Innovation in the field of sustainable mobility is going further and further, so much so, that there are even times when experts have not explained their own discoveries. Don’t you find it paradoxical? One more example is this hydrogen engine that has just mutated by itself and that you can have in your car to make it zero-emission, something we thought impossible.
The hydrogen engine that has experts on edge: it has mutated, and you will understand why
The scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia, have discovered the way that allows van diesel engines to change to operate on hydrogen fuel. Headed by Engineer Shawn Kook, the convoy has been able to convert a diesel engine into one that works with blended fuel of hydrogen and diesel with success.
It shows the ability of switching the vehicles with the capacity of carrying heavy loads, such as trucks, trains, and ships, to hydrogen power by using existing engine concept. This practically combines the least carbon emissions degree while a car can reach without the need of a new engine entirely dedicated to hydrogen to be produced.
The MVP of the UNSW innovators began with the extraction of the diesel engines which is used in the mining machines. They re-engineered the fuel injector system and introduced a new mechanism for fuel combustion which enabled the engine to slowly blend into a mixture of H20 and 80% oxygenated gas.
Why are we talking about a game-changing discovery? Attention to this new hydrogen engine
This invention brings up the possibility of harnessing hydrogen through the already existing infrastructure of liquid fuel. This concentrated emission of the diesel serves as an ignition source for the hydrogen with the presence of which notable problems related to hydrogen high auto-ignition temperature are no longer relevant.
Then they started to experiment with more hydrogen in the fuel blend to the extent they were allowed to test. The ultimate aim for hydrogen to fuel such vehicles should be to eventually switch to 100% hydrogen mode. The UNSW project correspondingly proves a viable way to make the fossil fuel power plants being replaced.
It´s not so easy: the challenge of converting somewhat into a hydrogen-fuelled system
As hydrogen cars still remain a non-mainstream choice, their introduction into the market is hindered by the limited number of hydrogen refueling stations. Essentially, hydrogen fueling structure is still at a very early stage, as the opposite of gasoline and diesel.
The majority of hydrogen stations are concentrated in California, with only several ones can be found across the remaining zones of the US. There would be no sensible reason for car-buyers to purchase hydrogen cars if they were not able to refuel hydrogen easily.
Tanking hydrogen also poses some significant difficulties, as this fuel requires compression for storage and transportation in cylinders under high pressure. Flammability of hydrogen itself creates practical safety hazards during its transportation as well as storage, which contributes to a complicated picture.
Even with hydrogen vehicle development, the vehicles will not garner major market share unless refueling infrastructure is developed and installed along major national highways. Funding from the government and providing more attractive tariff packages will play a key role in making possible the expansion of this technology.
The establishment of partnerships between maakers, energy providers and administration results in the substantial growth of hydrogen infrastructure. However, but it will need continual effort to attain that stage where hydrogen vehicles may be refueled as quickly as the fuel ones.
It is clear that this new hydrogen engine opens a new generation marked by the combination of several fuels, all of them renewable and zero emissions. The important thing now is to improve the conversion process to continue decarbonizing other prototypes, such as those that run on gas, hybrids or even gasoline combustion engines, which are increasingly close to disappearing.
