Why Hydrogen Cars Flopped

Hydrogen Fuel Cells were supposed to save the auto industry from climate change, and promised no harmful emissions from the tailpipe, just pure water. So what happened? Why hasn't the hydrogen car taken over the industry in the years since? And what future does this amazing technology have? Well, it's complicated.

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[raphaelwright]

I feel like everyone is forgetting how EV batteries are made 💀

[lynnk.]

Here in Germany, we got hydrogen busses that drive off hydrogen that is produced as waste from waste plants. I wouldn't say it flopped, it just has a long road forward. I am optimistic, the hydrogen busses here has already beaten the costs of regular diesel busses

[walt]

Japan also currently has 81 large tour buses and large trucks as well as a few trains in the greater Tokyo area that all currently operate on hydrogen as they have been for the past 7 years. They expect to expand the number of buses to at least 200 by 2024 too.

[davidhoppes]

I’ve been a proponent of hydrogen fueled vehicles for at least 15 years. I don’t think they should replace every vehicle but definitely compliment the industry. I recognize that the biggest short fall is fueling stations.

[SirBroccolingtonIII]

Fun fact: Because of the way that the Toyota Mirai gets rid of it's only emmision (water), it looks like it urinated explosively every time you turn off the car.

[jordanpayne]

Something you forgot to mention is how well these technologies do in cold weather, hear in Alberta Canada it regularly hits -30c. Lithium batteries are horrible in temperatures below freezing and actually can get damaged below -20c. However hydrogen fuel cells aren’t affected at all until about -30c. And even then they just lose a bit of efficiency.

[MalachiCo]

"But is it REALLY environmentally friendly though?"
*Proceeds to talk about energy efficiency and not about how green the car itself is

[miguelposada]

I think it's essential to take into consideration not only emissions but also the issue of recycling the batteries when comparing environmental impact. I would love to see a video that takes it into consideration

[tquarrie]

That figure for gas cost aged so poorly😂. Take me back to the days when I could fill my tank for less than $80🥲.

[YugoRr]

Don’t forget that in the beginning Teslas were expensive and almost no charging stations existed

[electrojag]

I met a guy on an airplane that was an engineer for hydrogen fuel cells. Something important of note is that electrolysis uses a lot of power and resources to create hydrogen. Most of the hydrogen they used was allegedly a by product of manufacturing companies anyways. So if not bottle for hydrogen fuel cells it would just have been created and burned up anyways.

[shredandenjoy]

That clip of the car "shooting out water" makes me chuckle every time as it just looks like the car is incontinent.

[TommoOnYoutube]

I love it when you teach me things Nolan

[Sparky]

Other than electric cars : [Exhaust smoke]
Hydrogen cars : P E E.

[KrB]

Personally I love the idea of hydrogen, it’s the green of EVs with the speedy refills of gas. Personally I think a plug in hybrid of the two would be amazing. Battery for your daily commute but the benefits of hydrogen for longer drives

[ViaConDias]

Maybe a bit early to declare hydrogen dead. Heavy industry, planes, cargo ships, etc., are nowhere near jumping on the battery train, so if/when hydrogen becomes a meaningful alternative for them, the real money will go into that and those investments will make the current battery investments fade in comparison. And the price has already come under $10 and last I checked close to $7, with new facilities forecasting a price under $2 before 2025. So I would say the race is still very much on.

[Jaydunful]

I see, so we must turn all the Red Lobsters into hydrogen fueling stations.

[siliconterbulance]

Nolan: “With literal water coming out of the exhaust”
*shows a picture of a car Peeing itself*

[jamezbennett]

Electric vehicles seem like the better solution until you take into account that 3/4 of the world's Cobalt which is used in rechargeable batteries is provided from mines in the Congo from working in horrible conditions

[Ichiyk]

My dad has a Mirai, we have a little far from a fuelcell, but its a nice rice (in the front) so if you have just 2 people, and live in irvine, or somewhere close, its pretty good