A new study has highlighted the health as well as environmental benefits of fuel cell vehicles, claiming that a conversion to the clean fuel would save both life and money.

The study, published in the journal Science, argues that converting all on road vehicles in the US to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) would improve air quality, health and climate significantly.

Researchers used a computing model to examine the possible effects on ambient gas, particle concentrations, and estimated health and climate costs of replacing all on road vehicles with HFCVs in the US.

A national conversion to wind and natural gas HFCVs could save between 3,700 to 6,400 lives a year in the US, wrote co-author Mark Jacobson, an associate professor at Stanford University.

In fact, wind HFCVs, which involve production of hydrogen through wind electrolysis, were said to be the types which would benefit the climate the most.

The study added that hydrogen produced from wind could eventually cost between just $1.12 and $3.20 per gallon, lower than petrol prices.

The research is believed to be the first to focus on the effect of hydrogen vehicles on urban pollution or the health benefits of a hydrogen economy.