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Interesting. I didn't even know these existed. So the big question. I live in the US. Should I save up for an electric car or save and wait for a hydrogen c
by vblord 11y ago
Interesting. I didn't even know these existed. So the big question. I live in the US. Should I save up for an electric car or save and wait for a hydrogen car?
- outworlder 11y agoI'm not sure what they intend to accomplish with hydrogen, really. It is difficult to store, expensive to produce, expensive to run. Zero emissions and range are the only things I can see that can make a difference. You see, people are complaining about electric infrastructure even in California. And all it requires is a beefy power outlet - to reduce the charging times, as you can use even a standard outlet if you can wait. You can imagine how that will go with hydrogen. The article says nothing about the technical challenges. Presumably, they are storing hydrogen as gas. What about hydrogen embrittlement? Also, I don't think drivers would be very happy to know that their fuel tanks are slowly but surely letting their hydrogen escape. The atoms are too small, they can escape from anything.
- bluthru 11y agoReserve a Tesla Model 3 in 2 years. I'm sure Tesla will be far ahead of hydrogen cars with respect to self-driving, too.
- toomuchtodo 11y agoThey'll be accepting reservations in March of 2016.
- hugh4 11y agoGo electric. Hydrogen is a zombie technology. Twenty or ten years ago hydrogen seemed like a pretty good way to go, and these products are the end result of projects started way back then. But batteries have pretty much leapfrogged hydrogen in every way, and I can't see hydrogen staging a comeback.
- xixi77 11y agoWhat about range and recharging speed though? I would imagine hydrogen would have an advantage there...
- mikeash 11y agoRange, a little. Current hydrogen cars offer 300ish miles of range. Recharging speed depends on how you're using it. On a road trip, hydrogen wins (if the stations ever get built out). For daily driving, electric wins, because the effective recharging time for plugging in overnight is zero, since you're not waiting for it. Both are likely to improve for batteries much more that for hydrogen, too.
- raisedbyninjas 11y agoEnergy density of batteries increases by about 7% per year. So within a decade battery range should match the average passenger car range. At that point, continuous driving is the last challenge. Fast chargers would need to scale with battery capacity for a roadtrip use case of say 5 hours of driving between stopping for meals and charging.
- mikeash 11y agoElectric cars are awesome right now and will only get better. Don't plan on buying a hydrogen car unless you want to see your fuel costs go up, you still want to be tied to fuel stations, and are willing to wait a long time (maybe forever) for anything good to become available.
- Someone1234 11y agoIf you need a car now then the question is redundant, only electric exists. If you don't need a car now then the question asked today is also redundant, since you'd evaluate the benefits in the future, not now. Right now you have three viable choices: petroleum, diesel, and electric. A few limited areas also offer natural gas, bio-fuels, etc, but they're niche to set markets.