--- title: The Truth About Fuel Cells | TIME description: As the U.S. plots its strategy for energy independence, what are the best options? Fuel cells emit zero pollutants. But are they practical? canonical: https://time.com/video/8ofG9xCR/ og:title: The Truth About Fuel Cells og:description: As the U.S. plots its strategy for energy independence, what are the best options? Fuel cells emit zero pollutants. But are they practical? og:url: https://time.com/video/8ofG9xCR/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/8ofG9xCR/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Truth About Fuel Cells twitter:description: As the U.S. plots its strategy for energy independence, what are the best options? Fuel cells emit zero pollutants. But are they practical? twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/8ofG9xCR/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # The Truth About Fuel Cells > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: The Truth About Fuel Cells [Watch (HLS stream): The Truth About Fuel Cells](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8ofG9xCR.m3u8) (3:09)  _Published 2009-09-27. As the U.S. plots its strategy for energy independence, what are the best options? Fuel cells emit zero pollutants. But are they practical?_ --- Jul 27, 2023 1:14 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [The Right Way to Fuel a Workout](/video/9VuAe2zp/) ### The Right Way to Fuel a Workout [4 Things You Should Do If Your Cell Is Lost or Stolen](/video/CIjZ9ecP/) ### 4 Things You Should Do If Your Cell Is Lost or Stolen [Top 5 Fuel Sippers](/video/dQx8cw5D/) ### Top 5 Fuel Sippers --- ## Transcript A solution for clean renewable energy can start with something simple as the elements in water. It's called a fuel cell, and for some researchers, it's the answer to the country's power problems. Fuel cells can charge anything from small hand- held devices like cellphones and laptops to homes and factories. Their biggest impact could be on transportation. So what exactly is a fuel cell? And how does it work? Similar to a battery, a fuel cell is a device that produces an electrical current from a chemical reaction. In this case, between hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike a battery, the charge never runs out as long as you keep pumping the cell with hydrogen. They release zero greenhouse gas emissions. Their only by- product is water and they're also two times more efficient in making power than standard car engines. According to an environmental defense fund study, fuel cell vehicles would slash auto pollution in half, putting the brakes on global- warming. President Bush was convinced hydrogen fuel cells would be the best way to reduce US dependents on foreign oil. He devoted $ 1. 2 billion into fuel cell research with the goal of creating a hydrogen powered economy by 2020. Automakers have also invested heavily to get fuel cell cars from the lab to the showroom. So why aren't fuel cells in the market? Well, they've got some major problems. First off, they're too pricey. They currently cost more than double the necessary price to compete with gas powered cars. Then there's this little PR problem. Hydrogen has a bad rep. Scientists are quick to point out that the flames and deaths from this famous accident were not from hydrogen, but the Zeppelin's burning skin. Still, lots of folks jump to conclusions. The truth is, hydrogen is no more dangerous than gasoline, and might even be safer. A bigger issue is that scientists haven't figured out an easy and economical way to store and convert the gas into a usable form. On top of that, it takes energy to make hydrogen. Whether it's through electricity or burning fossil fuels, it adds to the carbon footprint. Some people wonder if it wouldn't be better just to plug your car directly into an electrical current. But the biggest hurdle is lack of infrastructure. In order for hydrogen cars to make sense, the country needs to lay down pipelines, device truck transport, build fueling stations and hydrogen generation plants. According to some studies, that could cost up to half a trillion dollars. That's one reason why the Obama administration cut a hundred million dollars from the hydrogen power program, investing instead in the development of existing technologies like hybrids and more fuel efficient engines. Still, some countries particularly Japan and Germany are pushing ahead with fuel cell cars and portable gadgets, betting that the greatest power is in the smallest atom. I'm Natasha Del Toro reporting for Time. com. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Truth About Fuel Cells","description":"As the U.S. plots its strategy for energy independence, what are the best options? Fuel cells emit zero pollutants. 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