What are the Advantages of Hydrogen Fuel Cells?

Most people think of hydrogen fuel cells, in these days of soaring petroleum prices, as a possible gas (and therefore money) saver. But answering the question "What are the advantages of hydrogen fuel cells?" extends well beyond their monetary benefits, and hydrogen fuel cells could actually save thousands of lives each year because of their effect on air quality and global warming.

A hydrogen fuel cell, while it functions like a battery, will never run down, so will never need recharged. It will be able to create electrical power and heat as long as it is connected to a source of fuel.
 
The primary advantages of hydrogen fuel cells in vehicles are that they are not only renewable energy sources, but that they create neither carbon nor sulfur emissions. The water vapor which they do emit into the atmosphere actually contains healthy oxygen! As the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere declines, so will the effects of global warming.

• What are the advantages of hydrogen fuel cells when it comes to enewability? 

Another of the major advantages of hydrogen fuel cells is that, unlike fossil fuels, we will never run out of hydrogen. Why?

Because hydrogen is not only the most abundant element in the universe (accounting for 50% of all matter); hydrogen, according to the most advanced physical science research, appears to be generated instantaneously so that the universe is constantly creating more of it. Hydrogen, however, always bonds with other atoms to produce different compounds, and it's by breaking these bonds and releasing the energy in them that hydrogen fuel cells create power.

Hydrogen fuel cells used to operate vehicles can be powered not only by water, but by natural gas, coal (which produces greenhouse gasses), biomass like barnyard waste, and even the waste from landfills. Even the sun and wind can create hydrogen for hydrogen fuel cells.

• What are the advantages of hydrogen fuel cells regarding dependency on foreign oil? 

Mother Nature has provided so many accessible sources of hydrogen, in fact, that no list of the advantages of hydrogen fuel cells would be complete without mentioning that in the US, they are a way out of the dependency of foreign oil.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, if only one of every ten cars in the US ran on a hydrogen fuel cell, oil imports could be slashed by 800,000 barrels per day, or 12%.

What are the advantages of hydrogen fuel cells in terms of their efficiency?
The final of the advantages of hydrogen fuel cells is that they are a far more efficient form of fuel than gasoline. The energy density per unit mass of hydrogen is higher than that of gas, while its energy density per unit volume is lower. Put in layman's terms, you'll be able to drive much further on the same amount of fuel in a car powered with a hydrogen fuel cell than you would in one with a gas powered engine!

The answers to the question, "What are the advantages of hydrogen fuel cells?" are so numerous, in fact, that perhaps the real question should be, "Why are we not taking advantage of the tremendous opportunity hydrogen fuel cells offer?"