Most of the media buzz in the past few months has been about electric cars and hybrids. Yes, they offer plenty of advantages over petrol cars, but so do hydrogen cars. Hydrogen’s only emission is water, if it is made from a non-polluting renewable resource. So where are the hydrogen cars?
Well, they are coming, and sooner than you might have thought. Hyundai has announced that starting in 2012, it will sell 500 hydrogen cars, ramping up production annually after that. That beats most of its competitors to the finish line. Is it too good to be true?
GM and Honda have been experimenting with hydrogen cars for quite some time, and both have sizable fleets on the roads testing them out, either through lease programs or paid car testers. Hyundai however plans to sell the first series production hydrogen car in just two years time, and like GM and Honda, it will likely lease the first 500 cars. By 2015 however, Hyundai wants to produce (and I assume, sell) 10,000 hydrogen cars annually.
There just aren’t a lot of facts going around right now, and there are plenty of problems to contend with… namely the lack of hydrogen infrastructure (though there are companies working on that). Another problem is cost; hydrogen technology isn’t cheap, though Hyundai plans to beat Toyota’s price of $50,000. How much would you pay for a hydrogen car, and do you believe we will really see them in the coming years, rather than decades?
Source: Green Optimist | Image: Hyundai
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About Christopher DeMorro
Hi Christopher,
Were will the owners of these hydrogen cars get the hydrogen they need to drive their cars?
Will these cars be plug-ins? Hydrogen fuel cells are really just fancy range extenders for EV’s, so they should be plug-in, so you can drive them at least as far as the battery can manage. If you get hydrogen, then all the better.
But, hydrogen cars just feel like they are CYA, so the large energy companies can keep their foot in the door, so to speak… That, and they serve to confuse the average consumer as to what it the best way to go.
Sincerely, Neil
Hi Christopher,
Were will the owners of these hydrogen cars get the hydrogen they need to drive their cars?
Will these cars be plug-ins? Hydrogen fuel cells are really just fancy range extenders for EV’s, so they should be plug-in, so you can drive them at least as far as the battery can manage. If you get hydrogen, then all the better.
But, hydrogen cars just feel like they are CYA, so the large energy companies can keep their foot in the door, so to speak… That, and they serve to confuse the average consumer as to what it the best way to go.
Sincerely, Neil
If Hyundai can manage to pull this off they will become the first and most successful new generation fueled vehicles independent from big oil monopoly. My next new car will be a Hyundai!
If Hyundai can manage to pull this off they will become the first and most successful new generation fueled vehicles independent from big oil monopoly. My next new car will be a Hyundai!
EVs and Hydrogen cars don’t get their energy from the air. It takes electricity to make EVs go. Those electrons for the foreseeable future will come from coal fired power plants or possibly nuclear power plants. My concern is that using coal to generate the electrons will cause more environmental problems than traditional gasoline. Conversion of coal to fuel electrons isn’t as efficient as burning gasoline. Hydrogen would be great, but the same problem exists. Where does the H2 come from? As of now it would come from fossil fuel which would be even more inefficient than coal to electrons. The hydrogen economy is great on paper, but there are enormous technical problems to overcome. I live in Appalachia which is rapidly being leveled by mountaintop removal coal mining. I don’t want even more of my mountains bombed on the pretext of powering “clean electric cars”. When there is enough clean renewable electrons to run these cars, then I will be their biggest proponents, but that is not the case today.
EVs and Hydrogen cars don’t get their energy from the air. It takes electricity to make EVs go. Those electrons for the foreseeable future will come from coal fired power plants or possibly nuclear power plants. My concern is that using coal to generate the electrons will cause more environmental problems than traditional gasoline. Conversion of coal to fuel electrons isn’t as efficient as burning gasoline. Hydrogen would be great, but the same problem exists. Where does the H2 come from? As of now it would come from fossil fuel which would be even more inefficient than coal to electrons. The hydrogen economy is great on paper, but there are enormous technical problems to overcome. I live in Appalachia which is rapidly being leveled by mountaintop removal coal mining. I don’t want even more of my mountains bombed on the pretext of powering “clean electric cars”. When there is enough clean renewable electrons to run these cars, then I will be their biggest proponents, but that is not the case today.
hebintn – Not all electricity is generated by coal firing processes, but over 50% of it is. Your answer is to convince those in power to switch to solar and wind development, including a battery back-up system for overnight electrical usage. And if you happen to be near a river or large stream, those old water wheels can come in might handy. Instead of grinding meal, it could be turning a generator. Or do both, what the hell?
My concern on the hydrogen side has been, always, two-fold –
1) Has the embrittlement factor been resolved for long-term storage and, if so, with what materials?
and,
2) If water electrolysis is still considered for on-site fueling, why bother with the extra steps and why not just go straight to electric fueling?
Anyway, my two cents…
hebintn – Not all electricity is generated by coal firing processes, but over 50% of it is. Your answer is to convince those in power to switch to solar and wind development, including a battery back-up system for overnight electrical usage. And if you happen to be near a river or large stream, those old water wheels can come in might handy. Instead of grinding meal, it could be turning a generator. Or do both, what the hell?
My concern on the hydrogen side has been, always, two-fold –
1) Has the embrittlement factor been resolved for long-term storage and, if so, with what materials?
and,
2) If water electrolysis is still considered for on-site fueling, why bother with the extra steps and why not just go straight to electric fueling?
Anyway, my two cents…
Hydrogen cars have been around since the 70s, hell if you search youtube you’ll find Jack Nicholson debuting one in 1978. This was to combat the air-quality in some cities but was but back on the back-burner when the oil companies saw this technology and decided to go from an oil crisis to an oil boom and unleash so much cheap energy that the Hydrogen cars were scrapped.
As far as how to refil them I believe there are some stations in CA already and a few others spread across the US, it’s the same with Propane/Energy refill stations. Sure thats no where enough but you’d be surprised what can happen when the people speak up.
Hydrogen is clearly the immediate future of motor transport, the petrol engine had its limitations when it was new, but it turned out quite popular.
Hydrogen allows for a smooth transition for the consumer which is the most important factor. They will refuel in the same way as petrol vehicles, have a similar range and performance if not much greater in the near future. Consumers will not use battery powered cars because of the inconvenience of charging them, low range and high weight to potential performance.
The vast majority of Hydrogen produced NOW is actually used to remove sulfer from petrol.
The way we produce electricity is changing already to more green environmentally friendly production.
Early hydrogen fueled cars did create electricity to power electric motors, they burned hydrogen in combustion engines much like diesel or petrol.
Petrol and diesel engines are actually very inefficient and producing energy on a large scale from a power plant is much more efficient, the problem is storing the power, batteries or hydrogen fuel cells.