Hydrogen Fuel Cells Still a Long Way Off

Today, Automotive News released an article outlining the huge hurdles hydrogen fuel cell technology still faces. Last June, the Bay Area hydrogen fuel vehicle owners suffered from a severe cut-back on the  availability of hydrogen fuel, and it seems like the problem hasn't lessened.

Due to manufacturing and engineering issues, Toyota Motor Corp. had to redesign their Fuel Cell systems completely. Their engineers needed to focus on reducing the cost of expensive catalysts and other materials, trimming development costs for the fuel cell stack and obtaining the capital needed to produce fuel cell systems.  Fuel cell systems are extremely complex because they require so much extra hardware. They require a high-pressure carbon-fiber-reinforced tank to store the hydrogen. They must also accommodate the fuel cell stack, which combines the hydrogen with oxygen from the air to generate electricity through a chemical reaction. And they must have a battery and electric motor, like full EVs.

Using less expensive materials in the fuel cell catalyst is one way to reduce costs. Toyota's earliest designs used gold-plated stainless steel in their systems and later, titanium. However both these materials are extremely expensive. Another way to reduce costs going forward is improving the manufacturing process where the catalyst granules can coat the fuel cells more uniformly. If this can be achieved, performance will improve so they can deliver the same output from fewer cells. Toyota is also looking at methods to speed-up production of the most time-intensive fuel cell steps, such as wrapping hydrogen tanks with carbon fiber. Streamlined manufacturing could be another way to achieve significant cost savings.

Even the leading supporters of fuel cell technology Toyota Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Group, have admitted that the technology is still in its infancy and faced with numerous hurdles before they can achieve efficient mass commercialization. The three key issues they face are the monumental costs of the fuel cell systems, the complexity of building a fueling infrastructure that is ubiquitous to major population centers and the challenge of delivering an affordable hydrogen supply. Because of this, many manufacturers are scaling back, delaying or shelving their hydrogen fuel cell development.

HOWEVER... Having "green" cars that run on the most abundant element in the universe with nothing but water vapor as a by-product seems like such an ideal solution to the world's energy supply issues and climate crisis. So several automakers are still determined to develop hydrogen fuel cell technology as a long-term, sustainable path to powering vehicles. But the key words here are "long term."

We look forward to the day where the world can take renewable energy like wind and solar, as well as turning cow manure to efficient, clean fuel. But we're still a ways away.