Honda Fuel Cell Clarity....Can't even give me one!

[Dgodfrey]

Well... Do YOU see any way for hydrogen to NOT be a monopoly? And why on earth would one ever do anything to cloud their own future? There's a ton of gas out there that's just going to waste, and burning it in CNG cars just doesn't have the techno-futurism that a fuel cell car does. They use fuel cells in space! Also hydrogen is steam reformed out of natural gas, not electrolyzed. That method is a disaster that makes up for less than 5% of H2 production for a good reason. I invite others to weigh in.

Certainly, the same way gasoline is not a monopoly. But that's not even the problem with hydrogen. You are correct that 95% of processed hydrogen is obtained through natural gas steam reformation not electrolyzed but it's the electricity I referred to that makes the high temperatures needed to separate the hydrogen atom. Fuel cells have their place, just not in cars. In the near future the time it will take to recharge the batteries will be almost on par with hydrogen, especially when you consider it takes the hydrogen pump 20 minutes to repressurize between fill ups.

 

[SeanNelson]

This is a confusing post. You make statements that seem to side with fuel cells and then knock it down. e.g. "The nice thing with the fuel cell is that the barrier to making hydrogen is extremely high"

I think his point is that it's a good thing for the companies who want to sell hydrogen because people can't bypass the corporate-owned distribution network. Exactly the same point could be made about gasoline. This contrasts with electricity, where it's very difficult to run an EV charging network because mode people can charge more cheaply in their own garages.

But it doesn't matter how attractive the business model is for companies, it can't work without demand. And IMHO EVs and the charging infrastructure are much too far ahead in the adoption curve for hydrogen to compete. A decade ago here in British Columbia they announced the "hydrogen highway" with great fanfare - but it was never completed, has essentially been abandoned, and the government-owned electricity utility is now busy installing fast chargers everywhere.

 

[oilerlord]

But it doesn't matter how attractive the business model is for companies, it can't work without demand. And IMHO EVs and the charging infrastructure are much too far ahead in the adoption curve for hydrogen to compete. A decade ago here in British Columbia they announced the "hydrogen highway" with great fanfare - but it was never completed, has essentially been abandoned, and the government-owned electricity utility is now busy installing fast chargers everywhere.

I've never understood the fascination of hydrogen fueled vehicles. After decades of R&D, hydrogen is expensive to produce, difficult to store & transport, and is EXTREMELY flammable.

To your point about the hydrogen highway, how many public L3 stations could have been built using funds from that $200M "hydrogen highway" boondoggle?

 

[boltage]

I saw a Clarity recently. It was parked about 11 miles from the nearest hydrogen gas station.