Fuel Cell Vehicles

[GrySql]

It may be a while before these are perfected but significant advances are being made.

 

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/toyota-mirai-spawn-fuel-cell-family

 

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/first-drives/honda-fcx-clarity

Edited October 3, 2015 by GrySql

[hybridbear]

This review shows how inferior fuel cell cars are to BEVs in driving experience: http://cleantechnica.com/2015/10/05/back-future-driving-toyota-mirai-hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicle/?utm_source=Cleantechnica+News&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=988c336501-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_term=0_b9b83ee7eb-988c336501-332079429

 

I like Elon Musk's classification of them as "fool cells".

[Texasota]

And like the article points out - very little infrastructure exists to provide hydrogen for refueling. That will be a bigger challenge than the car itself.

[raadsel]

From what I've seen, the biggest issue with Fuel Cells is creating the Hydrogen; and that is what makes the current vehicles "fool cells." If we could solve the issue of creating large amounts of hydrogen gas inexpensively, these seem like they would be ideal vehicles. I'm guessing that "hydrogen stations" would be created quickly to meet demand. The issue is, researchers have yet to find an inexpensive, renewable way of creating large amounts of a pure hydrogen gas. The method at the moment involves using natural gas to create the hydrogen, which is not only not renewable, but also costs more energy to create than the hydrogen gas can produce.

[machoman1337]

I could see this tech replacing diesel trains and buses at least. Those things belch out a lot of smog - certainly far less than if all the passengers were driving cars, but there's always room for improvement. Not all streets can accommodate "trolley buses" (the ones attaching to overhead wires for electricity) and the cables can be dangerous hazards themselves. Existing battery tech won't send a heavy loaded bus very far. Since trains and buses have so many predefined stops, that's where we can start building the refueling infrastructure.