EUROPE FIRST–HAND

HYDROGEN

Although electric vehicles are a lot more in the news than hydrogen ones, large technology leaders such as BMW have invested decades and billions in this particular solution. Quite apart from unanswered questions about how the energy in those electric batteries is generated and how we are soon to dispose of (recycle?) hundreds of millions of used up batteries, there are other issues that keep hydrogen in play.

One key difference between the two technologies is that EVs use an electric battery, effectively making them a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), while hydrogen vehicles use a fuel cell and are designated a Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV). They don’t need plugin charging as the recharging is also done not from the energy released from breaking but through a chemical reaction, with tanks where hydrogen and oxygen are mixed to provide the driving force. The electricity produced is stored in the batteries and the water is released through the exhaust pipe. PROS AND CONS

While efforts are being made to speed up electric charging and range, hydrogen cars are about as quick to fill up as a normal petrol or diesel vehicle, and have about the same driving range on a full tank. The only snag is, since hydrogen cars are selling in just miniscule numbers, the supporting refuelling infrastructure is still hugely limited, and currently well below that of electric recharging stations. Another result of the small volume of sales is a very high sales price for hydrogen cars, while running costs are also higher, so it seems that while hydrogen as a technology may have been the ideal form of ‘hybrid’ transition from fossil fuels to sustainable ones, it will lose out to EVs due to having missed out on economies of scale.

While this points to EVs as the likely winner in the hydrogen vs. electric battle, this in itself doesn’t do much to answer nagging questions about the efficacy and true environmental credentials of electric vehicles, and whether electric really is the best option for the coming energy revolution. “Which of these two energy sources will provide the ultimate solution for the world’s needs, or will it take a combination of both to keep us moving?”

Park and charge “It will be interesting to see which of these technologies wins out, but one thing is for sure, there are big infrastructural changes coming and they will change the urban landscape.”

Philipp Peter

WETAG Consulting SA Canton Ticino, SWITZERLAND The fuel cell of a Toyota hydrogen engine