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I don’t understand why some BEV fans hate hydrogen so much and some hydrogen fans hate BEV so much. There are drawbacks to both and advantages to both. BEVs w

I don’t understand why some BEV fans hate hydrogen so much and some hydrogen fans hate BEV so much. There are drawbacks to both and advantages to both. BEVs work well for small and city vehicles, hydrogen for large transport vehicles and off-road type stuff. Best of all, if we use two, three or four energy sources for our stuff instead of just one, that spreads the load on earth’s resources.

tcfhgj 5y ago
Hydrogen is often used to make arguments against battery cars and for hydrogen cars (not large transport vehicles, planes, industrial applications with no alternatives, etc.)
ip26 5y ago
The argument from hydrogen advocates often goes something like, don't bother doing BEV now because hydrogen is going to be so much better ten years from now. (Meanwhile, keep buying fossil fuel cars please) It's especially hard to swallow when that advocate is Toyota, largest fossil fuel carmaker in the world.
- metalliqaz 5y ago
  Toyota is also the manufacturer of the Prius, which outnumbers any other hybrid or BEV model that I see in my day-to-day.
danans 5y ago
> I don’t understand why some BEV fans hate hydrogen so much and some hydrogen fans hate BEV so much. > BEVs work well for small and city vehicles, hydrogen for large transport vehicles and off-road type stuff. They don't "hate" each other's tech. The entire conversation has up until this point has centered exclusively on light duty passenger vehicles. In that segment it's been clear for a long time that BEVs are the better technology. If there are any resentments from BEV advocates it is due to the way hydrogen fuel cell tech has been used as a way to slow down the electrification of light duty passenger vehicles. Only recently has the conversation started about where hydrogen makes more sense (trucking, aviation, and perhaps most importantly, long duration renewable energy storage).
- Swenrekcah 5y ago
  Well I guess I’m generalising from some public Facebook groups I’ve followed but there are regularly flame wars there between the two tribes :)
bryanlarsen 5y ago
I think BEV will work best for most trucking use cases. Try and debate me without using negative language and you'll understand why the debates look toxic. > Best of all, if we use two, three or four energy sources for our stuff instead of just one, that spreads the load on earth’s resources. BEV and green hydrogen use the same fuel source: electricity. Electricity is the magic sauce here, since there are a bunch of ways to generate it.
Youden 5y ago
I think it's the same root cause as many problems: the belief that there must be a "best" that is single and absolute. You see the same thing everywhere. Mac vs. Windows vs. Linux, Android vs. iOS, PC gaming vs console gaming. Whenever there's a technical choice to be made, there will be people who argue that their choice is the "best" choice or the only right choice. However I think these absolutists are actually the minority, you just tend to see them more often in forums like HN. I suspect the vast majority of people don't really care. FWIW I'm a hydrogen fan but just bought a BEV, so I can assure you that people like me do exist.

tcfhgj 5y ago

Hydrogen is often used to make arguments against battery cars and for hydrogen cars (not large transport vehicles, planes, industrial applications with no alternatives, etc.)

ip26 5y ago

The argument from hydrogen advocates often goes something like, don't bother doing BEV now because hydrogen is going to be so much better ten years from now. (Meanwhile, keep buying fossil fuel cars please) It's especially hard to swallow when that advocate is Toyota, largest fossil fuel carmaker in the world.

metalliqaz 5y ago
Toyota is also the manufacturer of the Prius, which outnumbers any other hybrid or BEV model that I see in my day-to-day.

danans 5y ago

> I don’t understand why some BEV fans hate hydrogen so much and some hydrogen fans hate BEV so much. > BEVs work well for small and city vehicles, hydrogen for large transport vehicles and off-road type stuff. They don't "hate" each other's tech. The entire conversation has up until this point has centered exclusively on light duty passenger vehicles. In that segment it's been clear for a long time that BEVs are the better technology. If there are any resentments from BEV advocates it is due to the way hydrogen fuel cell tech has been used as a way to slow down the electrification of light duty passenger vehicles. Only recently has the conversation started about where hydrogen makes more sense (trucking, aviation, and perhaps most importantly, long duration renewable energy storage).

Swenrekcah 5y ago
Well I guess I’m generalising from some public Facebook groups I’ve followed but there are regularly flame wars there between the two tribes :)

bryanlarsen 5y ago

I think BEV will work best for most trucking use cases. Try and debate me without using negative language and you'll understand why the debates look toxic. > Best of all, if we use two, three or four energy sources for our stuff instead of just one, that spreads the load on earth’s resources. BEV and green hydrogen use the same fuel source: electricity. Electricity is the magic sauce here, since there are a bunch of ways to generate it.

Youden 5y ago

I think it's the same root cause as many problems: the belief that there must be a "best" that is single and absolute. You see the same thing everywhere. Mac vs. Windows vs. Linux, Android vs. iOS, PC gaming vs console gaming. Whenever there's a technical choice to be made, there will be people who argue that their choice is the "best" choice or the only right choice. However I think these absolutists are actually the minority, you just tend to see them more often in forums like HN. I suspect the vast majority of people don't really care. FWIW I'm a hydrogen fan but just bought a BEV, so I can assure you that people like me do exist.