We were expecting hydrogen cars to take over
the world years ago, but so far, we’ve got
more Prius’ and Teslas.
What happened to the fanfare for the car that
runs on water, man?
It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything
about hydrogen cars, seemingly because the
market wasn’t ready to look past it’s
disadvantages yet.
Back in 2014, we saw the very first commercial
hydrogen fuel cell vehicle debut with the
Toyota Mirai.
It was a promising alternative, and cost about
sixty thousand dollars to own.
But the sticker price isn’t the only drawback
for the average driver.
The infrastructure for hydrogen cars just
isn’t there yet.
Fuel stations are still few and far between
and the cost to build more is a challenge
when very few are buying the cars in the first
place
Plus, competition is steep.
Why pay for a hydrogen car when you can get
an all electric one for less.
Saving money AND helping the environment.
Ultimately, this is a classic chicken or the
egg situation.
Without infrastructure, the auto industry
won't push hydrogen-fuel cars.
But without consumers asking for hydrogen
vehicles, there's less demand to build the
infrastructure.
It doesn't help that building a new hydrogen
distribution infrastructure, like the fueling
stations and the hydrogen gas itself, is expensive
and complicated.
The most common way we get hydrogen gas is
to separate it from natural gas, but that
split still causes CO2 emissions.
8.And the alternative?
Ideally we’d use electricity from solar
and winds farms to split hydrogen from water,
a process called electrolysis, but we don’t
have the infrastructure for that either.
Right now, we’d have to use the electricity
that currently comes from power plants, where
they still emit CO2.
Both of our current processes defeat the purpose
of this whole carbon-free endeavor and are,
ultimately, another roadblock for the hydrogen
car.
On top of the infrastructure challenges, hydrogen
fuel cells are costly and complex to make.
One fuel cell stack alone can cost Toyota
up to eleven thousand dollars.
The heart of a hydrogen fuel cell is composed
of an anode and cathode, usually mixed with
small particles of platinum, a thin material
called the polymer electrolyte membrane, and
a gas diffusion layer.
Platinum is a special catalyst for chemical
reactions in the fuel cell.
When hydrogen is pumped through the anode
side, the platinum separates the hydrogen
into protons and electrons.
Since the negatively charged electrons can’t
transfer through the special membrane like
the hydrogen ions, they get shuffled out through
a circuit, and that flow of electrons creates
an electrical current that powers the car
(cool).
The electrons then come around the other side,
meet their hydrogen partners, throw a little
oxygen into the mix and all that is expelled
as H20. (even cooler).
For their hydrogen car, Toyota stacks cells
three hundred seventy layers thick in order
to get the energy output they’re looking
for.
All these materials, especially the platinum,
amount to a pretty penny, and that’s not
even even including the materials used for
the storage of hydrogen itself, which can
also be super pricey.
But we’re getting better at this.
Since 2014 fuels cells have become lighter,
and the platinum catalysts are engineered
more efficiently, which means they cost less.
Scientists are working on electrolysis systems
to make that carbon emission-free hydrogen
we need AND there are initiatives globally
to get hydrogen vehicles like taxis, buses,
and trucks, on the roads.
See for the average person, hydrogen cars
might be impractical, but for long distance
travel with large vehicles; they seem to be
a great fit.
Electric vehicles need multiple hours of charge
time whereas hydrogen vehicles can be fueled
within minutes and have a range of about 500
kilometers; more than fossil fuel and electric
cars.
That might be the reason why Japan has ordered
100 hydrogen buses for the 2020 games, South
Korea has commissioned 1,000 buses, and companies
in the U.S. pre-ordered 11,000 commercial
trucks.
Infrastructure to build hydrogen fueling stations
still has a long way to go.
The California Fuel Cell Partnership has made
it a goal to put 1,000 hydrogen gas stations
in California by 2030.
And Japan has similar ambitions.
While they currently have 90 hydrogen fueling
stations, the country aims to have 900 stations
to service some 800,000 FCVs, buses and forklifts
by 2030
So, hydrogen cars may not take over the world
yet.
Realistically, in the future there will probably
be a split between electric, gas, and hydrogen
cars.
If the industry succeeds, maybe we can make
a bigger difference in our carbon footprint
and could possibly maybe sort of help us live
here past 2100.
Which is something I would like.
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And Hydrogen fuel isn’t the only way we
want to power our public transit, Julian explains
how supercapacitors are being in used in buses
too, check it out here.
Fun Fact: The first hydrogen fuel cell ever
invented was actually in 1839 by Sir William
Robert Grove, but that one didn’t produce
enough energy to be useful.
Thanks for watching everyone and see you next
time on Seeker.
