Hydrogen Combustion Engines: What Are The Benefits?

Let's start with the basics – a car needs power in order to move. Now, the traditional source has been gasoline. But, the need for more sustainable sources of energy has led to new alternatives being discovered. One such potential replacement is the hydrogen combustion engine, where the primary source of energy is hydrogen. The question that has been on the mind of experts is – will hydrogen combustion engines ever become viable enough for common use!

What are hydrogen combustion engines?

Hydrogen combustion engines are primarily traditional combustion engines that have been designed to run on hydrogen instead of gasoline.

Benefits of hydrogen combustion engines

There are various benefits which seem to make a strong case for hydrogen combustion engines:

• The exhaust gas primarily includes water vapor. This is the main reason as to why hydrogen combustion engines are being preferred. Occasionally, there might be some carbon dioxide coming out as residue.
• The thermal efficiency of these engines (around 45%) is much higher than petrol (25-30%) and diesel engines (30-38%).
• These engines that adhere to strict emission laws might have negligible NOx emissions.

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Why these are yet to become viable for use?

There are several challenges that the industry still needs to overcome when it comes to hydrogen combustion engines:

• Large storage space is required for hydrogen tanks, and that substantially adds to the weight of the vehicle increasing risks of wear and tear.
• Since the energy density is so less, the overall power and torque generated by these engines are far less than traditional combustion engines.
• The compression ratio of 40:1 is required, which is extremely hard (petrol only needs 8:1).
• Since the fuel burns so easily, pre-ignition and knocking are major dangers to several engine parts. The engine tends to backfire often too!
• Even though hydrogen has been chosen for lesser emissions, it leaves a higher carbon footprint than traditional fuels that defeat the main purpose of this combustion engine.
• Mass production of hydrogen combustion engines is a costly affair!

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It is pretty clear that the disadvantages or challenges of hydrogen combustion engines outweigh the benefits. That begs the question as to whether these engines are worth it. It seems highly unlikely that these engines will ever come into mass use. But, the alternatives to hydrogen combustion engines, namely, hydrogen cells, can be very much the stepping stone towards the full electrification of vehicles. Hydrogen fuel cells are much more compact and easier to produce while leading to the least number of emissions. The ultimate goal of researchers is to produce vehicles that have zero emissions and are able to provide peak performance with zero-emission fuels. Torque vectoring is actively being developed alongside hydrogen fuel engines to increase the efficiency of EVs!