CHAPTER ONE THE QUIET ALTERNATIVE As the car zips down the highway it is quiet There is no grumble of a gasoline-powered engine The exhaust does not spew out dirty smoke The only sound is the tires on the road This is not some magical car of the future It simply uses a hydrogen fuel cell instead of gasoline A hydrogen fuel cell creates electricity from hydrogen gas This electricity powers the car Cars that use Cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells look just like their gasoline counterparts from the outside 5
gasoline emit carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas It contributes to climate change Hydrogen fuel cell cars however have no dangerous emissions The only by-product of a hydrogen engine is water These cars can be an environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline cars By the 2010s many cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells were in testing A few were already driving around cities But they were a long way from becoming available for everyday consumers Hydrogen Fuel on the Rise The idea of using hydrogen to power vehicles goes back to the 1700s At that time The First Hydrogen Flight In 1783 the first hydrogen balloon climbed into the sky French physicist Jacques Charles had watched other attempts to lift balloons with heated air Charles decided to use hydrogen instead His balloon climbed to more than 3,000 feet 900 m It floated along for 15 miles 24 km More than a century before the first airplane the balloon carried passengers into the sky 6
Under the hood cars powered by fuel cells differ significantly from fossil fuel cars 7
