To paraphrase Mean Girls, “stop trying to make hydrogen happen.”

For some years now, detractors of battery electric vehicles have held up hydrogen as a clean fuel panacea. That sometimes refers to hydrogen combustion engines, but more often, it’s hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, or FCEVs. Both promise motoring with only water emitted from the vehicles’ exhausts. It’s just that hydrogen actually kinda sucks as a fuel, and automaker Stellantis announced today that it is ending the development of its light-, medium- and heavy-duty FCEVs, which were meant to go into production later this year.

Hydrogen’s main selling point is that it’s faster to fill a tank with the stuff than it is to recharge a lithium-ion battery. So it’s a seductive alternative that suggests a driver can keep all the convenience of their gasoline engine with none of the climate change-causing side effects.

But in reality, that’s pretty far from true.

  • Midnitte@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    You may not realize this, but 4% is not most.

    You should also ask yourself how most of the electricity is generated to electrolysis the hydrogen.

    • WalnutLum@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      You didn’t say “most” on your original post. You might want to edit it if that’s what you meant.

      • Midnitte@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        I suppose that’s fair, but given the context, an insignificant amount of… still not green hydrogen is sort of irrelevant