Key points
Hydrogen is an element; it exists naturally as a molecule. Each hydrogen molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms.
In hydrogen cars hydrogen reacts with oxygen in a fuel cell, making electricity to run the car. The only waste product of this process is water vapour.
In petrol and diesel cars, the burning of fuel produces carbon dioxide and water. Extra carbon dioxide in the air promotes global warming.
How is hydrogen used?
A short video explaining how hydrogen can be used to fuel cars.
Like petrol, hydrogen burns explosively in air.
But unlike petrol, which produces polluting greenhouse gases, when hydrogen is burned for fuel its only waste product is water.
What’s under the bonnet of hydrogen-powered cars is very different from a petrol engine.
Hydrogen is put into the tank instead of petrol.
The hydrogen passes through a fuel cell, where it combines with oxygen to make water.
This process generates electricity to turn the wheels, and the water waste is a harmless by-product.
Is hydrogen a natural element?
Hydrogen is one of the chemical A pure substance which is made from only one type of atom. Elements are listed on the periodic table. that exist in nature. An element has one type of The smallest particle of an element. We often think of atoms as tiny spheres, but in fact they are made from smaller particles called protons, neutrons and electrons., and it cannot be broken down into other substances.
Hydrogen exists naturally as a Two or more atoms which are strongly bonded together. The smallest particle of a substance that has all of the physical and chemical properties of that substance., consisting of two hydrogen atoms. The chemical formula of hydrogen is H₂.
A model of a spinning molecule of hydrogen.
Hydrogen as fuel
Most cars burn petrol or diesel in their engines. These chemical reactions make carbon dioxide and water. Carbon dioxide is a Gases such as water vapour, carbon dioxide, and methane in the Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat., which means too much of it can promote The increase in Earth’s average temperature, caused mainly by the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.. Global warming causes climate change, resulting in droughts, floods and extreme weather.
Hydrogen cars help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They either burn hydrogen in an engine or they react both hydrogen and oxygen together in a fuel cell. Both processes produce electricity which powers an electric motor. Hydrogen cars produce one harmless exhaust gas – water vapour.
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