Hydrogen-powered cars have a special tank that can be filled at a pump. Hydrogen and oxygen are electrolytically converted into electricity and gaseous water in the fuel cell, whereby the water escapes from the exhaust. The electricity is generally not stored. The energy is transferred practically directly to the electric motor for propulsion. This simple formula is intended to show the environmental friendliness of this power source, as water is the only waste product in electricity generation in the broadest sense. The production of hydrogen is still extremely energy-intensive at the moment, even though there is abundant water on earth, and even seawater is suitable for production. This means that more energy must be used for production than hydrogen itself provides for mobility. Possible solution: green hydrogen. This means that only renewable energy from photovoltaic systems is used in production, for example. Research is making noticeable progress in this field.
Electric cars and vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells are both powered by an electric motor, but their central energy source differs significantly. An electric car stores electricity in a battery and transfers it to the electric motor, while a hydrogen-powered vehicle is supplied with hydrogen at special filling stations and converts it into electrical energy via fuel cells. The battery in a hydrogen car only serves as an auxiliary unit and not as a main energy storage unit. There are also differences between refuelling with hydrogen and charging with electricity. While an electric car can take several hours at a charging station or wallbox, refuelling with hydrogen takes no longer than filling a conventional petrol or diesel tank.
A hydrogen car can be fully refuelled in just under five minutes and achieves the impressive range of a modern diesel vehicle with just one tank fill. The very good resistance to cold down to approx. minus 30 degrees Celsius is another advantage. Hydrogen cars also eliminate local emissions and are considered extremely safe in the event of accidents. This variety of benefits makes hydrogen cars an option worth considering for innovative and efficient mobility.
The hydrogen drive also presents challenges: if it is not produced fossil-free, it affects the environmental impact. Hydrogen does not occur naturally, but always only in compounds and therefore requires a significant proportion of fossil energy for production. The infrastructure with hydrogen filling stations is still under construction and the technology requires further development. Hydrogen models are currently expensive to purchase and rarely found on the market.
Hydrogen cars offer ranges of around 500 to 600 kilometres per tank fill, similar to conventional combustion-engine vehicles. However, this range can be influenced by factors such as the efficiency of the vehicle and the tank capacity. Ongoing technological development could produce models with even greater ranges in the future. It should be taken into account that hydrogen vehicles require a specific tank infrastructure and the low availability of hydrogen filling stations could affect the driving experience.