Helon Tusk: A Hydrogen Story

A random Monday in 2036 for Helon Tusk

Beep.. Beep.. Beep.. it is Monday 6:30 and I wake up with a light headache from the weekend. Quickly get out of my bed, take a shower and brush my teeth and am almost ready for a new working week. During my English breakfast I quickly order an self-driving airconditioned pod that should drive me to the office and take me be back home again (unfortunately I do not belong to the couple of % of rich people in the world that can buy a private car). 7:00 the pod arrives at my home and drives me to the office, during the drive I get a notification that the pod has past its 2 million km millage, incredible. If we only new in 2021 what the future would look like… great and full of clean green energy!

Battery powered cars are mind-bogglingly stupid (at least in the future)

Almost all big car companies are investing big in battery powered cars, and that is a good thing, as in our current world this is indeed the best technology for powering your car in a green way and to avoid losing a lot of energy. If the future goes in the direction of the above short story then note the following;

• Not owning your own car
• Self-driving

This makes hydrogen again interesting, as the quick refueling of hydrogen fuel cell powered cars, can support self-driving cars in maximizing their time on the road which leads to a lower overall demand for cars (that would probably not be of interest to the car industry unless you have a certain subscription for the cars that are shared).

What are the advantages of hydrogen fuel cells?

Hydrogen comes with a nice list of advantage compared to for example batteries. See below list of some advantages;

• Green hydrogen; The hydrogen used can be from green renewable energy.
• High energy density; More powerful and long range.
• Low weight and low amount of space needed; improves the car range and aerodynamics.
• Emission; Almost zero emissions.
• Quick recharging; Quicker on the road

What are the disadvantages of hydrogen fuel cells?

Hydrogen comes also with some disadvantages. (of course, otherwise the current cars would not have batteries but hydrogen fuel cells.) See below list with some disadvantages;

• Safety; Hydrogen is highly flammable
• Infrastructure; you need a hydrogen transport infrastructure
• Efficiency; fuel cells have a low efficiency.
• Costs; Green hydrogen costs are still relative high

Hydrogen cars or battery powered cars in the coming years?

For now, the current cars are going to be batteries, almost all major car producers do go for this option. Potentially hydrogen will be a winner for trucks. If the efficiency of the hydrogen fuel cell remains lower then the batteries, then battery powered cars will look like the potential winner today and in the future. If the efficiency of the fuel cell goes up (and green hydrogen costs goes down) and cars need to dive continuously in the future, as in the Helon Tusk story, then hydrogen might be a winner after all. Most likely there is a place for both hydrogen and batteries on this earth.