Characteristics

• Hydrogen is a lightweight element that consists of a high energy content. It requires four times the amount of hydrogen to produce the same energy as gasoline. Hydrogen must be in a liquid form when using this fuel source for transportation needs.
  
  

Vehicles

• Liquid hydrogen can be used in hydrogen combustion engines. Since hydrogen infrastructure is not widely available, this could create problems for refueling hydrogen vehicles that have large engines that consume a lot of fuel. The hybrid engine would allow gasoline to operate the vehicle if hydrogen is not available.
  
  

Modification

• Gasoline-based engines can be modified and not necessarily redesigned to be used with with hydrogen fuel.
  
  

Fuel Cells

• Hydrogen and oxygen are the elements used in fuel cells to create electricity to power a vehicle. This form of fueling power is available for transport vehicles and the only byproducts that this type of fuel creates is water and heat.
  
  

History

• The earliest vehicles to run on hydrogen were German autos in the late 19th century. By World War II, Germany was using thousands of hydrogen-fueled vehicles. After the oil embargo of 1973, the U.S., Europe and Japan started to develop hydrogen-fueled vehicles. Fuel cell vehicles were first tested in 1993 and hydrogen technology is still being developed.