Production, storage, fuel stations of hydrogen and its utilization in automotive applications-a review

Fossil fuels are responsible for a significant portion of the emissions of greenhouse gases. As the need to find renewable and environmentally friendly energy solutions grows, the tendency is for these sources increase in the vehicle matrices, gradually. Because of this, hydrogen appears as a potential alternative to fossil fuels. Hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements on the planet and can be obtained from numerous sources, such as water, biomass, natural gas, ethanol, among others. To be used in fuel cell vehicles or in internal combustion engines, hydrogen needs to go through stages such as production, storage and distribution. All of these steps need to be feasible in terms of technology, economics and also from the environmental point of view. Therefore, the objective of this study was to review the feasibility and impacts of all stages from production to final use of hydrogen as a resource for mobility purposes. This article provides a general discussion of the path which the hydrogen goes through from its source until its usage, approaching technological, economic and environmental issues that are essential for the viability of this economy. Moreover, it also presents the main challenges and research fields that need greater engagement by researchers and political decision-makers. The results indicate that hydrogen production techniques need more development in order to be competitive. Production methods that show the best average results are hybrid production methods, followed by thermal and photonic. The main difficulty in terms of storage is to obtain a good volumetric density. The volumetric density of the current compression storage is about 5,7 wt percent capacity (wt%). Fuel cells need to achieve better results in terms of system durability (current durability is approximately 120,000 km) and costs.