While battery EVs have a huge lead, there are still plenty of proponents of hydrogen EVs, or fuel-cell EVs. Could FCEVs actually take over? Well, probably not.
There’s no debate — battery electric vehicles are currently king, at least when it comes to sales. There are dozens of battery EV models out there and plenty of charging stations — though nowhere near enough just yet.
Convenience is king Proponents of hydrogen vehicles cite convenience as a big reason to push the technology, and it makes sense. After all, charging electric vehicles is simply not the best experience. EV charging tech is getting better, but charging at a fast-charging station will still usually take you at least 20 minutes, and that’s if you don’t have to wait for a charger to free up. That’s pretty different than filling a tank of gas in two or three minutes on the way home from work.
But, I mentioned that refueling a FCEV is more convenient at a “public station” because there’s a key component of BEV recharging that makes them far more convenient for a large portion of drivers — the ability to charge at home. That’s even more convenient than fueling a FCEV for day-to-day use. All you have to do is plug it in when you get home, and you don’t have to go anywhere to refuel.
There is one more key area where FCEVs are more convenient — in cold weather. BEVs suffer in range and charging speeds in colder weather, while FCEVs can work perfectly fine in extremely cold temperatures, without any loss in efficiency. Generally, there are less emissions involved with FCEV production than EV production. That’s due to one EV component — the battery. EV batteries aren’t just complicated to manufacturer, they also usually involve the use of rare metals, which have to be mined and transported. Some FCEVs have a battery too, but it’s nowhere near as big, and its production won’t involve as many emissions.
What about ownership costs? This is another one that’s a little complicated to solve. Hydrogen fuel is exceedingly expensive right now — but that largely has to do with the fact that there are so few FCEVs out there and, as a result, very limited production of hydrogen fuel for consumers. Filling a tank could cost a few hundred dollars — much more than charging a car. But, if FCEVs were to become more mainstream, that would change.
“Hydrogen is expensive to produce, hard to store, and the infrastructure is barely there,” said Troy Fox, co-founder and directing manager of Evergreen Electrical, a provider of home charging stations in Australia. “Sure, FCEVs might carve out a niche in areas like trucking where you need long-range and quick refueling, but for most of us, BEVs just make more sense.”
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