It won’t be long before drivers are wondering what kind of car they should buy. Do you know the advantages and disadvantages of these systems?
Most of the automotive manufacturers are currently working on the development of electric propulsion and invest a large part of their resources in it; There are even brands that have already launched their own plan to go completely electrified in a few years. However, there are those who consider that the key to sustainable mobility lies in hydrogen. Which technology is better?
Until a few years ago, the question that every motorist asked himself before buying a car was: “diesel or gasoline?” There is now a broader propulsion offering and we may get to the point of rephrasing this question. “Electric or hydrogen batteries?”
Due to the strict emission regulations imposed in recent years, the automotive industry is at a crucial point, which represents high costs in research and development. For example, the future of Volkswagen took a sharp but well-defined change, and that is that its strategy proposes the sale of more than one million electric cars a year after the release of the ID.3 .
This serves as an example to determine in the first place that, as is increasingly common in the automotive world, no option is really better than the other in all cases and the convenience of buying a diesel, gasoline, LPG, CNG vehicle from us , hybrid or electric (either battery or hydrogen) will always depend on our personal circumstances: routines, economy, place of residence, etc.
How does a hydrogen car work?
Hydrogen cars use a fuel cell to generate the energy necessary to move them. These elements capture oxygen from the atmosphere and combine it with high-pressure hydrogen stored in a tank, causing a chemical reaction that results in electricity and water vapor (H2O) .
From there, the operation is similar to that of an electric vehicle, since said electrical energy is used for the drive. This is applicable even in the case of heavy vehicles, because although the hydrogen tanks must be large, their weight is low (170 liters of hydrogen can weigh about 4 kilograms).
The advantages of the hydrogen car compared to battery electric
We have already discussed how a fuel cell vehicle works in broad strokes. Now we will focus on what this technology offers in relation to the traditional electric car (if it can be called that), that is, the storage battery.
As we have already anticipated, the hydrogen car is a variant of the electric vehicle, but in its case some of the main drawbacks disappear.
One of them is autonomy , which in the case of hydrogen cars is significantly higher than average. As an example, we can look at the one offered by the Toyota Mirai (650 km), the Honda Fuel Cell Clarity (579 km) or the Hyundai Nexo (666 km). In any case, the evolution of electric makes the gap between the two technologies increasingly narrow in this regard.
What the hydrogen car is unbeatable for now is the recharging time it needs in relation to a battery electric car. A hydrogen tank needs between five and eight minutes to fill up, while a battery takes hours to recharge to 100%.
Like the electric car, the hydrogen car does not expel any type of polluting gases or particles into the atmosphere, which makes it a highly respectful vehicle with the environment at a local level. Obviously, the manufacturing process of each vehicle and the extraction of hydrogen is another story that we will talk about later.
THE HYDROGEN VS ELECTRIC CAR IN 7 KEYS
- It’s also electric
- more autonomy
- Less recharge time
- Non-existent public hydrogen plants
- No local emissions
- Few models and very expensive
- Lower energy efficiency (60%)
We end with several negative points of the hydrogen car in relation to the electric one. The first of these is the lack of a wide range of available models to choose from and how expensive they all are. The Toyota Mirai , for example, starts at a base price of 64,000 euros with a power of 182 CV, while the Hyundai Nexo costs no less than 71,000 euros offering a power of only 184 CV.
Likewise, fuel cell technology is, from the point of view of energy efficiency , much less competitive than battery electric technology, although more than conventional combustion engine technology. A hydrogen car reaches 60% efficiency, a figure well below the usual 90% of its direct competitor.
But if we talk about the recharging or refueling points , that is, the hydrogen generators, we find the main drawback when it comes to betting on a hydrogen car, because in our country the points to go to are practically non-existent.
Although Spain has a plan for more than 100 hydrogen plants by 2030, it currently only has six in Madrid, Seville, Zaragoza, Huesca, Albacete and Puertollano. But the worst is not that, because none of them is for public use , but for fleets of collaborating companies or with a view to developing this type of technology.
At a logistical level, hydrogen must be stored at a pressure of no less than 350 bars, which also makes it a highly flammable element. As a result, the technology required is expensive and the number of potential customers few.
How to get fully ecological hydrogen
In order to be used as fuel, hydrogen must have a high degree of purity (95% at least) or else the chemical reaction will not be effective. Thus, its price is not excessively cheap and is around €10/kg , with an average consumption of about 0.9 kg/100 km.
But the main stumbling block is to achieve it, since hydrogen is not found in isolation in nature and a process is necessary to dissociate it from other elements such as water. This, in itself, makes production costs high and complex.
That being said, there are three main ways of generating hydrogen, some greener than others.
The so-called gray hydrogen is the most used in the chemical industry or in large oil refineries and its extraction is obtained from fossil fuels such as natural gas. Blue hydrogen is similar to grey, but in this case the polluting emission is captured before being discharged into the atmosphere and is reused for other processes. This phenomenon is known as CCUS.
Finally, we have green hydrogen , which is obtained through the use of electricity from renewable energies such as wind or photovoltaic. With it, the electrolysis of water is carried out, a necessary process to obtain hydrogen, in which the water molecule is divided to separate it from oxygen.
Therefore, no carbon dioxide is emitted in this process, but it is currently used to produce only 1% of the hydrogen consumed. In addition, there are other methods of obtaining hydrogen, although these three are the main ones.
Safety
This is another of the issues that make many doubt about the use of hydrogen in vehicles, since the possible consequences of an accident can be far-reaching.
Although hydrogen is highly flammable at high pressure, it requires the presence of oxygen and an energy source to ignite. Due to the high purity of vehicular hydrogen, the risk is considerably reduced and, in the event of a leak, its high volatility works in its favor and usually generates a vertical flame that ends up being extinguished. In addition, hydrogen is not toxic and its impact on the environment is low.
Various industries such as aerospace have used hydrogen for decades, which is why there are highly developed and tested standards, protocols, and transportation , storage, and security technologies. Without going any further, the hydrogen battery Hyundai Nexo has obtained a 5-star rating in the Euro NCAP safety test, making it the safest SUV on the market.
In summary, we can say that the hydrogen fuel cell car has enormous potential, but also that it is currently far from meeting the needs of the automotive industry and industry.
Something also applicable to battery electric cars, although these are surely several steps ahead and, therefore, are currently postulated as the main alternative to the traditional model of combustion engine vehicles. We will see what the future holds for us and if hydrogen manages to grow enough to, at least, become a solid option for the user to consider.
Some believe that hydrogen is an excellent means of energy storage, but precisely, to remain stationary, not on board a car. On the other hand, electric batteries have been criticized for being seen as a highly polluting object once their useful life is over.
1. Hydrogen self-sufficient?
Briefly, we will explain the operation of the hydrogen battery: in principle, a vehicle that carries this technology is also an electric one, since by means of this gas, when combined with oxygen, the energy to propel it is generated, without the need plug it into a charging station.
This leads us to enjoy a great benefit that hydrogen batteries provide: their autonomy. Hyundai , one of the main promoters of this technology, has made its vehicles with this propulsion system capable of traveling more than 600 km.
By avoiding the use of cables for its operation and therefore the waiting time for charging, it seems that the hydrogen car combines the best of combustion and electric mobility. Like everything, it has some drawbacks that make it a less viable option.
One of the main disadvantages for the massification of cars with hydrogen tanks are the stations that offer recharging of this gas, because it is excessively expensive to install complexes like this, so this option is more inclined towards charging units and transportation.
2. What do EVs offer me?
One of the advantages for drivers of electric cars is the savings in maintenance and service costs, which a combustion vehicle needs, such as changing the oil, to cite an example. The downside is the current price of these products.
The logical benefit is fuel savings, although it will obviously increase the cost of the electricity bill, depending on the habits and customs of charging the batteries, because in the event of having a free station within reach, this advantage will increase exponentially.
At this point, there are countries (including Mexico) that do not have the necessary infrastructure to adopt electric mobility; that is, there are not enough charging stations in the country and the autonomy of the vehicle can become a headache, as well as the battery charging time in cities where the car is one of the main means of transport.
Unlike hydrogen batteries, EVs have a much heavier battery in their structure, which can interfere with vehicle performance; however, there are already sports vehicles that have been able to deal with these extra kilograms and the best thing (for some) is that they do not emit polluting noise.
3. Which technology is more efficient?
Before the electricity is stored in the vehicle’s battery and converted into power to start its engine, approximately 26% of electrical energy is lost; therefore, EVs show an energy efficiency level of between 70 and 80%.
For their part, cars with hydrogen tanks (depending on the model) present a greater energy loss of 45% during the hydrogen process to become the electricity that the vehicle needs to move. This means that its level of energy efficiency is between 25% and 35%.
4. Who is the winner?
There is no absolute winner, as both technologies comply with current environmental regulations. Due to production and infrastructure costs, hydrogen still appears to be a niche product/system, ie for trucks, buses or heavy-duty vehicles with long hauls.
It seems that in the coming years, electric vehicles will have more affordable prices and their development will be more accelerated, which is why they are cheaper not only in terms of purchase, but also maintenance and operation compared to hydrogen batteries.
Electricity has been a resource exploited by man for many years and with the plans of various manufacturers to massify electric cars , this type of technology has the advantage for now, although it is very likely that both propulsion systems will coexist in the future, as gasoline and diesel do today.