Hydrogen fuel could be as cheap as gas in 5 years, study finds
California believes hydrogen could work, but in reality there are still many hurdles ahead.
Toyota
The automotive industry is looking away from the tried and tested Internal combustion engineTwo paths appear. One is the future of electric cars and tons of charging stations. The second, apparently less likely way is the way to Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
While electric vehicles are definitely the favorite, hydrogen fuel cells have their own advantages, such as: B. much larger ranges. And if a California Energy Commission (PDF) study weighs, hydrogen fuel for fuel cell vehicles could be about the same price as gasoline in just five years.
The report released last week provides details of a development plan to build renewable hydrogen fuel plants. Ultimately, the Commission believes that demand and its potential costs could be worth today’s investments. In 2025, one kilogram of hydrogen (equivalent to 0.26 gallons of gas) could be released for $ 6 to $ 8.50 and would “achieve an interim goal based on the price parity of gasoline based on fuel consumption”. That said, yes, that’s a lot more expensive than a quarter gallon of gasoline, but your car will go much further. The Commission notes that this price is also ahead of any California low-carbon subsidy, which would further reduce the price.
Production Toyota Mirai looks good while sipping hydrogen
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It is worth noting that the study examined cost parity based on vehicle efficiency. In other words, there is no way to know if automakers would have affordable vehicles with a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain by 2025. Judging by how automakers are into technology today, this is a sure thing that will not be the case. Car manufacturers often equate the cost parity for electric vehicles and the combustion engine with battery costs and not with efficiency.
There are still many problems for hydrogen fuel that we cannot solve yet. Storage remains difficult and for those who think it is difficult to find an EV charging station, try to find one Hydrogen filling station outside of California and Hawaii.
Even if hydrogen does not drive tomorrow’s cars, KEK believes that this could be an alternative for other sectors. Power generation has been discussed and could affect other industrial processes. Back in the transportation sector, hydrogen could make more sense large commercial vehicles or City buses, too.
Look at that:
2021 Toyota Mirai: Hydrogen never looked so good
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