How efficient will a fuel cell car be, and how many miles per gallon will it get?
Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are achieving energy efficiencies of 40 to 50 percent in current testing and demonstrations; through extensive research and development, these numbers are improving every day. Increased energy efficiency, which holds the promise of reducing dependence on foreign oil and increasing energy security, makes FCVs a very attractive replacement for internal combustion engines (ICEs), which are between 10 to 16 percent efficient. Exact calculations vary from study to study, but many automotive manufacturers have released data showing that FCVs are much more efficient than comparable ICE vehicles. Toyota has published research showing its conventional gasoline vehicle with a vehicle efficiency of only 16 percent, while its FCVH-4, running on hydrogen, is projected to achieve 48 percent vehicle efficiency – three times more efficient. General Motors (GM) claims that its fuel cell prototypes running on hydrogen have more than twice the efficiency of their conventional ga
