Is hydrogen cars better than EV
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Electric vehicles like Teslas and Taycans have dominated the market for clean air vehicles but they might not actually be the best technology for long-term clean air vehicles. Hydrogen fuel cell technology is increasingly becoming more popular in consumer vehicles like the Toyota Mirai, Hyundai Nexo, and Honda Clarity. The technology is increasingly being developed for more applications such as trucks, boats, and aviation.
The major difference between battery-powered EVs and hydrogen fuel cell technology is that the latter uses gas or liquid hydrogen as fuel to power batteries that in turn powers electric motors. This means zero pollution and a fast and convenient way to charge batteries. Here are the top 10 reasons why hydrogen fuel cell technology is better than EVs.
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10 No Significant Lifestyle Change
One of the biggest hurdles to widespread clean air technology is education. It can be difficult to teach, train, and acclimate the average consumer in new technology, EVs especially. EVs require a whole new way to charge/fuel vehicles and for consumers that frequently drive long distances, charging creates a major burden.
Hydrogen fuel cell technology in vehicles means consumers can drive up to a station, most commonly a nearby gasoline station, and simply fill up their car with hydrogen similar to gasoline. The fill-up takes less than five minutes and theyre on their way. Consumers dont have to install special charging ports in their garages and people who live in apartment buildings that cant charge EVs at home can still take advantage of a clean air vehicle.
9 Less Burden On Electric Infrastructure
As EV adoption grows many experts fear it may cause a significant increase/burden on the existing electrical grid. In many places, the electrical infrastructure is decades old and can barely handle the demand for power during peak times. With the introduction of thousands or tens of thousands of energy-guzzling vehicles infrastructure may not handle the extra power consumption.
Hydrogen production does require electricity but can be done in remote locations so as not to burden already distressed electrical grids. The hydrogen can then be transported from far off locations to the refueling stations.
8 Greater Range
Even with the most advanced battery technology from companies like Tesla, current EVs have a maximum range a little more than 300 miles. Tesla and other brands like Lucid promise range that approaches 400 miles on a single charge to make EVs more competitive with gasoline-powered cars range.
But hydrogen-powered cars have inherently greater range. Current hydrogen fuel cell cars already have a range greater than 300 miles on a single tank of hydrogen but is also coupled with a very fast refill time. The fastest charging stations take half an hour to an hour just to fill up to 80% battery charge. That can significantly hinder long-distance driving whether thats for work or road trips.
7 No Need To Build Out New Infrastructure
To be practical for the majority of people companies like Electrify America and Tesla have invested millions of dollars in building fast-charging stations as quickly as possible. These stations enable EVs to charge in around an hour which sounds like a long time but is far faster than the eight hours it takes to charge an EV at home.
Companies will need to invest to build out hydrogen fueling stations but it would be easy to add hydrogen stations to existing gasoline stations. That makes it easy to make fueling stations plentiful and easily accessible.
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6 Practicality
With current battery technology, it is impractical if not impossible to convert large vehicles like semi-trucks, boats, and aviation vehicles to complete EVs. The battery density is too far from what is needed to haul so much weight or to produce enough power for safe operation.
In the case of semi-trucks, Tesla, Neuron, and Nikola have all created their versions of EV semi-trucks but in every case, these are short-range vehicles with a maximum range of 200 miles primarily used to bring products from nearby distribution centers to individual retail locations. These vehicles cannot do long haul trips that cross state lines reliably.
Hydrogen fuel cell technology can enable clean air versions of these vehicles. Due to a type of fuel being onboard, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can use much smaller and lighter batteries and can output more power. Nikola has already implemented hydrogen fuel cell technology to create clean air long-haul semi-trucks.
5 Hydrogen More Practical Energy Storage For Long Term
Pure hydrogen that can be used as fuel can be created more easily for long term storage. In a future that relies entirely on renewable energy like solar and wind, one of the biggest issues is reliability. Energy suppliers cannot reliably count on the sun to shine or for the wind to blow but when they do produce energy it can be times when consumers dont need it.
Suppliers can store excess energy in batteries to a certain extent but battery technology is entirely insufficient to use for large-scale long-term energy storage. Hydrogen can be created during peak times with excess energy that would otherwise just go to waste and be stored easily in tanks for future use.
4 Potentially Less Pollution In The Short Run
Though both battery-powered EVs and hydrogen fuel cell technology are clean air zero pollution technologies the way we currently get those fuel sources are not zero pollution. The majority of electricity that is produced in the US comes from fossil fuel consumption like coal, natural gas, and petroleum which cause pollution. That means BEVs indirectly cause pollution. Similarly, hydrogen used for fuel cell technology is primarily created in fossil fuel plants. But, hydrogen can come from many places.
Not only can hydrogen be created through renewable energy sources, but hydrogen is also a common byproduct of many industrial processes. Currently, hydrogen created as a byproduct is simply thrown away but if demand increases industries will find ways to capture that hydrogen to be used as fuel, potentially reducing the carbon footprint of hydrogen creation.
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3 Reliability In Extreme Temperatures
Due to the nature of relying on batteries for power, EVs operate at reduced capacity in extreme climates. The most common issue is EVs in cold climates. Some scenarios may include EVs not starting or not being able to power every system. Recent technology has improved cold weather operation with the addition of heat pumps but owners have reported a noticeable reduction in range in cold climates.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles dont have the same issues in extreme temperatures. Owners of current HEVs report no noticeable range difference regardless of outdoor temperature.
2 Smaller Batteries
Further pollution reduction comes in the form of smaller batteries. Deteriorated batteries from EVs at the end of their lifecycle are often not recycled/disposed of correctly. These improperly disposed of batteries can catch fire in dumps or can break down which spreads dangerous and toxic heavy metals into the area rendering the entire area unlivable for plants and animals. This was a major issue when hybrid cars first became popular.
Currently, there are many programs in place for the proper disposal of these dangerous batteries but there are still many that get improperly disposed of. Smaller batteries ensure less pollution. Smaller batteries also let hydrogen fuel cell cars become cheaper once they get to scale and can also greatly increase efficiency as battery weight is one of the primary reasons EVs are so heavy.
1 Greater Job Growth
The production of EVs potentially displaces entire industries that rely on fossil fuel demand. The issue has become highly politicized and is a key area for politicians to campaign on. Some argue that jobs will continue to be produced to create the charging infrastructure needed for large-scale EV adoption but many are skeptical.
Hydrogen fuel cell technology requires hydrogen as a fuel source. That means the production, storage, and transportation of hydrogen will become a major industry that can safely replace fossil fuel industries and create many jobs where the logistics and skillsets are largely the same. There will be no need to retrain thousands of workers when they can just take their existing decades of experience and simply adapt them to a new fuel.
NEXT: 10 Things You Need To Know About Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars
Will hydrogen overtake batteries in the race for zero-emission cars?
Hydrogen is a beguiling substance: the lightest element. When it reacts with oxygen it produces only water and releases abundant energy. The invisible gas looks like a clean fuel of the future. Some of the worlds top automotive executives are hoping it will dethrone the battery as the technology of choice for zero-emissions driving.
Our EV mythbusters series has looked at concerns ranging from car fires to battery mining, range anxiety to cost concerns and carbon footprints. Many critics of electric vehicles argue that we should not ditch petrol and diesel engines. This article asks: could hydrogen offer a third way and overtake the battery?
The claim
Many of the strongest claims for hydrogens role in the automotive world come from chief executives at the heart of the industry. Japans Toyota is the most vocal proponent of hydrogen, and its chair, Akio Toyoda, last month said he believed the share of battery cars would peak at 30%, with hydrogen and internal combustion engines making up the rest. Toyotas Mirai is one of the only hydrogen-powered cars that is widely available, alongside the Nexo SUV from South Koreas Hyundai.
Oliver Zipse, the boss of the German manufacturer BMW, said last year: Hydrogen is the missing piece in the jigsaw when it comes to emission-free mobility. BMW may be investing heavily in battery technology but the company has its BMW iX5 Hydrogen fuel cell car in testing albeit using Toyota fuel cells. Zipse said: One technology on its own will not be enough to enable climate-neutral mobility worldwide.
The science
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe but that does not mean it is easy to come by on Earth. Most pure hydrogen today is made by splitting carbon from methane, but that produces carbon emissions. Zero-emissions green hydrogen comes from electrolysis: using clean electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
To use hydrogen as a fuel it can be burned, or it can be used in a fuel cell: the hydrogen reacts with the oxygen from the air in the presence of a catalyst (often made from expensive platinum). That strips electrons that can run through an electric circuit, charging a battery that can power an electric motor.
Hydrogen offers refuelling in four minutes, higher payloads and longer range, according to Jean-Michel Billig, the chief technology officer for hydrogen fuel cell vehicle development at Stellantis. (The Mirai goes 400 miles on a fill-up.) Stellantis, which last month started production of hydrogen vans in France and Poland, is targeting businesses that want vehicles in constant use and do not want the downtime required for charging.
They need to be on the roads, Billig said. A taxi not running is losing money.
Many energy experts do not share the enthusiasm of the hydrogen carmakers
Stellantis thinks it can drive the sticker price down. Billig said that he expected by the end of this decade, hydrogen mobility or BEV will be equivalent from a cost perspective although the company will make both.
Many energy experts do not share the enthusiasm of the hydrogen carmakers. The Tesla boss Elon Musk describes the tech as fool sells: why use green electricity to make hydrogen when you can use that same electricity to power the car?
Every transformation of energy involves wasted heat. That means that hydrogen fuels inevitably deliver less energy to the vehicle. (Those losses increase much further if the hydrogen is burned directly or used to make e-fuels that can replace petrol or diesel in a noisy, hot internal combustion engine.)
David Cebon, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Cambridge, said: If you use green hydrogen it takes about three times more electricity to make the hydrogen to power a car than it does just to charge a battery.
That could improve slightly but not enough to challenge batteries. Its difficult to do very much better, Cebon said.
Michael Liebreich, the chair of Liebreich Associates and the founder of the analyst firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance, created an influential hydrogen ladder a league table ranking hydrogen uses on whether there are cheaper, easier or more likely options. He placed hydrogen for cars in the row of doom, with very little chance of even a niche market.
Can hydrogen overtake batteries in cars? The answer is no, said Liebreich, without a moments hesitation. Carmakers betting on a large share for hydrogen are just wrong, and heading for an expensive disappointment, he added.
The key problem for hydrogen cars is not the fuel cell but actually getting the clean hydrogen where it is needed. The gas is highly flammable with all the safety concerns that entails must be stored under pressure and leaks easily. It also carries less energy per unit volume than fossil fuels, meaning it would require many times more tankers unless on-site electrolysers are used.
Investments are coming in hydrogen supplies, with heavy government subsidies in the US and Europe. But so far there has been a chicken-and-egg problem: buyers dont want hydrogen cars because they cant fill them, and there are no filling stations because there are no cars. Across Europe there are 178 hydrogen filling stations, half of which are in Germany, according to the European Hydrogen Observatory. Compare nine UK hydrogen stations with 8,300 petrol stations or 31,000 public charging locations (not counting plugs at homes).
Any caveats?
So why does the International Energy Agency think that hydrogen will account for 16% of road transport in 2050 in its pathway to net zero? The answer lies mostly with bigger vehicles such as buses and lorries.
Liebreich said he was convinced that batteries would still dominate energy supply for heavy goods vehicles to the point of co-founding a lorry charging company. There might be some hydrogen in HGVs but it will be the minority, he said.
Even Toyota acknowledges that hydrogen in cars has so far not been successful, mainly because of the lack of fuel supply, according to its technical chief, Hiroki Nakajima, speaking to Autocar in October. Lorries and long-distance buses offer a better hope for the technology, although it is also prototyping a hydrogen version of its Hilux pickup truck.
The verdict
The economics of hydrogen will change as governments enthusiasms wax or wane. Other things could change: technology could improve (within limits) and make the gas more attractive, and prospectors may be able to find cheaper white hydrogen drilled from the ground.
Yet for cars the die appears to be cast: batteries are already the post-petrol choice for almost every manufacturer. In the UK there have been fewer than 300 sales of hydrogen vehicles over 20 years, compared with 1m electric cars, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Batteries domination is likely to be extended as the money pouring into research and infrastructure addresses questions of range and charging times. Compared with that flood of investment, hydrogen is a trickle.
Hydrogens advocates now face the question of whether they can build profitable businesses in longer-distance, heavy-duty road transport. They need an answer soon on where they will source enough green, cheap hydrogen and whether the gas would be better used elsewhere.
