The Advantages and Disadvantages of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

In the movement away from fossil fuel burning vehicles, fuel cell cars powered by hydrogen could possibly be a fixture in our future transportation. With water as the only emission, they are a true zero emission vehicle. Fuel cell cars definitely have their advantages, but there are plenty of obstacles that currently loom.

While the vehicles themselves are zero emission, the process of producing hydrogen is far from it. Extracting hydrogen from sources such as water, natural gas, or coal burns fossil fuel, therefore much more technological progress is needed to produce hydrogen in an environmentally friendly way.

Another large issue is the infrastructure required for hydrogen to be available to the public. Thousands and thousands of refueling stations would be needed, and it wouldn’t be easy for them to be constructed fast enough to support the industry. There is also the problem of storing the hydrogen within the cars themselves. It must be stored as a gas, and it is posing challenges to engineers trying to produce a car with a respectable range between refueling.

The current price of buying and running a hydrogen vehicle is astronomical compared to current hybrid offerings. Automakers, many of which are working on getting a fuel cell car to market by decade’s end, must think that they will eventually be able to compete price-wise.

Unlike plug-in hybrids, fuel cell cars would not be dependent on the electric grid for power. Millions of plug-in cars charging every night would put more strain on the electric supply and ultimately burn more fossil fuels. However, if the renewable energy field continues its current explosion, plug-ins could be powered by completely clean energy, and would be a clear winner over hydrogen, in my opinion.

It’s easy to sit here and point out all the flaws in fuel cell cars and pick apart reasons why it won’t work, but that’s beside the point. We’re going to need an array of options and a diverse game plan to end this addiction, and we need to be studying anything with potential. With a few breakthroughs, fuel cell cars could be a vital part of our future.

Also see some slides below which talks about how fuel cells work....