Why can't we make hydrogen/electric vehicles?

Question

Hydrogen is very combustible and efficient, combined with electrical power possibly more so?

Answer 1

Hydrogen can have a place - it is more efficient, and cleaner than gasoline, but it is not what it is being painted to be. Negatives: fuel cell cars (which are electric cars) are less efficient than plain battery electric cars. And hydrogen keeps the oil companies in charge of the fuel infrastructure, whereas pure electric cars don't need oil companies for anything.
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What is largely missing from the public discussion of Hydrogen fuel cells is that Hydrogen, in the form available to us, is not a fuel. It is, in fact, just like a battery. Start with water, add electricity, and get hydrogen. Then at the fuel cell, we get water and electricity back out.
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This is a reversible chemical process, exactly what happens inside a battery. The hydrogen simply "carries" the energy provided by the electricity. There is no energy gain - only the energy provided by the electricity is available. Except this process is much LESS efficient than a battery.
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Batteries are better than 80% efficient. The hydrogen process (remember, the WHOLE process has to be considered - you can't pretend hydrogen magically appears) is usually less than 40% efficient.
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The only advantage hydrogen had was fast fueling, compared to batteries that take hours to charge. But this advantage is now negated by the introduction of batteries that can charge in ten minutes. (Example - see the batteries in this electric car: http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com ) Take a look at the Phoenix electric car, and ask yourself - why does that car need a tank of hydrogen attached?

Answer 2

From Fuel Cells 2000:
"Fuel cell vehicles have already proven much more efficient than similar internal combustion vehicles. Toyota has published their efficiency results showing their conventional gasoline vehicle having a tank-to-wheel efficiency of only 16%, while their FCVH-4 running on hydrogen shows a 48% tank-to-wheel efficiency - an amazing three times more efficient. GM has also announced that their fuel cell prototypes running on hydrogen have twice the efficiency of their conventional gasoline vehicles."

According to fuelcellworks a phosphoric acid type fuel cell costs $4,000 to $4,500 per kilowatt to operate (place in service?). A modest 50 hp application, then would cost around $150,000. (We use 3hp engines to power lawn mowers and go-carts. The average automobile engine is around 150 hp.)

This does not even begin to address the cost of producing hydrogen fuel, or delivery systems. Eventually we will have to produce hydrogen fuel using nuclear power. Hopefully, by that time we will have learned to control nuclear fission.

Answer 3

The problem right now is getting the H2. Most people think, oh water is full of H2 and they are correct but it takes so much energy to get the H2 separated from the O. Today most H2 comes from using Natural Gas in a process to produce H2. That totally sucks. We need a better way to manufacture H2, a better way to Store H2, and a safer way too. At this time I dont think H2 is the fuel of the near future.

Answer 4

You have to spend as much energy to make the hydrogen from water as you get out. Where you gonna get the energy from ? Secondly, hydrogen atoms are so small, they can penetrate a thick steel tank. If you filled a tank with hydrogen and didn't drive it, all the hydrogen would leak out in about a week.

Answer 5

they can but are to expensive