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What happened to Hydrogen FCVs?

At the turn of the century, the world was at the threshold of two sustainable solutions to power cars – hydrogen fuel cells and electric batteries. In fact, electric car technology was fraught with inefficiencies and the cars born out of this were deplorable to say the least. These being early hybrids like the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight. Eco image aside, these were pretty much portable washing machines.  On the other hand, cars like the Honda FCX Clarity and Toyota Mirai, both hydrogen powered, were ushered in as the new hope in keeping the automobile relevant going forward.
The situation now though, has completely turned on its head, Elon Musk and his firm, Tesla, have captured imaginations the world over – be it the general public, automakers or governments. This is also entirely due to approaching the problem from a completely different viewpoint. Rather than path-breaking tech. Tesla used already existing technology, be it the motors, the batteries, design, packaging or connectivity and consistently improved on the efficiency and quality.
Honda Clarity
Credits: Drivetribe
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles though, on the other hand, seem to have fallen out of favour. Most firms have shifted focus to electric cars. A few exceptions are the original pioneers of this tech, Honda & Toyota and a handful of small start-up car makers whose ability to deliver is usually always under question. This may seem perplexing a first, given the fact that a vehicle whose only emissions are water vapour is pretty much an eco-evangelist’s wet dream. And, this is over and above the added benefits of these cars over electric cars, which include better range, a conventional and far quicker refueling process and consistent power delivery irrespective of ambient conditions.
However, this tail off in development of hydrogen FCVs is not surprising given the fact that pure hydrogen (not in a compound) is very difficult to find. A secondary energy source is needed to to power the process of separation from other compounds. This makes the production costs skyrocket. Further issues include the fact that the hydrogen fuel cell is an extremely complex piece of kit as compared to a straight forward lithium ion battery. Other problems include the complexities of storing hydrogen on board the vehicle as well as the infrastructure needed to set up a network of hydrogen fueling stations. On a more personal note, the styling of hydrogen FCVs presently available in the market, the Honda Clarity and the Toyota Mirai is too 80’s sci-fi to be likable by a sizable
portion of the mainstream car buying audience.
It is safe to say that this tech is not without its drawbacks, as is and was largely the case with electric cars and hybrids some time ago. However, this technology is of immense interest and scope to the auto industry. A bit more positive PR and some sizable investment and R&D along with some inspired entrepreneurship, and this tech could very easily supersede electric cars in the future.

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