Feature | Electric Avenue
Hydrogen fuel cells vs. battery EVs Batteries are ahead in the race, but hydrogen fuel cells are quickly gaining ground By Maura Keller, EA Contributing Writer In recent years, advancements in EV technology have taken the automotive industry by storm. With ongoing marketing and education efforts, marketers and consumers alike are vetting these vehicles and determining their use and viability for both commercial and consumer use. More recently, attention is being paid to the best way to power all-electric vehicles: hydrogen fuel cells or batteries. While both produce electricity to drive the electric motor – eliminating the inefficiencies and pollution of an internal combustion engine – fuel cells derive their power from hydrogen stored in the vehicle, while batteries receive their energy from the electrical grid. So which is better? Katrina Groth, associate professor and director of reliability engineering, University of Maryland, says fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are simply a type of battery electric vehicle (BEV), but they use hydrogen as a fuel storage mechanism rather than only storing energy in the battery. The electrons from the fuel cell can directly power the vehicle motor or charge the battery. Groth says that FCEVs offer the opportunity to decarbonize critical sections within transportation. They are also part of a value chain using hydrogen as an energy carrier and energy storage mechanism. Hydrogen can also be produced using excess energy generated from nuclear, wind, and solar and stored as a fuel until it is needed. “By using hydrogen as an energy carrier – for example, using pipelines to transport and store hydrogen – we have both an alternative (and backup) to the overtaxed electric grid and a mechanism for storing and transporting hydrogen in existing infrastructure in critical regions of the U.S.,” Groth says.
Drawbacks of batteries BEV drawbacks include fueling time, weight, and lower energy density (which translates into range). FCEVs can be fueled in as little as a few minutes as compared to the multi-hour charging time of batteries. “FCEVs can store significantly more energy onboard than batteries – this translates into longer range and less frequent fueling,” Groth says. “This faster turnaround time also means higher utilization of your assets. There are also weight advantages:
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Large-capacity batteries are heavy; fuel cell energy systems can be up to 10 times lighter than battery systems.” On the vehicle side, Honda just unveiled a plug-in hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in Japan, with a range of 621 kilometers on hydrogen and 61 kilometers on its batteries. On the research side, there are first-of-their-kind demonstration projects in aviation, maritime, and rail. For example, multiple companies are developing helicopter propulsion technologies using hydrogen fuel cells. Joby recently set a new record: a 523mile flight powered by hydrogen, and Piasecki and ZeroAvia are partnering on hydrogen helicopter flight. “On the ground, there are also investments in using fuel cells as backup power. Data centers are Katrina Groth, associate professor and starting to invest in these backup director of reliability engineering at the University of Maryland power units to achieve uninterrupted power supply – for example, Caterpillar, Ballard, and Microsoft just completed a 48-hour backup power demonstration,” Groth says. “Hydrogen production has been significantly enabled due to recent federal investments in hydrogen hubs focused on overcoming hydrogen supply issues. Plug Power just opened a clean hydrogen plant that can produce 15 metric tons of hydrogen per day – enough to fuel 15,000 forklifts – one of the largest electrolytic hydrogen production facilities worldwide.” According to Joe Adiletta, vice president of battery commercialization at Sylvatex, hydrogen is a challenging fuel to work with. To put it simply, hydrogen has a tendency to escape from almost everything, and it’s not very energy-dense by volume. “Creating hydrogen itself is problematic, and that’s only the start,” Adiletta says. “It then has to be compressed, stored, transported, and pumped, not once but multiple times – ultimately stored onboard a vehicle before being converted into electricity.” This complex process demands a vast infrastructure and is reliant Joe Adiletta, vice president of battery commercialization at Sylvatex
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ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | APRIL 2025 21
3/6/2025 12:54:00 PM