When a solar or wind system is coupled with an electrolyzer, the fuel cell system provides a completely renewable source of electricity. By generating hydrogen with a renewable system, the hydrogen becomes a storage medium for the energy contained in the captured sunlight or wind. Hydrogen and the fuel cell are able to replace the toxic, heavy, limited-life batteries currently used as energy storage. Generating hydrogen is non-toxic method to remove the temporal nature of renewable energy systems. Top Automotive Batteries vs. Fuel Cells for Transportation Vehicles powered by fuel cells combine the attractive advantages of battery-powered cars and the convenience of an internal combustion engine.
Fuel cells operate quietly and are zero to low emissions, comparable to a battery-powered vehicle.
Fuel cell powered vehicles offer the range, power, responsiveness and rapid fueling that the internal combustion engine provides. Unlike battery-powered cars, fuel cells do not require lengthy recharge times and will not transfer the pollution from the tailpipe over the grid to a central generating facility. The batteries used in automobiles are extremely heavy which limits the vehicles range and capacity. The batteries are also composed of toxic materials and have a limited lifetime leading to disposal problems. Fuel cell vehicles operating on pure hydrogen produce only water vapor and heat as emissions while fuel cells reforming fossil fuels into hydrogen would be classified as ultra-low emission vehicles.