There are hydrogen fuel cars on the roads of some cities. However there are two ways in which hydrogen can be utilized to power cars. The first way is to use hydrogen to actually power the internal combustion engine, in much the same way as numerous cars use Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG). The second way is to use the reaction of hydrogen with oxygen in fuel cells as a battery, which makes the car a form of electric car.

The dream of creating hydrogen in the car while driving along by electrolyzing water is still some way off, so we are still at the stage of batteries and filling the tank with hydrogen gas. This is the nub of the problem for potential owners and manufacturers. There are only sixteen hydrogen filling stations in Los Angeles and none in 99% of other cities worldwide.

In fact, some of the big name motor manufacturers have pulled out of the race to get the first commercially viable hydrogen powered car on the streets. Ford and GM have announced that they are pulling out in America and so has Renault in France.

However, the Japanese companies are pressing on. In fact, Honda introduced its first hydrogen fuel cell car in 1999. It was known as the FCX and they are now ready with introductory models of the second generation hydrogen cars known as the FCX Clarity. Guess where they are available for sale? The one city in the world? Yes, Los Angeles, because of its filling stations.

Honda says that, they could go into full-scale production of the FCX Clarity by 2020, if the world is prepared for them by then. Hyundai have on-going plans to produce fuel cell (FC) cars and say that they will be in a position to launch full-scale production by 2012. Daimler also announced that they would be manufacturing 100,000 FC vehicles in 2012-2013.

Then there are hydrogen powered buses in several European cities including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid. Porto Stockholm and many more. Lotus, the makers of London taxis, have announced that they intend to introduce a fleet of new, hydrogen powered taxis in time for the London Olympics in 2012.

Consequently, the hydrogen vehicle and the hydrogen passenger car is out there and the numbers will be swelling pretty soon. The buses, mentioned above, go back to their depot, where an electrolyzing machine turns water into fuel for them to fill up on and the same will be the case for lots of of London’s taxis. Regrettably, procuring fuel is not the only problem for the average motorist, a number of of these vehicles, like the FCX Clarity cost about $300,000 each.

However, here are a few interesting facts for those who like trivia. Francois Isaac de Rivaz designed the first hydrogen powered car in 1807 and Paul Dieges filed a US patent for a modification to the internal combustion engine in 1970 which allowed a petrol engine to run on hydrogen and 200 years later we are still trying to get it right.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a number of topics, but is now concerned with how to get Stapletons tyres. If you want to know more, please go to our web site at Car Tyres For Sale.