Isn the future fuel cells?
Fuel cells are similar to batteries that are recharged by adding hydrogen, rather than plugging them into the mains. As such they create zero local air pollution and we’re actively evaluating their potential. However, they have 3 main drawbacks, which we think will take some years to overcome: Drawback 1: Where do you get your hydrogen from? The short answer is you have to make it. Hydrogen is a way of storing energy, not a source in itself. If you make it from electricity, you store about 60% of the energy you put in. Drawback 2: Efficiency. When you put hydrogen into a fuel cell, only about 40% of the energy input is returned. A charged battery, however, will release virtually all of the stored energy. Added to this, the energy expelled in the process of making, storing and transporting the hydrogen fuelled energy, mean this option extremely inefficient by comparison. Drawback 3: Cost and infrastructure.
Fuel cells are similar to batteries that are recharged by adding hydrogen, rather than plugging them into the mains. As such they create zero local air pollution and we’re actively evaluating their potential. However, they have 3 main drawbacks, which we think will take some years to overcome: Drawback 1: Where do you get your hydrogen from? The short answer is you have to make it. Hydrogen is a way of storing energy, not a source in itself. If you make it from electricity, you store about 60% of the energy you put in. Drawback 2: Efficiency. When you put hydrogen into a fuel cell, only about 40% of the energy input is returned. A charged battery, however, will release virtually all of the stored energy. Added to this, the energy expelled in the process of making, storing and transporting the hydrogen fuelled energy, makes this option extremely inefficient by comparison. Drawback 3: Cost and infrastructure. Although the cost of fuel cells is falling, when you work out the cost per mile
