Interesting EV Option...

 Toyota has been dabbling in this technology for the last five years or so. They think they can implement this system better than current EV technology in terms of practicality and they might be right because its easier to set up an infrastructure around this technology to be practical unlike electric where they have reached an impasse. The net result is no wait times and possibly cleaner means to produce hydrogen.  It would be a long game but its possible if strides are not made with EV practicality. 

Yep, its been in the works for awhile and if they can get the fuel cell technology to work at a more efficient level, that EV technology may actually become more common versus the battery storage version.

Read this if you think Hydrogen is more than hype:    https://afdc.energy.gov/files/pdfs/hyd_economy_bossel_eliasson.pdf

or this article:  https://phys.org/news/2006-12-hydrogen-economy-doesnt.html

It is all based on Chemistry and Physics.  Hydrogen really does not make any sense for cars.  

@dblotii

I know that fuel cell technology still needs work, but it makes sense from an energy transfer point of view.  If current efficiencies in generating and refueling the cell can be improved, it has promise in the EV world.  

There is also a compelling relationship between hydrogen production via electrolysis, solar power, and desalination of  seawater.

Humanity doesnt just desire abundant, cheap energy (and preferrably """clean""") (yes, triple-quotes); clean water is going to becone an issue in the not-so-distant future too.

Still no free lunches of course, but its pretty cool to imagine a portion of that free solar fuel being used to desalinate water and simultaneously create/convert vehicle fuel. Bonus: you can drink the exhaust.

We could just go low tech and make a methane or used cooking oil burning car.  Smells like french fries.  

@dev

Diesel 😀 

@neomr2

H2 does not make sense from an energy transfer POV.  I suggest reading the Bossel White paper.  It is very well written and has withstood a lot of expert scrutiny

@dblotii

I hear what you are saying, but I was talking about some of the newer fuel cell technologies.

Improved fuel cell technology -> Liquid Fuel Cell

Posted by: @neomr2

@dev

Diesel 😀 

Carver tech. More than just peanut butter. 

i hope you're not overlooking the sheer amount of pressure required to keep hydrogen a liquid at a standard temperature of 25C

Toyota's Mirai started prototyping and development at the same time as the Prius and only recently released because they had to engineer a way to meet this requirement reliably and safely. their liquid H2 fuel cells are made of a multilayer carbon and kevlar and polymer composite that's puncture proof, and extremely rigid. the transportation and the re-filling of these fuel cells requires a lot of safety locks and precautions in the refuelling connectors, and the engineering going into the materials used to pump and store liquid H2 must be able to withstand H2 embrittlement. 

Toyota can do it, and Honda can do it, but it'll be a long while before every manufacturer is doing it.

in the long run, it may end up being more practical for commuters and such, but sustained high output will be difficult to achieve this way.

@refirendum

The fuel cell is not the biggest issue, it is the H2 infrastructure:  Energy cost of production and compression (or liquefaction), severe challenges of distribution, and severe safety hurdles.  Read the Bossel articles!

Posted by: @dblotii

@refirendum

The fuel cell is not the biggest issue, it is the H2 infrastructure:  Energy cost of production and compression (or liquefaction), severe challenges of distribution, and severe safety hurdles.  Read the Bossel articles!

i touched on that in my post.

the transportation and the re-filling of these fuel cells requires a lot of safety locks and precautions in the refuelling connectors, and the engineering going into the materials used to pump and store liquid H2 must be able to withstand H2 embrittlement. 

but yes i've read similar papers basically outlining that, the cost to make liquid H2 available is quite energy intensive, there's losses in making liquid H2, there's losses in reconverting the potential energy of H2 back into electricity, there's safety issues with the transportation logistics especially at any connection ports, which have to be able to withstand the liquid H2 and pressure since otherwise the H2 boils off into the atmosphere. the losses of electrical power transmission lines are less than those of logistics of liquid hydrogen transportation, etc.

non-hydrogen battery Electric vehicles are more "source to road/well-to-wheel" efficient than hydrogen EV's not only in practice but in theoretical limitations assuming that the energy input comes from the same place.