The city of Los Angeles is home to stunning Pacific beaches, sunsets memorialized in pop lyrics, and an astonishing emissions rate of 176 million tons of CO2 per year. As a city heavily reliant on automobiles, LA is no exception to America’s heavy contributions to global carbon emissions. The rise of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) may dramatically change this. Powered by hydrogen, one of the most abundant elements found in the universe, FCEVs boast a near-zero carbon footprint, a high capacity for long-distance travel, and a quick, efficient charging process. FCEVs’ zero-emission technology has the opportunity to rapidly revolutionize transportation in the forthcoming years. 

FCEVs rely on fuel cell technology, a process that converts hydrogen into the electricity that powers its electric motor. The core of this mystifying process? The fuel cell stack, a complex labyrinth of electrodes and electrolytes. In simple terms, an electrode is a conductor, while an electrolyte facilitates the movement of ions between two electrodes. In FCEVs, electrodes can be classified as either anodes or cathodes: an anode is the site of electron loss, while a cathode oversees the gain of electrons. The cooperation of anodes, cathodes, and electrolytes facilitates electricity production in FCEVs.

Electricity production is powered by the harrowing journey of hydrogen along the fuel cell stack. First, hydrogen molecules reach the anode, where each is split into two protons and electrons, a process known as ionization. Electrolytes are highly exclusive; they facilitate the movement of just positively charged protons into the cathode, a process that produces an electric current. Upon approaching the cathode, the journeying protons combine with oxygen-rich air to produce water, a byproduct of FCEVs’ engines. 

Hydrogen is everywhere, from the air we breathe to the water we drink. Finding hydrogen for FCEVs must be easy then, right? Wrong. The issue with hydrogen is its sociability with other elements; in water, for example, its bonds with oxygen render its natural state unusable. The most common form of hydrogen extraction in the U.S. is a process known as steam methane reforming (SMR). In SMR, methane and steam interact at high temperatures, producing hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide as byproducts. 

As one might expect, the production of CO2 as a byproduct of SMR is highly problematic for the environment, especially for the sake of a “green” technology engineered primarily for its environmental advantages. In fact, compared to regular battery electric vehicles, which utilize a single, simpler step of energy conversion into electricity, FCEVs have a higher carbon footprint than the average Tesla when sourcing hydrogen through SMR. Combined with the higher costs of hydrogen production and the limited availability of hydrogen fueling stations, FCEVs may seem like a poor replacement for our current market of electric vehicles. 

Luckily, there is a promising alternative to SMR. Hydrogen can also be extracted through electrolysis, a renewable energy-powered process in which an electric current passes through water and separates it into hydrogen and oxygen. One version, photoelectrochemical water splitting (PEC), is powered by sunlight. PEC is considered one of the most promising methods of hydrogen production for FCEVs, and its environmentally neutral impacts may prove FCEVs superior to traditional electric vehicles. 

With a recent investment of nearly $50 billion into the production and distribution of clean hydrogen across the U.S., it’s clear that FCEVs are gradually moving toward the forefront of automobile industries. The U.S. isn’t the only country with hydrogen interests; South Korea’s 2020 New Deal outlines investments to achieve nearly 3 million FCEVs on roads by 2040, and the nation aims to eliminate all fossil fuel-based hydrogen production by 2050. By investing in hydrogen and FCEV markets, the U.S. can diversify its energy sources and produce vehicles that are more efficient and environmentally friendly than those dominating the market today. In a catastrophic era of climate change, hydrogen may power us through a new generation of sustainability and innovation.