We see so many battery electric cars being purchased but very little of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. What are the reasons?
In: Technology
The biggest one is that there fuelling infrastructure is basically nonexistent. Most operators of hydrogen vehicles have to make their own, so it’s mostly limited to industrial plants. The few commercially sold hydrogen cars suffer from this.
The other issue is that the technology just isn’t quite market ready, even after all this time. The fuel cells are still not optimal, and the actual storage of hydrogen in a fuel tank remains genuinely dangerous. Hydrogen loves to leak through solid steel, and makes it brittle on the way out. Plus it’s really explosive.
Lastly, even if both above issues were resolved, green hydrogen (made from electrolysis of water) is actually expensive and not made in large quantities. Most hydrogen is actually made from methane and contributes to CO2 emissions, which makes it less desirable for the purpose of a green transition. And it’s still not made in sufficient quantities to satisfy the consumer market.
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