In the quest to ditch gasoline and embrace cleaner transportation, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with battery electric vehicles (EVs). Back in the early 2000s, hydrogen was the buzzword, promising a revolution in the car industry. Yet, fast forward to today, and the landscape looks vastly different. Electric vehicles are surging ahead, dominating the market with rapid electrification from major automakers, while hydrogen cars remain a niche, with only a handful of models available. So, why did battery power pull ahead, leaving hydrogen – and the idea of “hydroelectric cars” – in its dust?
According to Sergey Paltsev, a senior research scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative, several factors contributed to the rise of battery EVs. Cultural appeal played a role; the ascent of Tesla in the 2010s undeniably boosted the global popularity of EVs. However, the most significant factor boils down to a simple, yet crucial aspect: cost.
Currently, the two primary hydrogen cars available in the U.S. market, the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo, come with hefty price tags, starting around $50,000 and $60,000, respectively. Conversely, the electric vehicle sector boasts an expanding range of more affordable options, largely fueled by the decreasing costs of lithium-ion batteries. While EVs still generally carry a higher price tag than comparable gasoline cars, government incentives are often available to bridge this gap. Research conducted by Paltsev and his team indicates that while the total cost of ownership for fuel cell vehicles has decreased in recent years, it remains elevated primarily due to the expense of hydrogen fuel itself. Their findings reveal that owning a hydrogen car is roughly 40 percent more expensive than a gasoline vehicle over its lifetime, and about 10 percent more costly than an EV.
Another critical advantage for EVs is the pre-existing, extensive electrical grid. Transitioning to electric vehicles nationwide presents considerable challenges, including establishing a comprehensive charging network and generating substantial additional electricity – ideally from clean sources – to power these vehicles. However, Paltsev argues that these challenges pale in comparison to the monumental task of constructing an entirely new hydrogen economy. “You don’t really need to create another infrastructure for electric cars,” he points out. The fundamental infrastructure, the power grid, is already in place.
Hydrogen does offer some compelling benefits. Refueling a hydrogen car is significantly faster than charging an EV battery, and hydrogen vehicles can typically achieve longer driving ranges. This “pump-and-go” experience closely mirrors the familiar process of refueling gasoline cars. However, realizing this convenience on a large scale would necessitate producing vast quantities of hydrogen and then transporting it, via pipelines or trucks, to refueling stations across the nation. Existing natural gas pipelines are not suitable for hydrogen transport due to material compatibility issues.
Considering the environmental impact, for EVs to truly maximize their contribution to reducing climate-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the electrification of transportation must be coupled with the decarbonization of the electric grid, ensuring these vehicles are powered by clean energy. “Even with a fully decarbonized grid, electric cars are not entirely zero-emission vehicles,” Paltsev clarifies. “There are still emissions associated with battery production, mineral extraction, and transportation. While significantly smaller than those of internal combustion engines, these emissions are not negligible.”
However, hydrogen production also faces its own set of environmental hurdles. Currently, the vast majority of hydrogen is derived from natural gas through a process that releases CO2 as a byproduct. Carbon capture technologies can mitigate these emissions, resulting in “blue hydrogen,” but this further increases the already high cost of hydrogen. The ideal solution, “green hydrogen,” involves using clean electricity to extract hydrogen from water. However, this method is presently expensive and, similar to EVs, places additional demands on clean electricity generation.
Despite these current disadvantages, hydrogen’s potential in clean transportation is not entirely extinguished. As battery prices continue to decline, EVs are poised to expand further into the heavy-duty vehicle sector. However, the long driving ranges and quick refueling times offered by hydrogen may prove more compatible with the demands of long-haul trucking. Establishing a hydrogen refueling infrastructure to support the trucking industry could also indirectly benefit passenger hydrogen vehicles. Currently, fuel cell vehicle adoption is primarily concentrated in California, which has the majority of the limited hydrogen refueling stations in the US, as well as countries like China, Japan, and Germany.
Innovations aimed at reducing the cost and enhancing the cleanliness of hydrogen production could revitalize the competitiveness of fuel cell vehicles. Similarly, shifts in the EV market could also play a role. For instance, battery production relies on minerals sourced from overseas, sometimes under ethically questionable conditions. Scarcity of these materials or geopolitical instability in producing regions could drive up EV prices, potentially making domestically produced hydrogen a more attractive alternative.
In conclusion, while the term “hydroelectric cars” isn’t technically accurate, the underlying concept of leveraging clean energy sources like hydropower to power vehicles is central to both EV and hydrogen fuel cell technologies. Currently, battery EVs have taken the lead due to lower costs, existing infrastructure, and cultural momentum. However, the story of hydrogen, and potentially “hydroelectric cars” in a broader sense, is not yet over. Technological advancements and strategic infrastructure development could still pave the way for a more prominent role for hydrogen in the future of clean transportation, particularly in sectors where battery technology faces limitations.
