The hydrogen vehicle: paradise or utopia? (1/2)
- On the paper, Hydrogen is a dream option for the carmakers. We make green electricity from natural resources (wind, solar), we take water which is available in almost unlimited quantity and we obtain, by hydrolysis from this water and green electricity, hydrogen therefore completely de-carbonated. The hydrogen is then put in a vehicle equipped with a fuel cell. Then hydrogen is transformed into electricity, and then that electricity turns an electric motor that turns the wheels. The autonomy of the vehicle (number of kilometres travelled with a full tank) is very important and there is no emission brought by the vehicle. So that’s the dream! But is it really the case?
- Use of hydrogen: today hydrogen is produced almost exclusively from fossil resources (notably gas) because it is the only manufacturing way that is economically sustainable. In this case we take carbon sources, we get hydrogen, we make electricity, and we transform part of this electrical energy into mechanical energy. Note that we lose efficiency at each stage. We could then say that it is the same problem for the battery vehicle (BEV, Battery Electric Vehicle, 100% electric). But in the BEV there are two steps less than in the FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle).
- The vehicle: one would think that this barrier of high energy consumption and very high usage price could be removed in the case of a much more efficient vehicle, society accepting these sacrifices to drive with a much better vehicle. What about it? The FCEV is extremely heavy and very expensive to produce. It has 2 hydrogen tanks, each with a 60 litres capacity, a battery, a fuel cell and a converter. This package is very massive, limiting cabin space for passengers and their luggage.
- The main advantage put claimed is the autonomy, announced at around 500 km in WLTP mode and 650 km for the next generation (figures not verified by Inovev, but these are good orders of magnitude). However, these figures are not much higher than those of BEV, the Tesla Model 3 being announced at 530 km of autonomy in WLTP mode.
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