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What are Fuel Cell Vehicles?
Fuel cell vehicles, also known as hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, use hydrogen as fuel to power an electric motor. In a fuel cell vehicle, the hydrogen fuel is converted into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen in the air. This electricity powers the electric motor, which then drives the wheels. The only emission from the vehicle is water vapor and heat. Fuel cell vehicles have significant advantages over traditional gasoline powered vehicles as well as battery electric vehicles.
How Fuel Cells Work
In a fuel cell vehicle, hydrogen is stored in a high-pressure tank, similar to how compressed natural gas is stored. When the driver presses the accelerator pedal, the hydrogen fuel is released into the fuel cell stack. In the fuel cell stack, the hydrogen comes into contact with catalysts and splits into protons and electrons. The electrons are used to power the vehicle’s electric motor, while the protons pass through a membrane electrolyte. At the same time, oxygen from the air enters the fuel cell stack. The protons and oxygen combine and, in a chemical reaction, produce electricity, water and heat. The water vapor is the only emission expelled from the tailpipe.
Benefits over Gasoline and Battery Electric Vehicles
Fuel cell vehicles have several advantages over both gasoline powered vehicles as well as battery electric vehicles. When compared to gasoline vehicles, fuel cell cars produce no harmful tailpipe emissions and are much cleaner and more environmentally friendly. Their only emission is water vapor. Fuel cell vehicles are also more efficient than gasoline or diesel vehicles, generating electricity from hydrogen more efficiently than burning fuel in an engine.
When compared to battery electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles have significant advantages in terms of refueling speed and driving range. It only takes a few minutes to refuel a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, similar to gasoline vehicles. In contrast, it can take hours to fully charge a battery electric vehicle using current charging infrastructure and capacities. Fuel cell vehicles also have a much longer potential driving range than battery electric vehicles, which are currently limited to around 250-300 miles per charge. With a sufficiently large hydrogen fuel tank, a fuel cell vehicle can drive over 300 miles on a single fill-up. This alleviates range anxiety issues that still plague battery electric car adoption.
Infrastructure Challenges Remain
Despite the clear technological advantages of fuel cell vehicles, there are still some infrastructure challenges holding back widespread consumer adoption. The biggest challenge is developing a network of hydrogen refueling stations that is as widespread and convenient as today’s gasoline stations. Currently there are only around 50 public hydrogen refueling stations in operation across the United States. For consumers to feel comfortable switching to fuel cell vehicles, there would need to be hundreds if not thousands more stations built out over the next decade.
Additional challenges include bringing down the cost of producing and delivering hydrogen fuel. Currently hydrogen is more expensive per equivalent mile driven than gasoline due to lack of economies of scale in production. Investment is needed in large-scale renewable hydrogen production methods using electrolysis in order to reduce costs over time. Fuel cell stack and system costs also need to decline to be competitive with internal combustion and battery electric powertrains. Automakers are making progress on technology advancements and production improvements to help lower costs.
The Future is Bright
Despite the infrastructure challenges, many experts are optimistic about the long term outlook for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Major automakers like Toyota, Hyundai, Honda and BMW have committed to introducing fuel cell models over the next few years. They see fuel cells as strategically important for powering larger commercial trucks and buses where payload capacities are critical. In California, the state has invested heavily in building out the first hydrogen stations and providing purchase incentives. This early market development will help prove the technology and gather valuable data.
As more fuel cell vehicles hit the roads, it will drive demand and economies of scale for building out more refueling stations. Several companies are working on innovative refueling solutions like transportable hydrogen fueling trucks. Investments are also being made in large-scale renewable green hydrogen production facilities. Within 10-15 years most forecasts predict hydrogen fueling station coverage will expand significantly, alleviating range anxiety similarly to today’s gasoline networks. Fuel cell costs will continue declining through manufacturing improvements. It seems clear hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have the potential to become a mainstream technology for a clean transportation future. With the continued efforts of policymakers, businesses and environmental groups, this future is coming into focus sooner than many expected.
*Note:
- Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
- We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
