Hydrogen-powered cars produce zero emissions, making them a greener option than electric cars. However, electric cars are more efficient and have a lower total cost of ownership.
With growing concerns about climate change and sustainability, some consumers want to buy cars that have less of an impact on the environment. Hydrogen cars and electric cars are two of the most popular options for environmentally friendly vehicles. But which is more sustainable?
The cheapest electric car in the world is sold in China
A hydrogen cell car has a hydrogen tank that feeds the fuel cell with high pressure hydrogen gas mixed with oxygen. This mixture starts an electrochemical reaction that produces electricity to power an electric motor. This means that hydrogen cars have the characteristics of both electric cars (through the use of electricity and the engine) and conventional gasoline cars (through the tank).
Fuel cells are a key component of hydrogen cars. Think of them as the driver of all the processes in the car to move it. In short, fuel cells convert stored hydrogen gas (by mixing it with oxygen) into electricity.
This electricity is used for an electric motor that powers the transport without releasing toxic gases from the tailpipe. Furthermore, the only by-products of the entire process are water and heat, created when hydrogen and oxygen atoms combine to form H₂O molecules. I know, sounds perfect, doesn’t it?
Electric vehicles (EVs), on the other hand, use electric motors powered by a rechargeable battery or other portable energy sources. In motion there is not even a chemical reaction, but an electrical reaction, thanks to the pre-charged electric batteries.
But which is more eco-friendly and sustainable: hydrogen cars or electric cars? It depends on your priorities. If you are concerned about emissions, a hydrogen car is the best choice. If you’re focused on efficiency and cost, an electric car is the way to go.
Advantages and disadvantages
Autonomy
The Hyundai Nexo (with a hydrogen engine) has a range of around 610 km, which is about the same as Tesla’s best electric car, the Model S. However, it’s hard to say exactly how long these cars can last on a “full tank”.
It depends on various constraints, such as how many passengers the car is carrying, whether the air conditioning is on or off, whether the car is on the highway or in the city, the mode of transportation, etc. Therefore, different individuals reported different experiences.
However, because hydrogen-powered cars store an abundance of energy, they can generally cover greater distances. Most electric vehicles can travel up to 350 km on a single charge, while most hydrogen cars can range up to 600 km.
Accessible refueling stations
The number of electric vehicle charging stations is growing every day and in the last month and there are approximately 50,000 electric charging stations in the USA alone. In Brazil, however, there are few options — generally there are recharge points only in malls and some accredited service stations in large cities.
But when it comes to hydrogen refueling stations, there are only about a hundred in the US, most of them in the California area, according to the US Department of Energy.
By the way, the infrastructure, supply and technology of hydrogen vehicles are still years behind electric vehicles.
Refueling time
The time required to pump hydrogen into the tank is much more interesting (5 to 10 minutes, like any gasoline car) than that of electric cars. While Tesla’s fast chargers (with 120 kW) give the batteries 80% power in half an hour, the BMW i3 or Nissan Leaf have taken about 4 or 8 hours respectively to fully charge.
Finally, the starting time of electric cars naturally depends on the charging station and the type of charging connector. However, whatever the combination, and even with Tesla’s latest V3 supercharger still in beta testing in San Francisco, we’re talking a clear win for the hydrogen car: all because 1 kilogram of hydrogen stores 236 times more energy. than 1 kilogram of lithium-ion batteries.
The real problem: getting hydrogen
Although hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, it does not exist in its pure form on planet Earth. This means that if we want to use it as fuel for our cars, we need to produce it from other compounds like water, natural gas or other fossil fuels, or biomass. And for that, energy needs to be used and environmental and economic costs come into the equation.
On the one hand, we can cleanly obtain hydrogen by reversing the electrolysis process of water. The problem is that this process of separating H20 molecules to obtain hydrogen requires a large amount of energy, making it a very expensive process.
However, if this energy is able to come from renewable energy sources such as the sun or wind, the net energy cycle can become very low in carbon and the process becomes cleaner for the environment.
Most hydrogen fuel today is obtained by the natural gas reforming process, which is cheaper than electrolysis. The downside is that harmful by-products such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are produced in the process, contributing to global warming. Furthermore, and although they are becoming less frequent, methane leaks during natural gas extraction are not uncommon. The natural gas extraction process usually also has a significant environmental impact and can harm ecosystems, biodiversity, contaminate waters and cause small earthquakes.
Advantages of hydrogen cars
Cars with hydrogen fuel cells, rather than the typical lithium-ion batteries in electric cars, offer an attractive value proposition that appears to get rid of the end-of-life problem of lithium batteries.
Furthermore, driving without polluting emissions and with the advantage of being refueled quickly compared to the best scenario of 40 minutes of charging or the more common scenario of 3-6 hours of charging in electric cars, is also a victory for hydrogen.
Some studies also show that the hydrogen economy has the potential to decrease global CO2eq emissions by between 0 and 27%.
This potential can be achieved once:
– methane leakage from natural gas is relatively low
– cracking of methane is done to produce hydrogen
– a hydrogen fuel cell is applied.
So which is the most sustainable?
Despite the benefits mentioned above, most hydrogen today is produced by the methane reforming process. This destroys the full potential of hydrogen-powered vehicles as a solution to combating climate change because of the carbon monoxide and dioxide that are generated in the process.
Furthermore, the need to use natural gas (a fossil fuel) that can escape during the extraction and transport phase (via pipelines) is not very convincing either. Even if the methane cracking process is improved (and efforts aren’t making it that way) it’s not likely to be a long-term solution.
However, with the development of technology, perhaps the water electrolysis process to obtain hydrogen can be improved and more used as the process becomes more efficient.
While hydrogen-powered cars use twice as much energy (first to make hydrogen, then to power the car), electric cars can immediately draw energy from the grid, making electric cars a smarter choice. Generally speaking, converting electricity to hydrogen and back results in energy losses of up to 45%.
The proton exchange membrane is a new way to produce hydrogen that scientists say can be up to 86% efficient. However, we need to wait and see how it develops before deciding if it’s the best option.
Using the extra energy supply to produce hydrogen or creating hybrid versions of hydrogen-lithium-ion cars could be efficient too, according to recent studies.
Some people might think that electric cars are expensive, but they are actually more affordable than other types of cars. They also consume less energy compared to hydrogen-powered cars, and if their lithium batteries are reused, they can help the environment by being more sustainable.
Therefore, the electric car is a more sustainable solution, at least in the coming years.
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