SCIENCE REPORT - Fuel Cell Cars

SCIENCE REPORT
—
February 7, 2002: Fuel Cell Cars

By Mario Ritter

This is the VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT.

The United States Secretary of Energy, Spencer Abraham, has announced a program to develop a new kind of
engine to power cars in the future. Mister Abraham calls the new program the “Freedom Car.
”
The cars will
use energy from chemical fuel cells.

Fuel cell technology uses hydrogen to create electricity. Hydrogen gas is passed over a metal like platinum¹. The
electrons from the hydrogen separate to form electricity. The remaining part of the atom, the proton, combines
with oxygen to form water. Fuel cells create very clean energy with no pollution.

However, they need to be very large to create enough electricity to power a vehicle. A
company called Fuel Cell Energy has proposed a fuel cell that also uses a coal-powered
device to create power. But this device is very large and costly².

Experts believe that fuel cell energy will some day provide power for small devices like
cellular³ telephones and computers. Peter Hoffman is editor and publisher of the
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Letter. He supports developing fuel cell energy technology.
However, he estimates that a fuel cell car could cost between seventy-five-thousand and
one-hundred-fifty-thousand dollars.

In Nineteen-Ninety-Three, the Clinton administration began a program to develop cars that use about three times
less fuel than current cars. The government was to spend one-thousand-five-hundred-million dollars on research.
However, the Bush administration has decided⁴ not to continue that effort. Instead, it will support the program to
develop cars that are powered by fuel cells.

Other kinds of cars that use less fuel are currently being sold in the United States. The Japanese car company
Toyota makes the Prius. The Prius is called a hybrid⁵ car because it uses both electricity and gas to run its engine.
It uses less gas and produces less pollution than normal cars. Toyota has sold twenty-thousand of these cars in the
United States. This new hybrid car has become very popular. Every Prius made has been sold. In fact, there are
not enough of these cars being made for all the people who want them.

Cars with fuel cells would create even less pollution than hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius. However, experts say
cell cars will not be ready to be sold for ten to twenty years.

This VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT was written by Mario Ritter.

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1 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

2 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

3 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。