Hydrogen v Electric Cars - Which One Will Come Out On Top?

Hydrogen v Electric Vehicles

Introduction

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. It makes up 90% of all matter, but you won't find it on Earth because it's so light that it escaped into space as soon as our planet formed. However, hydrogen can be produced by splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity or sunlight — two things that will always be available in abundance for us to harness. Better yet, its only byproduct is water vapor!

What is Hydrogen?

If you've ever heard of hydrogen, it's likely because of its role as one of the most abundant elements in the universe. Hydrogen is also flammable and explosive, making it dangerous to transport. That said, hydrogen can be used as a fuel source when compressed into liquid form at extremely high pressures and temperatures (up to 70 bar). This liquid hydrogen is a suspension of protons (positively charged particles) and electrons (negatively charged particles) with no neutral atoms present; this means that there is no mass or weight associated with liquid hydrogen—only energy!

Liquid or gaseous forms of this element have been used as rocket fuel since the 1960s when NASA developed their lunar program using these fuels for space exploration missions.

How does Hydrogen work in a vehicle fuel cell?

When you think of hydrogen, you probably don't picture it as a power source for your car. But with the help of a fuel cell, hydrogen is just that: a clean energy source that creates electricity in the same way your home uses it to run an electric kettle or power tools.

Unlike gasoline-powered engines that burn fossil fuels and produce harmful emissions (including carbon dioxide), fuel cells convert stored chemical energy into useful electricity by reacting it with oxygen from the air. This process produces only water vapor as waste product—no CO2 or other pollutants!

Fuel cells are more efficient than internal combustion engines because they can operate at higher temperatures and pressures and do not require moving parts like pistons or spark plugs; this means less friction loss during operation. Hydrogen-powered vehicles also have much greater range than battery electric vehicles (BEVs) due to their ability to carry high amounts of onboard storage capacity without adding significant weight due to heavy batteries needed by BEVs.

Hydrogen Cars vs Electric Cars

Hydrogen cars are technically more efficient than electric cars. The reason: they use hydrogen fuel cells to convert energy into electricity and power the vehicle, whereas electric vehicles use a battery that stores electricity converted from other sources (like coal or nuclear power).

For example, when you plug an electric car into a wall outlet, it takes about 30 minutes to fully charge the battery. If you're driving at highway speeds without any stops or traffic lights then your range may be limited to 150 miles before needing to recharge again--just enough time for lunch! On the other hand, if you have access to compressed gaseous hydrogen at fueling stations along your route then it takes less than five minutes of fueling time plus several hours of storage on-board until your next fill up is needed.

Other Hydrogen Vehicles

Fuel Cells can be used to power a range of vehicles and are more practical for haulage and transportation instead of cars and personal transport. For example:

• Hydrogen-powered buses are already in use in cities like Lyon and Tokyo, where they provide an impressive range with minimal emissions. In fact, according to one study conducted by researchers at MIT and Argonne National Laboratory, these buses were found to be "three times cleaner than diesel buses."
• Hydrogen-powered trucks are also becoming increasingly common on American roads—and for good reason: they offer huge savings over traditional vehicles due to their low cost of operation and maintenance compared with diesel or gasoline engines. According to another study conducted by researchers at MIT and Argonne National Laboratory, these trucks emit far fewer pollutants than those powered by fossil fuels - between ten percent less for heavy duty vehicles like garbage trucks (which run more frequently than most cars), up to 90 percent less for delivery vans which tend not run very often but carry heavier loads when they do (like groceries).
• Hydrogen fuel cell cars are still very expensive when compared against regular battery electric ones; however they do have certain advantages such as greater efficiency thanks largely due to higher power density during acceleration periods meaning longer range before needing recharge/refueling again." These benefits mean that while these types may not yet be feasible economically speaking right now," says one article published back in 2016,"they could become so within five years if prices continue falling at current rates."

Hydrogen flight is the next step in aviation, and it's going to be a lot different than you think.

Hydrogen is an ideal fuel for airplanes because it has a high energy density—meaning more hydrogen can be stored in a given volume than other fuels. It also produces fewer emissions per unit of energy generated than gasoline or diesel, so using hydrogen for aircraft power would help reduce air pollution.

Having a high energy density means that you can carry more energy with less weight. This makes it an attractive option for aviation and cars because both are trying to reduce the weight of their vehicles so they can go farther on less fuel.

For example, the hydrogen-powered Boeing 787 Dreamliner airplane has over three times as much range (1,350 nautical miles) as its predecessor (460-660), but only weighs about 200 pounds more. By comparison, Tesla’s Model S 100D electric car has more than three times

How much energy can it store?

Hydrogen fuel cells are capable of storing a lot more energy than batteries, but they're also much heavier and have other problems that make them impractical as an alternative to internal combustion engines. A hydrogen-powered vehicle would need to carry a lot more fuel on board, which would make it heavier and use more expensive materials in its construction. The energy density of liquid hydrogen is about three times higher than gasoline, but it's still not as high as some of the best lithium-ion batteries that can be found in electric vehicles today. The Honda Clarity Fuel Cell has a range of 300 miles per tankful - roughly double what you get from most electric cars - but then again it weighs almost two tons (1,800 kilograms) more than an average Tesla Model S P100D!

How long does it take to refuel a hydrogen car compared with electric vehicles and EVs?

Let's compare refueling time with electric vehicles and EVs. While you'll find hydrogen fueling stations in some parts of the world, they are not as common as electric charging stations. Hydrogen refueling takes less than 5 minutes while it takes 15-30 minutes to charge an EV at home.

In addition to this, there is also a misconception that hydrogen is more expensive than electricity for use in vehicles but this is not true either. In fact, hydrogen costs about $2 per kilogram at present whereas electricity costs about 10 cents per kWh or $0.10 per kWh depending on where you live (e.g., California vs Texas).

Conclusion

Both BEVs and FECVs are viable solutions for greener transport with pros and cons. While hydrogen is still an emerging technology and there are plenty of challenges to overcome, it does have a range of advantages over battery powered electric vehicles. The biggest advantage being that it can be used in a wider range of vehicles than batteries, such as planes, trains, forklifts and heavy duty construction vehicles and also has longer range per fill-up than EVs do. However, there also are disadvantages such as higher costs than BEVs and there's currently less of a developed infrastructure. The process of creating the Hydrogen to power the vehicles is still lacking in efficiency and the transport of said Hydrogen is an issue currently being tackled.