Inside the fuel cell, oxygen passes over one electrode and hydrogen passes over the other, a process that generates electricity, water and heat. Still, when fuel cell cars hit the market in 2004, not everyone will be able to drive one. For cars powered by traditional internal combustion engines, lightweight materials will help limit emissions and help save fuel. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, vehicles account for about 60 percent of total emissions of carbon monoxide in the United States, about 31 percent of nitrogen oxides, nearly 30 percent of volatile organic compounds, and about eight percent of particulate matter. Nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds pose stubborn obstacles to improving air quality because they are the primary contributors to the formation of ground level ozone or smog.
Lightweight materials are the keys to low fuel consumption and lower emissions in cars.
The car would use low-cost carbon composites, which will reduce the vehicle's weight by about 40 percent, improving fuel economy and reducing carbon dioxide emissions drastically. To reduce the high costs of developing new materials, the project aims to reduce the number of parts used to one-third of the more than 200 parts needed today. The European Commission will put up half the money for the project, which is part of an overall strategy to make the use of cars, buses and trucks more sustainable and to reduce pollution of the atmosphere. Other research activity includes the development of smaller engines. Improvements of up to 30 percent fuel economy can be expected from these new power trains, in particular those based on advances combustion modes and downsized gasoline and diesel engines.