposedly, the infrastructure will expand here in the states, but will the
government be on board with that? There are home fueling station concepts, but they’re
just concepts right now. Also, how to they get the hydrogen for the fueling stations?
>> Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, but to be used as energy, it
must be in it’s purest form. There are many different methods to get hydrogen into this
form, but most of these methods are extremely expensive not to mention some of the methods
can cause pollution thereby canceling out what hydrogen cars are trying to do for the
environment in the first place!
>> So are you pro or anti the advance of hydrogen powered vehicles? I’m not a scientist, so
I don’t have all the answers, but I love the hope that this could be a real, sustainable
energy source. Do you think more research should be done before they are mass produced
or is this a huge stride forward in alternative energy? Let me know your thoughts below.
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