The Hydro-Car by Horizon is a truly innovative design. This ‘toy’ car helps showcase the benefits of using hydrogen as a power source while being a fun invention to watch in action. The Hydro-Car helps to make the latest technology in fuel systems an accessible idea to all.
Hydrogen is abundant on this planet as the main component in water. Being able to make use of this element as a power source would lead to truly sustainable and clean energy. The fuel cell of the Hydro-Car allows hydrogen and oxygen to combine, producing electricity and water. This water can then be reused to extract hydrogen and oxygen so the system is one continuous cycle that can be sustained naturally. The Fuel cell is a reversible Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM).
The Hydro-Car uses electrolysis to separate the hydrogen and oxygen out of distilled water (provided by you). It stores this in the tanks located at the back of the car, to then combine the hydrogen and oxygen to power the car. The electrolysis though does require powering, and so the kit includes a solar panel to provide a clean source on energy to provide this. The kit does also come with a battery pack that requires two AA batteries that can be used instead of the solar panel.
Once the car has hydrogen and oxygen stored in its tanks it is ready to go. You can see when the car is running from its own hydrogen as two blue LEDs will light up and flash on top of the motor. The Hydro-Car is able to independently navigate around a room avoiding obstacles in its path, it can reverse until it discovers a clear path to travel along.
The Hydro-Car comes in kit form with detailed instructions. These instructions help to teach you about hydrogen power and its advantages and through making the kit and achieving a working car model you will have gained insight into how a hydrogen fuel cell works. The Hydro-Car makes a great educational toy to show children some of the latest eco-friendly energy ideas while being fun to operate.