Hyundai’s Nexo and Toyota’s Mirai have 400-mile drive ranges and take only 5 minutes to “recharge”/refuel
Two hydrogen-powered vehicles are now available for purchase (by special order) in Australia – Hyundai’s Nexo SUV and Toyota’s Mirai sedan.
The only thing that comes out of the tailpipe of these zero-emissions cars is water, and they actually filter pollutants out of the air as drive down the road.
They have a drive-range longer than any conventional electric vehicle on the market except Tesla, with the Mirai maxing out at 403 miles, Tesla Model S at 405 miles, and Nexo at 413 miles.
Additionally, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can be fully “recharged” – or refueled – in 5 minutes, compared to several hours of charging for electric vehicles.
So far there are only 4 hydrogen refuelling stations in Australia, so unless you live near one, you’re out of luck… but Hyundai is partnering with a popular gas station in the country to add hydrogen pumps alongside petroleum.
The company hopes to have hydrogen semi trucks in Australia by 2025.
Unlike a traditional electric vehicle, hydrogen vehicles have no heavy battery to store electricity. Instead, they produce a steady supply of electricity as the car drives by pulling in oxygen from the atmosphere and mixing it with the hydrogen stored in their tanks. The process is called electrolysis.
Elon Musk has called hydrogen fuel cells “mind-bogglingly stupid” and “the most dumb thing I could possibly imagine for energy storage.”
He shared a chart on Twitter showing battery-powered electric vehicles to be 3 times as efficient as hydrogen vehicles at converting renewable electricity into “horsepower.”
Volkswagen CEO made a similar claim, calling hydrogen cars “nonsensical.”
“A hydrogen car requires energy from three or four times as many windmills than an electric vehicle needs for the same distance, making it three to four times as expensive to travel the same distance,” he said.
In Clean Technica’s words: “Hydrogen fuel cells may be the technology of choice for some industrial processes, and/or for hard-to-electrify transport segments such as ocean shipping and aviation, but they aren’t suitable for passenger vehicles.”