Hydrogen-powered cars aren’t gaining steam as they should have been gaining, and we can thank EVs for that. With more advancements taking place in the EV sector rather than hydrogen cars due to many reasons like the higher cost of development, we answer the question – ‘Will Hydrogen cell Cars Work In India?’ Read more to find out the answer!
The Basics – How Does A Hydrogen Car Work?
Before we move on to other aspects related to hydrogen-powered cars, we must know how exactly these hydrogen cell cars work? As the name already suggests, this type of car runs on compressed hydrogen gas. This Hydrogen gas is further fueled into a fuel cell ‘stack’, which transforms chemical energy into electrical energy which is transferred to the electrical motor to work.
In a nutshell, it is quite similar to normal EVs. It is just that hydrogen in the end uses its chemical energy to be converted into electrical energy for the electric motor to run. In the case of EVs, we directly power the battery with electrical energy by charging it.
Hydrogen Cars vs EVs – Range, Power, Cost difference, Charging time, and Infrastructure
It is quite obvious that Hydrogen cell cars are far less popular than EVs. But there must be a reason for it, right? Well, we answer this question taking regard to parameters like Range, Cost difference, Charging time, and Infrastructure.
Range
The clear winner here is without a doubt, hydrogen-powered cars. Hydrogen-powered cars are just more efficient in their work. Out of small amounts of hydrogen, cars run a relatively longer distance than EVs. For example- the Toyota Mirai, which is the 1st Hydrogen cell car recently launched in India, offers a range of around 600 km. On the other hand, cars like the Nexon EV hardly provide a range half to what we see in the Mirai.
Power
Hydrogen-powered cars provide a decent amount of power and provide a similar power output as compared to EVs. Both Hydrogen-powered cars and EVs fare better in terms of power delivery as compared to petrol/diesel cars. This is due to the instant full torque available at any point in time. Also, since there are no gears in them, there is no shifting time as well!
Price
Hydrogen-powered cars are expensive, primarily due to the materials used in them. Expensive and precious metals such as platinum, carbon fibre, and titanium are used in their system. This makes it quite expensive to make as compared to EVs. Also, the manufacturing costs for automakers for making hydrogen cell cars are still high because it is still a newer technology as compared to EVs. Thus, buying a hydrogen cell car might not be the cheapest option yet.
To give you a fair idea, the Toyota Mirai in the USA costs USD 65k! You can get a top of the line BMW X5 for that price in the USA!
Get to know more about the Toyota Mirai by reading – Toyota Mirai | A Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) | What You Need To Know
Charging, or rather fueling a hydrogen cell car is almost as quick as fueling up a regular petrol/diesel car. It takes around 5 – 10 minutes of filling up a hydrogen fuel cell car’s tank, depending on the model. On the other hand, Electric cars can take up to 8 hours to charge using normal chargers. But this can reduce by using fast chargers, which can reduce the time to an hour.
Charging Infrastructure
Clearly, EVs win in this matter. EV charging in India isn’t as developed and expansive as normal petrol pumps. However, it is much better than the current Hydrogen cell car charging infrastructure situation in India.
Also, read – Can Charging EVs Become Faster Than Re-Fuelling? We Answer!
The Main Motive – Reduce Carbon Emissions
The main motive for switching to EVs and hydrogen-powered cars from conventional Internal Combustion engine cars is to reduce carbon emissions. However, the awareness for Hydrogen fuelled cars is much less than EVs and this is reflected in sales figures.
So either way, if you buy a hydrogen car or an EV, you would be saving the environment. So help spread the message out, and the least you can do is share this article to raise awareness about Hydrogen fuel cell cars amongst consumers!
If you found this blog informative, make sure to check out similar reads on The GoMechanic Blog!
Read a similar article! – India And Its Preparation For Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles
