Are Hydrogen-Powered Cars On The Verge Of Breaking Out?
Considering the breathless press releases and countless panels at the Los Angeles Auto Show (LAAS) last month devoted strictly to autonomous driving — and the nearly infinite ways the technology would profoundly influence every aspect of our society — it is clear the topic du jour in automotive circles is self-driving cars.
But perhaps the most surprising trend to arise out of the LAAS in 2014 was not who will be driving our cars in the coming decades, but rather how they will be driven. Or rather, powered. Until now, hybrids and plug-in electric vehicles have been the belles of the alternative energy ball — the Great Green Hope for those who wish to see humanity distance ourselves from an over-reliance on fossil fuels. But several automakers are transitioning agendas, hedging their bets on hydrogen fuel cell technology instead.
We’ve heard the siren song of hydrogen-powered vehicles before, however — Toyota has been tinkering with fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) for 20 years now, and Honda introduced its first back in 2002. So what has changed? Why is the technology suddenly relevant again? What are its true benefits and disadvantages? And what vehicles are currently being developed to bring this bold technology into the future?
Automotive executive Wolf-Henning Scheider, the respected head of supplier Robert Bosch’s automotive division, gave solid support to FCVs in the marketplace. “They are not out of the race,” he told a Berlin industry conference last month. “They are a viable alternative to other zero-emission vehicle technologies.”
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The second largest contributor to climate change in America burps from the vehicles human beings drive every day, accounting for 33% of carbon emissions. To drastically decrease the amount of carbons we dump into the atmosphere, to clean up the air we breathe every day, and to decrease our dependence on foreign oil we must transition to vehicles powered by alternative and renewable fuels: electricity, hydrogen, natural gas, biomethane, ethanol, renewable diesel and biodiesel.
How Do FCVs Work?
Hydrogen zero-emission FCVs function very similarly to electric vehicles (EVs) in that electric motors are used to turn the wheels and make them go. Instead of batteries supplying the required energy, however, power is created in fuel cell stacks that convert compressed hydrogen gas into electricity.
BMW experimented in 2007 with its Hydrogen 7, a 7-Series sedan that modified its traditional petroleum-powered internal combustion engine (ICE) to run on liquid hydrogen. Similarly, the following year Mazda delivered hydrogen versions of its RX-8 and Premacy van to Norway for use in its HyNor project.
Like the BMW Hydrogen 7, Mazda’s Hydrogen RE vehicles were bivalent, aka dual-fueled, meaning that beyond hydrogen capabilities they could also be powered with gasoline in situations where hydrogen wasn’t available. The two major differences between the automakers being: 1) Mazda’s engines were rotary, which they claim are better suited for hydrogen use than piston engines; and 2) Mazda, like all other automakers, used compressed hydrogen gas instead of BMW’s liquid hydrogen.
But both engines have their drawbacks. While these bivalent systems are the most convenient, they are even less efficient than gasoline engines, hampering their environmental efficacy.
Benefits vs EVs
The benefits to FCVs are simple. You can fill them quickly at a refilling station in 5 to 7 minutes, like regular gasoline cars, and they usually have a long range (250-400 miles). This is in contrast to EVs, which can take hours to fully charge and are usually limited to fewer than 100 miles — resulting in consumers’ much referenced “range anxiety.”
FCVs also offer a major advantage over EVs in that hydrogen can be used to power large vehicles. Nevermind behemoths like construction vehicles or tractor-trailers that are way beyond the scope of battery power, EVs also cannot be used efficiently as pickup trucks or SUVs. This severely confines their real-world application.