Are Hydrogen Cars Better Than Electric
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- Admin
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- Hydrogen, Electric, Car
- Posted date:
- 20-09-2021
Why are hydrogen-powered cars better?
In our world, we have a pressing need to move towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly choices. But, naturally, we need to do the things we need to do, including getting around day today. Therefore, this article will take you through the differences between hydrogen-powered and hybrid or electric vehicles to see which is the best option for the future.
How Hydrogen And Electric Cars Work?
Rather than liquid petroleum gas, hydrogen-powered cars are fuelled by hydrogen tanks. These tanks send high-pressure hydrogen gas into a fuel cell, where it is mixed with oxygen.
This mixture then initiates an electrochemical reaction that creates electrical power, then used to drive an electric motor.
In this way, hydrogen vehicles can be seen as a combination of conventional internal combustion engines, in that they carry a tank of fuel, and electric cars, in that they use electrical energy to drive a motor.
This means that hydrogen cars form a unique part of the automotive market. They are also often known as Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCVs) or Full Cell Electic Vehicles (FCEVs).
The greatest benefit of having your car powered by an electrical motor is that no emissions are expelled from the exhaust system.
The only products made during the process of hydrogen power are water and heat. This is due to the combination of hydrogen and oxygen atoms that naturally form H2O.
Purely electrical vehicles (EVs) are similarly powered by electrical motors; however, the power source for this electrical energy is a rechargeable battery rather than a hydrogen tank. No chemical reactions occur while the car is in motion, relying solely on the chemical energy store in the batteries they carry.
But given that both types of cars produce no emissions, which one is the more environmentally friendly? Before we reach a definite conclusion, it might be helpful to detail the various advantages and disadvantages of each form of car and compare them.
The Pros And Cons Of Hydrogen And Electric Cars
The first thing to consider is the difference in driving range between the two electric motors. The hydrogen-powered Hyundai Nexo has a range of between 330 to 550 kilometres, which is similar to that of the electric Tesla Model S, one of the best electric cars on the market.
While range is an essential consideration to make, it is difficult to state what the range of these cars is with any accuracy. The distance these cars can travel is affected by several factors, including how many passengers the car carries, which internal applications are being used, how often the car is driven and where it is driven.
These various factors are why different people report different experiences with their cars, each with unique variables. However, given the concentration of their power units, it is reported that while electric cars can travel between 100 to 200 miles on one charge, hydrogen cars can travel up to 300 miles.
The number of electric car recharging stations and infrastructure is growing every day, with over 42,000 stations currently working in the UK.
This is a vast amount compared to the mere 11 hydrogen refuelling stations currently in operation. However, the main reason why there is such a difference in fuelling stations is that hydrogen-powered cars are still being perfected and are not as prevalent on our roads as electric vehicles.
Regarding the time it takes to refuel your hydrogen or electric car, hydrogen power takes the gold medal. You can refill a hydrogen tank in 5 to 10 minutes, much like a standard petrol-powered car. On the other hand, Teslas, BMW i3s and Nissan Leafs can take up to 8 hours to fully recharge their batteries.
Of course, the time it takes to charge electric vehicles will differ depending on the model of the car being driven and the charging connector is used at the station. However, hydrogen's clear win comes from the fact that one kilogram of hydrogen stores more than 236 times as much energy as one kilogram of lithium-ion batteries.
The Problem with Getting Hydrogen
While hydrogen may be the most abundant element in the universe, we can not find it in its pure form here on Earth. Therefore, if we want to harness hydrogen to power our hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, we need to refine it from other sources.
These sources include water, fossil fuels, natural gasses and biomass. It is in these processes that we find the environmental costs of hydrogen fuel.
The cleanest source of hydrogen we have is through the reverse electrolysis of water.
However, the process of separating hydrogen molecules from water demands a great deal of energy.
This high energy demand makes the process very expensive.
There are, however, renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind energy, that can fuel this process. This would result in an energy creation system that has an incredibly low effect on the environment.
However, this green energy production is not very efficient, with around a quarter of the electrical energy being lost in the process.
The majority of the hydrogen used to power cars today is sourced from the reforming of natural gas, as this is a cheaper production system than reverse electrolysis. However, while cheaper, gas reforming leads to carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide production, contributing further to global warming.
Additionally, the process of extracting natural gas from the Earth leads to occasional methane leaks. These leaks are far more harmful to the environment than CO2, responsible for around a quarter of global emissions. The fracking process is also very harmful to local ecosystems and biodiversity and can even contaminate water supplies and cause earthquakes.
Benefits Of Hydrogen-Powered Cars
There are, however, many benefits to using hydrogen-powered cars. rast to the issues often faced by lithium-ion battery-powered vehicles regarding the end of the battery's lifespan.
Primarily, current battery technology is difficult to recycle, making their future once out of the vehicles uncertain.
Batteries belonging to electric cars, solar panels, mobile phones and anywhere else you could find them are all difficult to dispose of efficiently and safely.
However, their use as backup power sources for commercial buildings and hospitals provides us with a cleaner and more practical way of repurposing them.
Conversely, hydrogen cars operate without emitting polluting materials, which will only get better as the process of hydrogen production is improved. Alongside the ease of refuelling in less than 10 minutes, it is easy to see why hydrogen-powered vehicles are the way of the future.
Are hydrogen cars better for the environment?
Of course, hydrogen and electric cars produce zero emissions from their exhausts, the only by product of hydrogen power being water.
Therefore, these two power systems are at the forefront of environmentally friendly transportation and mobility in the automotive world.
Again, the major benefit that hydrogen power has over electrical power is that you can refuel your hydrogen tank from a pump much like a normal petroleum-powered car.
This is a quick process, far quicker than the hours you could have to wait for the same amount of energy to be charged into an electric vehicle's battery.
But you must also bear in mind that the production of electrical energy for these two types of green vehicles is not entirely environmentally friendly.
While the use of hydrogen cars produces no emissions, obtaining hydrogen fuel requires a large amount of energy.
The hydrogen fuel sources, such as natural gas fracking, also significantly negatively impact the environment.
This is a notable difference, given that you can recharge electric cars with electricity from green sources, such as wind farms or solar power.
But the future is bright for hydrogen power. The processes and systems established to provide hydrogen for the fuel cells are constantly improving. Therefore, it is only a matter of time before hydrogen-powered vehicles are the greenest form of transport we can use. So long as more funding and research is conducted, hydrogen power could be the way of the future.
Do Hydrogen cars have a future?
While hydrogen vehicles come with many benefits, not all automotive manufacturers are convinced by their appeal. According to the German news source Der Zeit, Audi is discontinuing its proposed h-Tron concept car, set to be released in 2025.
The high cost and environmental impact of producing hydrogen is the sole reason this has happened. Volkswagen also thinks similarly that introducing hydrogen power into passenger cars is ill-advised at this stage.
BMW is the only German manufacturer still considering hydrogen power for their vehicles.
They announced on Twitter that their X5 SUV will contain a second-gen hydrogen fuel cell, set to be released in 2022.
The American General Motors and their Japanese partners Honda are also committed to introducing hydrogen-powered vehicles to their assembly lines.
Naturally, the future success of hydrogen fuel cell cars relies heavily on stakeholders, such as auto-manufacturers, developers and local governments, investing in improvements to the current technology used to produce hydrogen.
However, right now, this seems like a losing battle. In the four years, it has produced, Honda has only 1,617 sales of its Clarity Fuel Cell powered vehicles.
However, Honda remains committed to reducing CO2 emissions, looking for future pathways to greater efficiency in zero-emission vehicles.
Toyota is similarly focussed on greener hydrogen power, working alongside government representatives, NGOs and utility companies to provide greater access to hydrogen refuelling stations.
If you are looking for hydrogen production services in the UK contact our specialist team today for information and advice.