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Its not that it doesn't work at all, but while there are some trial uses of hydrogen in automotive. Its the very extreme minority of cases. You can buy one of

Its not that it doesn't work at all, but while there are some trial uses of hydrogen in automotive. Its the very extreme minority of cases. You can buy one of only a few models of car, and those are only sold in absurdly small numbers. For trucks there are more trials going on but real mass production of hydrogen trucks isn't really a thing for a few more years (and many expect those will be further delayed). There are many reasons for this. Just something as simple as count how many different sub-systems are required between a BEV and a FCEV. In addition that basic disadvantage, the end to end energy in efficiency is worse, so its more expensive. In addition to that, the infrastructure required is about 10-100x more expensive. Tesla as one start up rolled out a global (or lets say in the developed world) EV charging infrastructure. The same amount of money invested in hydrogen infrastructure like not even have resulted in enough locations to charge the whole West coast. And because you can't charge at home, you need many more such locations. So really end to end it makes no sense pretty much from any direction you look at it and has been absolutely destroyed in the market. Some people still have hope for trucks, but there too the trends are pretty clear.

Fatnino 4y ago
Hydrogen has one thing going for it in that it only takes 5 minutes to fill up once you find a pump. Electric takes 4-6 times as long or more. Electric still comes out ahead despite this handicap.
- microtonal 4y ago
  Hydrogen has one thing going for it in that it only takes 5 minutes to fill up once you find a pump. Electric takes 4-6 times as long or more. Right. This is the main issue for us for going electric. We barely use the car, but when we use it, it is often for longer distances (visiting my in-laws, who live in another country, holidays). Having to 'refuel' longer and more often is very inconvenient.
  - panick21_ 4y ago
    Most normal people don't drive many hours without making a 20 min break. Doing a 5-10 min break every couple hours seems reasonable. Even just pieing and stretching the legs. As long as the supercharges are placed well its perfectly fine. I know there are some extreme people who basically push and pie in a bottle if they have to, but most people don't travel that way. Modern EV can refuel large part of the battery in like 15min. There is still an advantage, but it gets smaller with every generation of vehicle.
    - Fatnino 4y ago
      This simply isn't true. I've traveled between the bay area and Los Angeles (a six hour drive) many times with a large variety or different drivers. The longest break was a 20-30 minute stop the Greyhound bus makes at a Burger King in the middle of nowhere. But the bus also, doesn't take the shortest route for some reason. In a private car, the more passengers the greater the chance that someone will ask for a bio break. But if it's just me driving, or I'm the only passenger, the trip is typically a non-stop push. Often without stopping for even 5 minutes at an overpriced gas station in the middle. Using a current gen EV introduces nearly an hour delay each way when you factor in range limitations and excessive charging times compared to gas. I expect this will be a solved issue by 2030
TrapLord_Rhodo 4y ago
Hydrogen is significantly lighter though. If the oil companies chose to expand out their infra on the highway system with hydrogen, it may make more sense with long haul, big truck routes. Battery power scales more proportionally to weight than hydrogen.
- panick21_ 4y ago
  For trucks operation cost is the most expensive. Hydrogen itself is far more expensive compared to electricity and hydrogen infrastructure is orders of magnitude more expensive then hydrogen infrastructure.

Fatnino 4y ago

Hydrogen has one thing going for it in that it only takes 5 minutes to fill up once you find a pump. Electric takes 4-6 times as long or more. Electric still comes out ahead despite this handicap.

microtonal 4y ago
Hydrogen has one thing going for it in that it only takes 5 minutes to fill up once you find a pump. Electric takes 4-6 times as long or more. Right. This is the main issue for us for going electric. We barely use the car, but when we use it, it is often for longer distances (visiting my in-laws, who live in another country, holidays). Having to 'refuel' longer and more often is very inconvenient.
- panick21_ 4y ago
  Most normal people don't drive many hours without making a 20 min break. Doing a 5-10 min break every couple hours seems reasonable. Even just pieing and stretching the legs. As long as the supercharges are placed well its perfectly fine. I know there are some extreme people who basically push and pie in a bottle if they have to, but most people don't travel that way. Modern EV can refuel large part of the battery in like 15min. There is still an advantage, but it gets smaller with every generation of vehicle.
  - Fatnino 4y ago
    This simply isn't true. I've traveled between the bay area and Los Angeles (a six hour drive) many times with a large variety or different drivers. The longest break was a 20-30 minute stop the Greyhound bus makes at a Burger King in the middle of nowhere. But the bus also, doesn't take the shortest route for some reason. In a private car, the more passengers the greater the chance that someone will ask for a bio break. But if it's just me driving, or I'm the only passenger, the trip is typically a non-stop push. Often without stopping for even 5 minutes at an overpriced gas station in the middle. Using a current gen EV introduces nearly an hour delay each way when you factor in range limitations and excessive charging times compared to gas. I expect this will be a solved issue by 2030

TrapLord_Rhodo 4y ago

Hydrogen is significantly lighter though. If the oil companies chose to expand out their infra on the highway system with hydrogen, it may make more sense with long haul, big truck routes. Battery power scales more proportionally to weight than hydrogen.

panick21_ 4y ago
For trucks operation cost is the most expensive. Hydrogen itself is far more expensive compared to electricity and hydrogen infrastructure is orders of magnitude more expensive then hydrogen infrastructure.