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Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are more efficient than traditional internal-combustion engines

Fuel cells are more efficient than traditional combustion engines because they convert chemical energy directly into electrical energy with higher efficiency and fewer energy losses. While internal combustion engines typically have efficiencies of around 20%, while fuel cells can achieve efficiencies of around 60%.1 This increased efficiency results in lower fuel consumption and fewer emissions for the same amount of energy produced, making fuel cells a more energy-efficient option for power generation and transportation.2

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Footnotes​

  1. Department of Energy. (2015, November). Fuel Cells. https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/articles/fuel-cells-fact-sheet#:~:text=The%20fuel%20cell%20system%20can,a%20gasoline%20internal%20combustion%20engine. ↩

  2. Ibid. ↩