A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel and an oxidizing agent into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requiring a continuous source of fuel and oxygen to sustain the chemical reaction, whereas in a battery the chemical energy usually comes from substances that are already present in the battery. Fuel cells can produce electricity continuously for as long as fuel and oxygen are supplied.
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs include road and rail vehicles, electric boats and underwater vessels, electric aircraft and electric spacecraft.
A zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) is a vehicle that does not emit exhaust gas or other pollutants from the onboard source of power. The California definition also adds that this includes under any and all possible operational modes and conditions. This is because under cold-start conditions for example, internal combustion engines tend to produce the maximum amount of pollutants. In a number of countries and states, transport is cited as the main source of greenhouse gases (GHG) and other pollutants. The desire to reduce this is thus politically strong.
The hydrogen economy is an umbrella term for the roles hydrogen can play alongside low-carbon electricity to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The aim is to reduce emissions where cheaper and more energy-efficient clean solutions are not available. In this context, hydrogen economy encompasses the production of hydrogen and the use of hydrogen in ways that contribute to phasing-out fossil fuels and limiting climate change.
A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate electricity generally using oxygen from the air and compressed hydrogen. Most fuel cell vehicles are classified as zero-emissions vehicles. As compared with internal combustion vehicles, hydrogen vehicles centralize pollutants at the site of the hydrogen production, where hydrogen is typically derived from reformed natural gas. Transporting and storing hydrogen may also create pollutants. Fuel cells have been used in various kinds of vehicles including forklifts, especially in indoor applications where their clean emissions are important to air quality, and in space applications. Fuel cells are being developed and tested in trucks, buses, boats, ships, motorcycles and bicycles, among other kinds of vehicles.
Anglo American plc is a British multinational mining company with headquarters in London, England. It is the world's largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output, as well as being a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore, polyhalite and steelmaking coal. The company has operations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America.
Synthetic fuel or synfuel is a liquid fuel, or sometimes gaseous fuel, obtained from syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, in which the syngas was derived from gasification of solid feedstocks such as coal or biomass or by reforming of natural gas.
Aircraft engines produce gases, noise, and particulates from fossil fuel combustion, raising environmental concerns over their global effects and their effects on local air quality. Jet airliners contribute to climate change by emitting carbon dioxide, the best understood greenhouse gas, and, with less scientific understanding, nitrogen oxides, contrails and particulates. Their radiative forcing is estimated at 1.3–1.4 that of CO2 alone, excluding induced cirrus cloud with a very low level of scientific understanding. In 2018, global commercial operations generated 2.4% of all CO2 emissions.
A hydrogen-powered aircraft is an aeroplane that uses hydrogen fuel as a power source. Hydrogen can either be burned in a jet engine or another kind of internal combustion engine, or can be used to power a fuel cell to generate electricity to power an electric propulsor. It cannot be stored in a traditional wet wing, and hydrogen tanks have to be housed in the fuselage or be supported by the wing.
The Toyota FCHV is a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicle development programme of the Toyota Motor Corporation, which was leased to a limited number of drivers in the United States and Japan beginning in 2002. The Toyota FCHV and Honda FCX, which began leasing on 2 December 2002, became the world's first government-certified commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Its first commercial fuel cell vehicle was developed from the FCHV-4, which was adapted from the Toyota Highlander body. "FCHV" stands for "Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle". A number of prototypes have been produced, up to the latest FCHV-adv ("advanced").
The United States produced 5.2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2020, the second largest in the world after greenhouse gas emissions by China and among the countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions per person. In 2019 China is estimated to have emitted 27% of world GHG, followed by the United States with 11%, then India with 6.6%. In total the United States has emitted a quarter of world GHG, more than any other country. Annual emissions are over 15 tons per person and, amongst the top eight emitters, is the highest country by greenhouse gas emissions per person.
A fuel cell bus is a bus that uses a hydrogen fuel cell as its power source for electrically driven wheels, sometimes augmented in a hybrid fashion with batteries or a supercapacitor. The only emission from the bus is water. Several cities around the world have trialled and tested fuel cell buses, with over 5,600 buses in use worldwide, the majority of which are in China.
In transportation, the original (2003) generic term "hydrail" includes hydrogen trains, zero-emission multiple units, or ZEMUs — generic terms describing rail vehicles, large or small, which use on-board hydrogen fuel as a source of energy to power the traction motors, or the auxiliaries, or both. Hydrail vehicles use the chemical energy of hydrogen for propulsion, either by burning hydrogen in a hydrogen internal combustion engine, or by reacting hydrogen with oxygen in a fuel cell to run electric motors, as the hydrogen fuel cell train. Widespread use of hydrogen for fueling rail transportation is a basic element of the proposed hydrogen economy. The term has been used by research scholars and technicians around the world.
A hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicle (HICEV) is a type of hydrogen vehicle using an internal combustion engine. Hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles are different from hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Instead, the hydrogen internal combustion engine is simply a modified version of the traditional gasoline-powered internal combustion engine. The absence of carbon means that no CO2 is produced, which eliminates the main greenhouse gas emission of a conventional petroleum engine.
Environmental design is an emerging topic in railroad technology. From the 1980s to 2009, fuel efficiency in diesel locomotives in the USA has increased 85%, allowing these trains to go farther and move more freight while using less fuel. New low-impact electric and hybrid trains reduce overall carbon emissions. Also, train manufacturers have started utilizing hydrogen technology for propulsion, with carbon emissions only coming from the manufacturing of the hydrogen itself.
There are 3,826 hybrid buses, 1,397 battery electric buses, and 20 hydrogen fuel cell buses operating in London, as of March 2024, out of a total bus fleet of 8,776 – this is around 60% of the bus fleet.
Hyzon Motors Inc. is an American automotive company based in Rochester, New York. Hyzon develops and manufactures hydrogen fuel cell systems and supplies zero-emission heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles. It has offices in Chicago, Detroit, Groningen, Melbourne (Australia), and Shanghai. With 87 fuel cell electric vehicles delivered in 2021, Hyzon leads OEMs in fuel cell heavy truck deployments.
The environmental impact of bitcoin is significant. Bitcoin mining, the process by which bitcoins are created and transactions are finalized, is energy-consuming and results in carbon emissions, as about half of the electricity used is generated through fossil fuels. Moreover, bitcoins are mined on specialized computer hardware with a short lifespan, resulting in electronic waste. The amount of e-waste generated by bitcoin mining is comparable to that generated by the Netherlands. Scholars argue that bitcoin mining could support renewable energy development by utilizing surplus electricity from wind and solar. Bitcoin's environmental impact has attracted the attention of regulators, leading to incentives or restrictions in various jurisdictions.
Zero Emission Industries, Inc. (ZEI) is an American hydrogen technology company founded in 2018 and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. Previously known as Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine, ZEI designs and manufactures hydrogen fuel cell power systems and hydrogen refueling solutions with a focus on maritime applications.
