The competition with electric cars is considerable. According to BloombergNEF, batteries now cost about $156 per kilowatt-hour, an 85% decline from the $1,100 plus/kWh cost in 2010.Īlthough the price of hydrogen for fuel-cell vehicles is expected to drop as more refueling stations open, current costs average $16.51 per kilogram. Hydrogen vehicles are a type of electric car that use fuel cells to power the motor instead of relying primarily on a lithium-ion battery pack they don’t burn fuel like gasoline cars. Once considered an impediment to EV sales, the high price of batteries has plummeted over the last ten years. To make the vehicle move, another 5% of the energy is used. An additional 10% is lost during the lithium-ion battery charging and discharging process. Combining all the efficiencies of each step yields about 38% of the original electricity, meaning only 38 out of 100 watts are used.įor electric vehicles, the same 100 watts power from the renewable source consumes about 5% efficiency as it runs through the grid. The final step is the electricity used by the motor to drive the vehicle is around 95% efficient. Inside the vehicle, the hydrogen must be converted into electricity, a process of about 60% efficiency. The resultant hydrogen must then be compressed, chilled, and transported to a hydrogen refueling station, about a 90% efficient process. However, to consider Hydrogen-powered as an alternative to electric-powered vehicles, the complete energy cycle must be analyzed, from the source to the electrical energy that powers the vehicle’s electric motor. This energy vector transition demonstrates the inefficiency of an FCEV.įor example, 100 watts of electricity produced by a renewable source like a wind turbine must first be converted into hydrogen with a process like electrolysis, which is about 75% energy efficient.

Hydrogen cars