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People with knowledge, why are fuel cell cars not under 20k USD, because production is low or something fundamental?
by blackoil 6y ago
People with knowledge, why are fuel cell cars not under 20k USD, because production is low or something fundamental?
- Hypx 6y agoThey certainly could. We just live in the pre-"Model T" era of fuel cell cars.
- pjc50 6y agoExpensive materials in the fuel cells is another factor. But yes, small production runs are terrible for costs.
- danans 6y agoA hydrogen fuel cell car is basically an electric car + a hydrogen fuel cell, because: 1) The energy from the fuel cell has to be temporarily buffered in a battery, which is capable of finely modulating the power output needed for driving vs a fuel cell. 2) To absorb energy from regenerative braking. Hydrogen fuel for automotive applications don't work in reverse (convert energy back to H2) Granted, this battery in a fuel cell vehicle can be smaller than in a pure EV, but now you have 2 very expensive energy management systems in the car, which makes the whole thing very expensive.