04.01.2022
Politicians and car manufacturers have long agreed that the future of our mobility lies in electric vehicles. Nevertheless, the future of clean transportation also includes hydrogen and fuel cell technology.
In the past two years, the discussion about the future of mobility has rapidly gained momentum. Large parts of humanity have now understood that combustion engines in their current form have had their day. This is also the view of major car manufacturers, many of whom have already decided to phase out this technology in the medium term. Instead, they are concentrating fully on the topic of electromobility.
But what happened to hydrogen powered fuel cells, which not long ago were considered as the energy source of the future?
How do fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) work using hydrogen?
The reason why a hydrogen powered drive system is repeatedly mentioned as an alternative to electric cars is the short refuelling times and the minimal carbon footprint.
Hydrogen vehicles are actually very similar to EVs. The fundamental difference lies in the way the energy is stored: In electric cars it is the battery, in hydrogen vehicles a special tank in which the hydrogen is transported. With the help of a fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen react to form water, heat and electricity, the latter powering the car. This means that a fuel cell car produces its own electricity.
Furthermore, no harmful greenhouse gases are produced and emitted during the journey, as all that comes out of the exhaust of a fuel cell vehicle is a little water vapour.
What are the disadvantages?
Hydrogen does not occur naturally, but must first be produced by electrolysis. In this process, water is broken down into hydrogen and oxygen with the help of electricity.
You can produce H2 from fossil fuels (usually methane), but this creates either “grey” hydrogen (which still produces lots of CO2) or “blue” hydrogen (which captures 90% of the CO2 and stores it, merely delaying the problem). Only electrolyzing hydrogen from water using electricity generated from renewable sources makes the fuel entirely green. ~Forbes
In addition to production, transportation is also very costly, since the obtained hydrogen cannot be pumped directly through any pipelines, but must be transported to filling stations in special truck tanks. It is either cooled to minus 253 degrees Celsius until it condenses into a liquid, or compressed as a gas.
As if that were not enough, the necessary refuelling systems are also extremely expensive and usually can only refuel a handful of cars per hour. This is again due to the fact that when refuelling a hydrogen car, large pressure differences occur and the nozzle can ice up. Therefore, a certain amount of time must always elapse between two refuelling processes.
In addition to the poor efficiency and the high costs for the infrastructure, there are also higher purchase and maintenance costs. This is because a hydrogen car has a highly complex fuel cell and a special tank.
Source: Real Engineering
Who is currently building fuel cell vehicles?
For most car manufacturers, hydrogen is a niche business. Currently, there are only a couple of FCVEs on the market and they are expensive.
- Hyundai builds the Nexo, a mid-size SUV with a premium price. Priced at 77.290 euros ~ Hyundai
- Toyota calls its Mirai-sedan an "elegant entry-level model". Priced at 63.900 euros ~ Toyota
- BMW presented the iX5 Hydrogen at the IAA this year, which will be sold in a small series at the end of 2022 ~ BMW-Group
- Mercedes-Benz has meanwhile discontinued the GLC F-Cell ~ Daimler
- Honda Motors decided to discontinue the production of their fuel cell car “Clarity” on weak demand ~ Honda
What potential does hydrogen have?
However, we must not make the mistake of completely writing off hydrogen as an important energy source. On the contrary, hydrogen will play a fundamental role in many areas in the future of mobility and it has its justification where pure electromobility reaches its limits: In shipping and as an alternative powertrain for the heavy goods traffic: trains, lorries, planes and ships need a lot of energy because of their heavy weight. Here it is difficult to achieve longer ranges with battery-based electromobility. Hydrogen and fuel cells, on the other hand, can fully exploit their potential.
- Road freight transport accounts for about a quarter of CO2 emissions in the EU (European Commission). Almost all major manufacturers are working on the technology, but only a few trucks and buses from Hyundai and Toyota are ready for series production. However, 62 companies, including Daimler, Iveco, Shell, Michelin and Total, have agreed to put 100,000 hydrogen trucks on the road throughout Europe from 2030 onward ~ Coalition Statement
Written by: Lorenzo Federici