The transportation sector desperately needs sustainable fuel. Gasoline, diesel, natural gas and propane are finite and have wreaked havoc on the environment. Hydrogen is the opposite. It’s universally abundant and can be clean. If this is the case, why are only a few hydrogen vehicles roaming American roads? Discover what they are, how they work, and the pros and cons of hydrogen vehicles.
What Are Hydrogen Vehicles?
Hydrogen-powered vehicles can have electric motors or internal combustion engines (ICEs). Most people refer to the former when talking about hydrogen cars and trucks.
Electric hydrogen automobiles and heavy-duty vehicles use fuel cells. These devices convert pure hydrogen’s chemical energy into electricity. Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are alternatives to ICE cars for sustainability purposes.
Unlike more common electric vehicles (EVs) powered by large battery packs, FCEVs use fuel cell stacks. They need refueling like ICE cars, not recharging.
Meanwhile, hydrogen ICE designs are similar to natural gas, gas and diesel engines. They have numerous mutual components. Because of these, some auto manufacturers can build hydrogen ICEs from scratch. Modifying a non-hydrogen ICE to burn H2 is feasible but impractical since the project’s high cost usually doesn’t justify the effort.
How Does a Hydrogen Vehicle Work?
FCEVs have five primary components — the fuel cell stack, fuel tank, electric motor, battery and exhaust. The compressed hydrogen gas goes to the fuel cells’ aggregate, mixed with oxygen to generate electricity. The output powers the electric motor. The chemical reaction’s by-product is water vapor. While on the road, the battery collects energy through regenerative braking, supplying supplemental power to the electric motor.
5 Arguments for Hydrogen Vehicles
Many pundits have a rosy view of hydrogen-powered cars and trucks. Their proponents consider them the future because of these five benefits.
1. They Use an Abundant Fuel
Hydrogen is everywhere, making it sustainable. The universe has more of it than the world can consume. Until recently, most thought of pure hydrogen to be rare.
The element in the environment generally appears in combination with other atoms, and various methods can extract hydrogen from existing resources. The most common are gasification, methane pyrolysis, steam methane reformation and electrolysis.
The energy sector uses a color-based system to classify hydrogen, indicating its origin or the procedure used to extract it. Most of the H2 used today comes from natural gas or methane. It can be gray, blue or turquoise.
Hydrogen is black when extracted from bituminous coal. It’s brown when derived from lignite. The fuel is pink, purple or red when produced with nuclear power. It’s yellow when involving solar power. However, green has become the generally accepted label for hydrogen generated with any renewable energy source.
The width of the hydrogen color spectrum is a testament to the variety of viable methods used to untie hydrogen with other atoms for automotive and other applications. The exception to this rule is white or gold hydrogen.
White or gold hydrogen is pure. It was discovered in the late 1980s and is the product of underground chemical reactions. While this naturally occurring resource remains understudied, scientists have found it in more locations.
The growing interest in alternative fuels to curb intensifying global warming may inspire a fascination with white or gold hydrogen. Researchers can uncover how common and renewable it is. Plus, they can develop efficient ways to locate and extract its deposits.
2. They Turn Energy Into Power Efficiently
Hydrogen cars and trucks can be twice as efficient as conventional gas ICE vehicles. FCEVs owe this to their polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs).
Like other fuel cell technologies, PEMs have an electrolyte sandwiched between an anode and a cathode. On the anode side, the fuel cell catalyst turns the H2 molecules into protons and electrons. The protons go to the cathode. The electrons pass through an external circuit to generate power for the electric motor before heading to the cathode. The protons reunite with electrons. They combine with oxygen molecules from the air, producing water vapor.
This process turns 60% of pure hydrogen into electricity. With such efficiency, FCEVs deliver high fuel economy.
3. They Emit Zero Air Pollutants
FCEVs are zero-emission vehicles. Unlike their conventional ICE counterparts, they release no harmful fumes. Only water vapor and warm air come out of their tailpipes.
Replacing ICE sedans, hatchbacks, sports utility vehicles and pickup trucks with hydrogen models can reduce the transportation sector’s negative impact on climate change. An average passenger vehicle emits 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide — the most common greenhouse gas released through human activities.
Hydrogen vehicles can help keep the air in the immediate environment clean. These zero-emission automobiles and heavy-duty trucks don’t release nitrogen oxides and prevent ground-level ozone from accumulating.
Ground-level ozone is a primary ingredient in smog. Severe air pollution is detrimental to human health. Smog can trigger allergies, cause irritation and result in adverse respiratory diseases, including lung cancer.
More zero-emission vehicles on the road help eliminate the most significant contributor to urban air pollution. Cities with minimal urban forests benefit the most from these sustainable transportation options.
4. They Refuel Like Gas and Diesel Vehicles
Using a hydrogen dispenser is the same as pumping gas into a traditional vehicle. There’s no need to learn anything new to add juice to these automobiles. This familiar refueling process should render the transition from fossil-dependent motoring to hydrogen-powered mobility seamless.
Filling an empty FCEV’s carbon fiber-reinforced tank to gain more than 300 miles of range only takes about five minutes. Conversely, direct current fast charging takes 20-60 minutes to charge a battery electric vehicle (BEV) to 80%. BEVs, like the Tesla Model X, can travel about 350 miles on a single charge.
The quickest charging method for BEVs takes at least 300% as long as H2 dispensers to achieve about the same driving range.
5. They Demonstrate Wide Ranges
Range anxiety is a natural concern for anyone considering buying an electric vehicle. Fortunately, all-electric cars and trucks have made great strides.
The driving range of typical passenger FCEVs is more than enough to cover the average weekly distance commuters travel. The latest hydrogen vehicle models are suitable for long-haul trucking.
An excellent case in point is the Kenworth Class 8 T680 FCEV. Powered by Toyota’s advanced fuel cell technology, this zero-emission on-highway truck’s hydrogen fuel can last up to 450 miles of range in good driving conditions.
5 Arguments Against Hydrogen Vehicles
FCEVs have critics. Detractors doubt their ability to meaningfully decarbonize the transportation sector for these five reasons.
1. Pure Hydrogen Seldom Occurs Naturally
This statement is becoming more of a myth as time goes by. The world is waking up to the possibility that pure hydrogen is more common than previously thought.
More locations worldwide with natural deposits are coming to light. Some discover them by accident, while others prospect for them by looking for circular depressions leaking H2. Geologists must explore this subject further.
However, shifting their focus beyond common hydrogen-generation processes, such as radiolysis and serpentinization, can yield promising results more quickly.
2. H2 Generally Comes From Fossil Fuels
Critics are correct to say that hydrogen hasn’t earned the label “clean” since it generally comes from fossil fuels. However, the world shouldn’t view this fuel in an unfavorable light just because it originates from dirty energy sources. Pure hydrogen production output would come from more eco-friendly H2 types as renewable power technologies become more affordable and efficient.
Low-carbon intensity hydrogen production recently received a boost with the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This legislation allows the U.S. federal government to fund $7 billion worth of projects to build seven regional clean hydrogen hubs.
Once operational, these facilities could domestically produce enough low-cost, clean hydrogen to decarbonize various American sectors, including transportation.
3. Hydrogen Is Challenging to Handle
The hydrogen economy isn’t as big as it should be because transporting, storing and distributing H2 is tricky. This fuel can ignite quickly, requiring additional engineering controls to move it safely.
Fortunately, many startups are addressing these problems. Oil-free scroll compressors, on-demand distribution systems and on-site hydrogen production solutions are vital innovations to mitigate the fuel’s inherent delivery-related risks.
4. Infrastructure Is Limited
The majority of H2 fueling stations are in California. Once the regional clean hydrogen hubs go online, expect this network to expand nationwide quickly using existing gas stations.
5. Fuel Can Be Costly
What hydrogen-powered vehicle owners pay at the pump depends on where H2 comes from. Renewable price fluctuations and supply chain issues can drive up the cost of clean hydrogen. These factors become less impactful when a country can source most of its supply locally and domestic producers achieve economies of scale.
Conclusions
It’s hard to imagine an emission-free future without FCEVs. Their unique selling points are too compelling to ignore.
As the world moves toward decarbonization, fossil fuel replacements must be abundant, efficient, clean, convenient and reliable. H2 checks all these boxes.
Hydrogen naysayers have good reasons to doubt this alternative fuel’s viability. However, numerous exciting developments will nullify the harshest criticisms of H2 in the long run.
While the hydrogen economy needs time to mature, it’s growing fast. Upgrading vehicles or fleets to H2 is a surefire way to emission-free motoring. Calculate the risks to maximize FCEV’s positives and minimize its negatives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Aren't Hydrogen Cars Popular?
Hydrogen cars and trucks aren’t popular because extracting H2 sustainably is still expensive. Clean hydrogen will become more affordable in the United States. The federal government is investing heavily to boost its domestic production capacity.
Are Hydrogen Cars Better Than Electric Vehicles?
FCEVs are better in terms of driving range and fueling time. BEVs have the upper hand regarding model variety and fuel price. Both zero-emission vehicles are quiet and capable of instant torque. The gaps between them should shrink as the technologies underpinning them mature.
Will Hydrogen Cars Overtake Electric?
Many experts doubt hydrogen cars will overtake all-electric vehicles. However, claiming BEVs would have a stranglehold on emission-free transportation is premature. Consumer theory says H2-powered vehicles could dominate the roads when they become more sustainable and affordable than BEVs.
