Hydrogen cars: All the info, advantages and disadvantages
Can hydrogen cars replace electric cars as an alternative drive method in the future? Only a few manufacturers focus on the construction of fuel cell cars in addition to electric drives. Is that useful or a lost potential? We'll tell you everything you need to know about the hydrogen car.
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How does a hydrogen car work?
A fuel cell is powered by hydrogen. The hydrogen, which has become gaseous during a chemical process, reacts with oxygen and releases energy in the form of electricity. This energy then drives an electric motor.
To be precise, hydrogen cars are also electric cars, because they are also equipped with an electric motor. However, this is powered differently than in the electric car. A fuel cell replaces the battery and uses a chemical reaction (reversal of electrolysis) between hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, which is then used to drive the engine and thus the vehicle.
In the end, only water vapor escapes from the exhaust, so a hydrogen car is locally emission-free. However, the hydrogen that the vehicles run on is largely obtained from hydrocarbons from fossil resources such as natural gas, oil or coal, which causes the ecological balance of the hydrogen car to slide back into the negative.
Advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen cars
The fact is that environmentally conscious drivers buy an electric car because they have almost no alternatives. Which alternative drive is the best seems to have already been decided. Does the hydrogen car still have what it takes to embark on a quiet and secret triumphal march? Here you can see the advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen cars in a nutshell:
| Advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen cars |
|
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| ✔ Locally emission-free | ✖ Hydrogen does not occur naturally |
| ✔ Short refueling time | ✖ High share of fossil fuels needed |
| ✔ High range | ✖ Low petrol station coverage |
| ✔ resistant to cold |
✖ Hydrogen models are expensive and rare |
| ✔ very safe even in the event of accidents |
✖ Technology not yet mature |
On closer inspection, this means that a hydrogen car is fully refueled after just under five minutes, easily reaches the range of today's diesel vehicle and only gets into trouble at about -30 degrees Celsius. But even a car with conventional drives is unlikely to start so easily.
However, a closer look at the disadvantages also shows that a hydrogen drive has its pitfalls and cannot be praised beyond measure. Above all, the production contradicts the claim to environmental compatibility. Gas stations are still rare.
But even if you can accept all this, you hardly have a model selection and are limited to a handful of models, which are also not exactly cheap. Good to know: With a hydrogen car, you are exempt from the toll in the Czech Republic and the toll in Norway is reduced in some cities. The toll for the Grossglockner High Alpine Road is also reduced if you drive a hydrogen car.
In the environmental zone in Stuttgart, the hydrogen car can also be driven without any problems.
Buying a hydrogen car - What costs should you expect?
Due to the rather complex technology and the small number of models currently being produced, the acquisition costs for hydrogen cars are relatively high. As far as fuel, i.e. hydrogen, is concerned, however, things are looking good. A calculation by the hydrogen filling station operator H2 Mobility shows that a hydrogen car consumes an average of 0.8 kg/100 km. The costs in 2022 were thus 10.28 euros/100 km.
This was cheaper than petrol, diesel and electric compared to the previous year.
Current hydrogen-powered cars
If you want to buy a hydrogen car, you only have the choice between two models:
- Toyota Mirai
- Hyundai Nexo
Von Mercedes gab es den GLC F-Cell, der aber mittlerweile schon wieder vom Markt genommen wurde. Wir haben den Toyota Mirai für dich getestet, sieh dir unser Video an:
At the moment, Toyota in particular is concentrating on the promotion and development of hydrogen cars. We cannot say whether and when this drive will also receive a boost in Germany. However, the chances of success would be there, because an electric car also has disadvantages.
Current developments in hydrogen cars
Developments are currently mainly focused on electric propulsion, although hydrogen could be used in agricultural machinery, ships or aircraft. The use of fuel cells is also conceivable in the field of truck traffic. However, hydrogen will not be used on a large scale for the time being.
When will hydrogen cars come?
So far, there are hardly any hydrogen cars on the roads – apart from the Hyundai Nexo and Toyota Mirai, no model has so far really ventured into the realms of the drive concept. The fuel cell is not too popular, and yet some consider it a better alternative to battery-powered electric cars.
Accordingly, it is difficult to predict when hydrogen cars will make a breakthrough and whether it will come at all. After all, Mercedes has already plunged into the fuel cell adventure with its GLC F-Cell, but has withdrawn again for the time being. BMW is also testing a hydrogen car, but the so-called BMW iX5 Hydrogen has only been built as a small series and will not be a production model.
Honda has also put out feelers for hydrogen cars in Europe and could tinker with the development in the coming years.
How many hydrogen filling stations are there?
One of the biggest problems that arise with a hydrogen car is finding a filling station. There are currently just 90 hydrogen filling stations in Germany. Some operators want to significantly expand the network of filling stations in the next few years - but whether that will really happen remains to be seen.
If you want to go on holiday with the hydrogen car, things look even worse. Germany's neighbouring countries cannot get beyond five petrol stations – which makes a holiday trip almost impossible. To find the few filling stations, you can use a digital map of all European hydrogen stations, which is provided by the operator H2 Mobility.
Will hydrogen cars be subsidized?
No. Hydrogen cars were subsidized with the environmental bonus until the end of 2023. After the government stopped subsidizing e-cars and hydrogen cars, there is currently no bonus if you opt for a hydrogen model.
Problems and risks of hydrogen cars
Hydrogen propulsion is still unknown to many and rather suspicious – but what are the real problems and risks with hydrogen cars?
How dangerous is a hydrogen car?
When handling hydrogen, you have to take different safety precautions than with gasoline. Hydrogen, for example, has a wider range of ignitability. This means that the components of the vehicles and the safety of the models are subject to stricter requirements. There must be separate tests on pressure, tightness, bursting and fire safety. The safety standards prescribed in Europe for crash tests are also the same for hydrogen cars.
Is a hydrogen car dangerous? No, it is even less dangerous than a combustion model. Hydrogen is explosive in combination with oxygen above a certain ratio, but hydrogen is extremely volatile because it is very light. So the mixing ratio is almost impossible to achieve. If you stay realistic, the risk of fire in petrol or diesel vehicles is even greater after an accident.
How long does a fuel cell last?
Fuel cells currently have a service life of up to 450,000 kilometers. If you look at electric cars, the battery can last much longer and still retain 70 percent of its capacity. However, this is certainly not true for every electric car, and if you assume the same research and development effort for fuel cells as for batteries, you could certainly get even more service life out of it here as well.