Hydrogen Energy

Hydrogen Energy is an option for clean and sustainable energy for cars, homes, and businesses; the one problem is like most things, the price tag. Hydrogen Energy is rooted in the use and the science behind hydrogen fuel cells. Hydrogen fuel cells work by taking in hydrogen gas and propelling it through an anode that has a catalyst that will knock off the electrons from the hydrogen atom making it a hydrogen ion. The free electrons are now forced to move through the route of least resistance, the wire since they are blocked by a membrane separating the anode and a cathode that is selectively permeable to only ions. The electron movement through the wire creates a current and thus provides energy to an outside object. Once the electrons have crossed over they meet again with the hydrogen ions and oxygen coming in from the cathode to form one of the waste products of this energy source water.

This form of energy is indeed an interesting one, in that it creates no harmful waste products and requires little to start, however, the issue of needing an outside source of energy to form pure hydrogen to start and continually make the pure hydrogen poses the biggest problem. An improvement or experiment that I’d like to see tested is creating a system or device that utilizes a clean energy like solar/wind/water to propel the process of electrolysis. Also, on a smaller scale, I know that these hydrogen fuel cell systems usually separate the wastewater and the water used for electrolysis; however, I think it would be interesting to see a closed system that somehow uses some of the energy harnessed by the hydrogen to facilitate electrolysis and create a chain system where the waste water becomes the same fuel source water. This would only require an outside starting energy source to start the cycle and would take away the need for hydrogen fueling stations and capsules.