Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in Transport

This chapter reviews the several applications of hydrogen and fuel cells in transport. Early fuel cell markets have tested hydrogen for auxiliary power applications, but other fuels such as methanol, natural gas, and propane have been preferred because they are more available. Until now, the best successes have been forklifts where battery propulsion can be inflexible and hydrogen competes economically. However, the mainstream medium-term market is in buses, taxis, and fleet vehicles with passenger cars following close behind as the infrastructure of hydrogen filling stations becomes more widespread. It is becoming clear that the hybrid fuel cell/battery combination works best in such fleets because there is a need for batteries or supercapacitors providing pulse power and also for regenerative braking. Boats and ships represent a possible application in later years if the leisure market can be tapped and extended. In ports, fuel cell auxiliary power has already proved attractive in terms of emission reductions, and the same is true for airports. Aircraft applications will take longer to develop fully but small lightweight planes are using hydrogen at the present time because it can be generated via solar cells on the wings. Unmanned air vehicles driven by fuel cells are more likely to use propane because such lightweight fuel is easily available