Benefits and Challenges
Benefits
Less Air Pollutants
Highway vehicles emit harmful air pollutants that increase smog and affect health. Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) powered by pure hydrogen emit no harmful pollutants. Producing hydrogen from fossil fuels causes some pollutants, but much less than the amount generated by conventional vehicles.
Reduced Dependence on Foreign Oil
FCVs could reduce our dependence on foreign oil since hydrogen can be derived from domestic sources. These sources include natural gas and coal, as well as renewable sources such as water, biogas, and agricultural waste. That would make our economy less dependent on other countries and less vulnerable to oil price shocks from an increasingly volatile oil market.
Challenges
Only a few models are now available for sale or lease, and availability is limited to areas with hydrogen fueling stations, mostly in California. Several challenges must be overcome before FCVs will be a successful, competitive alternative for consumers.
Vehicle Cost
FCVs are currently more expensive than conventional vehicles and hybrids. However, costs have decreased significantly and are approaching DOE's goals (see graph). Automakers must continue to lower costs, especially for the fuel cell stack and hydrogen storage, for FCVs to compete with conventional vehicles.
USDOE, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, Durability-Adjusted Fuel Cell
System Cost, DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Record #21001, Jan. 7, 2021.
Getting Hydrogen to Consumers
The current infrastructure for producing and getting hydrogen to consumers cannot yet support the widespread adoption of FCVs. Currently, just over 50 stations are available to the public (mostly in California).
Researchers are also looking for ways to reduce the hydrogen production and delivery costs to help make FCVs more competitive with other vehicle technologies.
Fuel Cell Durability and Reliability
Fuel cell systems are not yet as durable as internal combustion engines, but they are nearing DOE goals for commercialization. On-road fuel cell stack durability is currently just over 4,100 hours in real-world conditions. However, experts believe fuel cell systems must last 8,000 hours with less than 10% loss of performance to provide FCVs with a 150,000-mile expected lifetime under typical driving conditions.
Public Education
FCVs must be embraced by consumers before their benefits can be realized. As with any new vehicle technology, consumers may have concerns about the dependability and safety of these vehicles when they first hit the market. Plus, they must become familiar with a new kind of fuel. Public education can accelerate this process.
More Information
For more information on the status of fuel cell development, see the following resources: