Everyone knows that traditional fossil fuel powered vehicles are damaging the planet. Whether you can afford to do anything about that is a different story. Even among those who can afford a new low emission car, there is a lack of agreement on how to proceed. While there is consensus that exploring alternative sources of fuel is necessary, what those sources should be is a bone of contention. For some companies and individuals, Hydrogen Cars are the only viable option.
Cells
There are a few major differences between Hydrogen and Electric Vehicles. Hydrogen Cars use physical fuel, rather than simply charging a battery. They generally have a longer range than Electric Cars, and take less time to charge. Major Asian car manufacturers, such as Toyota and Honda, heavily back them. Despite these advantages, there are several reasons why it might be some time before we see many Hydrogen Cars on UK roads.
Infrastructure
Currently, there are only 9 Hydrogen Car filling stations in the UK. This is set to expand to 16 by the end of 2018. However, compare this to the number of petrol pumps or even electric charging points. Currently, unless you happen to live near one of the few hydrogen fuel stations in the UK, it is rather impractical to drive a Hydrogen Car. Equally, it is currently more expensive per mile to drive a Hydrogen Car than an electric or even diesel car.
Supply & Demand
Hydrogen Cars are more popular with certain manufacturers than others. These tend to be from nations in East Asia that already have a greater hydrogen infrastructure, or are intending to build one. Where the UK is only part way to having 16 stations by 2018, South Korea plans 310 by 2022. This discrepancy between where people make Hydrogen Cars, and where people might use them is likely to slow their adoption.
If Hydrogen Cars are to become more popular internationally, they need to change certain aspects of their planning. If companies want hydrogen vehicles to become more universal, then they may have to contribute towards the infrastructure that they need. Hydrogen Cars might be the future of low emissions vehicles, but that might not be for some time.