Developments in world motor vehicle production and the future of hydrogen use in the automotive industry

This article provides an overview of World motor vehicle production and hydrogen utilization technologies for current and future use in the Automotive Industry. Hydrogen is the simplest and most abundant element in the Universe; however it is always combined with other elements. Still, the costs of hydrogen production from its combined elements remain high compared to other energy sources; it is extremely difficult to store onboard, the use of natural gas as a feedstock emits CO2, and there are many technical challenges to overcome with these systems. Many years of research and development, as well as changes to the energy infrastructure, may be required before hydrogen can have a significant impact on Earth energy use. In the very long term, electricity and hydrogen are likely to become the preferred complementary energy vectors. Hydrogen and the fuel cell are complementary and each enables the other. Nowadays, due to their low production costs, hydrogen engines are becoming more and more advantageous over fuel cells and are be-coming more widespread. Ammonia has the potential to be used as a hydrogen carrier, mainly due to its high hydrogen capacity. A significant effort would be needed to develop onboard ammonia cracker systems or direct ammonia fuel cells for vehicles.