Fuel cell or hydrogen cars: Is the alternative type of drive worth it?
When talking about environmentally friendly vehicles, most people probably think of an electric car first. But there are other alternatives to conventional combustion engines, including the hydrogen car. You can find out how these vehicles work and whether they will soon be seen more often on our roads here.
Cars powered by electricity, natural gas or biogas are now common in Switzerland. But the chance that you know someone who powers their vehicle with hydrogen is very small. This is because the acquisition costs of hydrogen or so-called fuel cell vehicles are still very high at the moment. And with only 12 filling stations for this type of drive, there is correspondingly little infrastructure in Switzerland. Whether hydrogen cars still have future potential, we will answer in this article.
Hydrogen car or fuel cell vehicle: How does this drive work?
Emission-free propulsion sounds good. But how is the whole thing supposed to work, you ask? AutoScout24 provides you with the explanation: Inside a hydrogen car is an electric motor. To drive this, electricity is needed, which is obtained from hydrogen. This hydrogen is produced directly in the car, in the so-called fuel cell.
Hydrogen is a chemical element that is a component of water. A widely used process for obtaining hydrogen from water is water electrolysis: In this process, water is broken down into the components hydrogen (H₂), also known as hydrogen, and oxygen (O₂) with the help of electricity. In this way, the electrical energy is converted into chemical energy and stored in hydrogen. In the fuel cell, the process ultimately takes place in reverse, which is called redox reaction: The chemical energy stored in the hydrogen is converted back into electrical energy and thus drives the vehicle. As a by-product of the redox reaction, only water vapor is produced. Since no further exhaust gases are emitted, hydrogen cars are locally emission-free.
If you want to know exactly how this complex chemical process works, you can find the explanation of fuel cells and electrolysis in this video:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen cars?
Those who want to travel in an environmentally friendly way usually only have the choice between electric cars and hybrid cars. But if you are interested in a hydrogen car, we have summarized the advantages and disadvantages at a glance here:
Which hydrogen cars can already be purchased?
Why are hydrogen cars so expensive?
The fuel cell of a hydrogen car contains a platinum coating. The precious metal platinum is rare on earth and is only available in limited quantities. This makes it very expensive and one of the most decisive components for the high price of a hydrogen car. Scientists and car manufacturers are already researching alternatives to platinum.
In addition, manufacturers such as Toyota built hydrogen cars by hand for a long time and were therefore unable to produce large quantities of fuel cell cars. Here, too, the classic chicken-and-egg problem reappears. However, this is about to change: Toyota announced at the end of 2018 that it would move to mass production and reduce the use of expensive materials such as platinum. Other manufacturers are also planning series production of hydrogen cars. For example, BMW, which wants to start production from 2025.
How and where do I refuel a hydrogen car?
Refueling hydrogen cars is not much different from refueling conventional cars with gasoline or diesel. However, hydrogen is not only stored in liquid form at the filling stations, but also in some cases in gaseous form. The refueling itself takes about the same time as with gasoline or diesel.
Another hurdle for the widespread use of fuel cell vehicles is that there are only a few filling stations. So far, there are 16 hydrogen filling stations for passenger cars in Switzerland. One of them is located in Dübendorf ZH at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa). Anyone who wants to refuel in Dübendorf must first register with Empa. This is set to change in the future: Agrola AG, AVIA Vereinigung, Coop, Coop Mineraloel AG, fenaco Genossenschaft, Migrol AG and the Federation of Migros Cooperatives founded the H2energy association in May 2018 as a joint platform to concretely promote and accelerate the development of hydrogen mobility in Switzerland. Since then, SOCAR Energy Switzerland GmbH, the Emil Frey Group, Shell and Galliker Transport & Logistics have joined the association.
Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to integrate hydrogen pumps into existing filling stations. For safety reasons, a distance must be maintained around hydrogen fuel pumps in which there must be no ignition source and no other fuel pump (e.g. for gasoline). Empa researchers are working on an alternative safety concept in collaboration with the Swiss Accident Insurance Institute (SUVA).
How much does a tank of hydrogen cost?
Currently, a kilogram of hydrogen costs around 20 francs (as of February 2024). The consumption of a hydrogen car is approximately 0.75 kg per 100 km. So if we calculate a range of 500 km, a full tank costs around 75 francs.
Hydrogen as a supplement to the electric car
Hydrogen can not only be used to power a hydrogen car directly: Thanks to kvyreen's new technology, hydrogen is also used for fast charging of electric cars. The technology works like the inside of a hydrogen car, but is used as a charging station. If there is a surplus of electricity, hydrogen is produced, which acts as an energy storage device. Electric cars can then be charged as usual using fast charging at kvyreen. This will help to maintain the stability of the electricity grid and provide remote locations with access to fast-charging stations. In this way, hydrogen can contribute to the promotion of sustainable mobility in a variety of ways.
How sustainable are hydrogen cars?
In contrast to an electric vehicle, which has to be charged at a socket, a fuel cell or hydrogen vehicle is filled with hydrogen at a filling station. A lot of energy is needed to obtain this hydrogen. If sustainably produced electricity is used for electrolysis (for example from hydro, wind or solar power), hydrogen is completely CO₂-neutral and particularly environmentally friendly. The only thing that escapes from the exhaust of the car is water vapor. Hydrogen cars therefore have very low CO₂ emissions during their service life. At the moment, however, a large part of the hydrogen is still produced with fossil fuels.
How dangerous are hydrogen cars?
The usual safety standards for crash tests also apply to hydrogen cars. These vehicles are therefore no more dangerous for drivers than other cars. However, since hydrogen has a wider range of ignitability, the safety requirements for the approval of hydrogen cars are extremely high.
Do hydrogen cars have future potential?
Currently, propulsion with hydrogen for passenger cars is still too expensive. In addition, it is simply not worth it, as the range of electric cars is sufficient for most private individuals.
However, because of the high energy density, fuel cells are suitable for larger vehicles that do not achieve a long range with a battery. The use of fuel cells is currently being examined, especially for trucks. For example, the first hydrogen trucks are already in use in a Coop pilot project.
source : Hydrogen cars: technology & advantages and disadvantages | AutoScout24