Toyota fuel cell vehicle may be cleaner than battery electrics
May 23, 2016Fuel cells may soon dominate the clean transportation space
Fuel cell vehicles could be on their way to becoming more environmentally friendly than their battery-powered counterparts. These two types of vehicles have a lot in common. Both are powered by electricity, and both produce no harmful emissions. Unlike battery electrics, however, fuel cell vehicles can be fueled in a matter of minutes, whereas conventional electric vehicles take several hours to fully charge, making them somewhat inconvenient for consumers.
Fuel cells are considered more efficient than batteries, but also more expensive
Typical battery electrics derive the energy they need from a large battery system. This is stored energy than can be tapped into when it is needed. Fuel cells generate electricity through the consumption of hydrogen fuel. One of the concerns regarding these energy systems is that hydrogen is highly combustible and storing this fuel safely is very important, especially if it is being used in the transportation space. Some automakers are making progress in ensuring these vehicles are ideal for consumers, and Toyota may have found the answer.
Toyota fuel cell vehicle is more efficient than battery electrics
Toyota recently launched the Mirai, which may be more environmentally friendly than battery electrics. According to Toyota, the Mirai is designed from the ground up as being the world’s first production fuel cell vehicle. While it is not alone in the market, it is considered one of the most efficient and cleanest vehicles currently available. While the Toyota fuel cell vehicle does not produce any harmful emissions, fuel cells themselves are expensive to produce and hydrogen production is heavily reliant on fossil-fuels.
Renewable hydrogen production could ensure that fuel cell vehicles are the cleanest vehicles available in the world
The energy that batteries use in produced through the consumption of fossil-fuels, but hydrogen production is a notoriously energy intensive process. The hydrogen production process is beginning to rely more heavily on renewable energy. If renewable hydrogen becomes the staple of fuel cell vehicles, they will beat out conventional electric vehicles as the cleanest option available to drivers interested in clean transportation.
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Consider this. Hydrogen cars, like gasoline cars, store their energy in the fuel molecules themselves and thus don’t need to transfer raw power over wires. Thank goodness for that since there’s no grid around to charge even a fraction of our cars if they were electric. And this is the point — and what makes the search for better batteries foolish — you still gotta charge them. But where? The electric grid is already our Achilles heel.
A new study from the global clean technology consultants at Navigant Research emphatically puts the notion of utility and grid insufficiency to rest.
In fact, Navigant says, the power grid we have right now can sustain millions of electric vehicles without anyone having to invest in new power generation.
It also requires a lot of electric energy to refine and distribute gasoline and diesel fuel. Those kWh are removed as more vehicles move to battery electric propulsion.
Wow- I wondered where such a headline would come from and found a hydrogen echo chamber, complete with one inane comment. Good luck with the fool cell fantasy. EVs will rule the day, but not with ‘notoriously energy intensive’ hydrogen in the trunk. At $1MM+ per hydrogen filling station and no at-home refueling, hydrogen passenger cars don’t have a chance of being a significant part of the solution. Even theoretical H2 efficiencies don’t come close to current battery-electric efficiencies. As a storage medium for excess wind and hydropower? Perhaps, but still much less efficient than dispatchable demand or battery storage options.