“零排放”是相對傳統的排放定義產生的。發動機在燃燒化石能源(汽油、柴油等)時會排放出CO、HC和NOX的有害氣體，作為正常燃燒產物的CO2也是一種溫室氣體，它是全球氣候的變暖的原兇之一，全球上億輛汽車的尾氣排放是溫室氣體排放主要的組成部分。
對于廣泛使用的內燃機，現在已經找到許多有效降低排放的手段，但發動機燃燒化石能源作功的原理沒有改變，因而不可能實現零排放。要實現零排放惟一的途徑是使用替代動力。
最早人們把視線集中在電能上，使用電動機驅動的汽車不會有排放問題，而且電動機的特性人們早已經掌握了。這個思路是正確，但單純的電動汽車在技術上有一個很難突破的難關，就是電能的貯放問題。新型電池雖然在體積和重量上有了減輕，但效能仍然不能滿足汽車的要求。而且電池充電的時間太長，這一過程中的能量損失也非常大。研究的另一個分支是使用太陽能電池。
汽車企業在開發零排放汽車時都把他們的目光投向了另一種清潔能源——氫氣。氫氣有很高的熱效能，燃燒之后的惟一產物是水，沒有任何污染。同時，氫氣可以通過電離水獲得，而地球表面存在大量的水，理論上幾乎是取之不盡的，這對于日益匱乏的石油資源來講是非常好的替代燃料。但氫氣也有非常明顯缺點，它爆燃范圍非常寬，5%-95%的濃度都會發生爆燃，因而氫氣的儲運是一個難點。
早期在如何使用氫氣上，汽車廠家出現了兩種趨勢：以寶馬為主要代表的廠家致力于改造現有發動機，使之能適用于燃燒氫氣。這種方法好處是不會廢棄已經非常成熟的機械式發動機技術，而且實現起來比較容易。但這種方法畢竟要靠燃燒氫氣推動活塞作功，因而可靠性難以保證。還有另外一種利用氫氣的方式——燃料電池，使用氫氣作為燃料的燃料電池稱作氫燃料電池(后面簡稱為燃料電池)。
燃料電池的原理并不復雜，它還是利用了氫氣和氧氣這個簡單的反應。在這個反應中，氫氣會失去電子成為離子態，燃料電池通過一種特殊的離子膜當擋住電子，只讓離子通過，這時電池中就會形成正、負極，連接上導線就會形成電流。如果把燃料電池連在電動機上，它就可以提供能源驅動電動機。燃料電池的核心技術就是其中的離子膜。
把燃料電池應用在汽車上就是燃料電池汽車。世界上許多大汽車廠商都有燃料電池汽車項目。并且幾乎所有的廠家都有一代或幾代燃料電池試驗車型問世。但除了本田之外，這些車型還都未能商品化。原因是燃料電池汽車在技術上并不過關。這種理論上理想的趨勢看似渺茫了嗎?不妨讓時間來證明。
"Zero emissions" is defined relative to the traditional emissions generated. Engine in the burning of fossil fuels (gasoline and diesel) will emit harmful gases Co, HC and NOx, as normal combustion product of CO2 is a greenhouse gas, it is the global climate warming culprit of, global billion cars exhaust emissions is greenhouse gas emissions of the main part.
The internal combustion engine is widely used, has now found many effective means to reduce emissions, but the principle of engine combustion of fossil energy power has not changed, thus it is not possible to achieve zero emissions. The only way to achieve zero emissions is the use of alternative power.
The earliest people concentrated in power, the use of motor driven vehicles will not be discharged, and the characteristics of the motor people already know. This idea is correct, but there is a pure electric vehicle is difficult to break through the difficulties in technology, is the electrical energy storage problem. Although the new battery size and weight has been reduced, but still can not meet the demand of car performance. And the battery charging time is too long, the energy loss in this process is also very large. Another branch of research is the use of solar battery.
The development of automobile enterprises in zero emission cars have their sights on another clean energy: hydrogen. Hydrogen is the thermal efficiency is high, only after the combustion product is water, there is no pollution. At the same time, hydrogen can be produced by ionization of water, and the earth's surface there is a lot of water, the theory is almost inexhaustible, this is a very good alternative fuels for the increasingly scarce oil resources. But hydrogen are also very obvious shortcomings, it flares range is very wide, the concentration of 5% to 95% will deflagration and hydrogen storage and transportation is a difficulty.
In the early stage of how to use hydrogen, car manufacturers have two trends: BMW as the main representative of the manufacturers committed to the transformation of the existing engine, which can be applied to the combustion of hydrogen. This method is good mechanical engine technology obsolescence has been very mature, but also relatively easy to achieve. But this method after all rely on hydrogen combustion to push the piston to do work, so it is difficult to guarantee the reliability. There is another way of using hydrogen fuel cells use hydrogen as fuel cell called hydrogen fuel cell (later called fuel cell).
The principle of fuel cell is not complicated, it is using this simple reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. In this reaction, hydrogen will lose electrons become ionic state, the fuel cell through a special ion membrane when blocking electron and only allow ions to pass through, then the battery will form the positive and negative, connecting wires will form the current. If the fuel cell even in the motor, it can provide energy to drive motor. Fuel cell is one of the core technology of ion-exchange membrane.
The fuel cell application in automobile's fuel cell vehicle. Many automobile manufacturers around the world have a fuel cell car project. And almost all manufacturers have a generation or several generations of fuel cell test models available. But in addition to Honda, these models are not commercialization. The reason is that the fuel cell vehicles does not pass in technology. The theory of the ideal trend seemed slim? Let time to prove.
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