If Chu has changed his early hostility toward hydrogen fuel cells, he does so as
a handful of major carmakers are readying models for as early as 2015. Toyota ,
Honda , Mercedes-Benz , and Daimler have announced plans for hydrogen fuel-cell
propelled vehicles. General Motors says that as soon as 2016 it may release its
own hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, but it’s watching for the launch of supporting
infrastructure—primarily new refueling stations.
The lack of fueling stations is a major obstacle to the rollout of hydrogen
fuel-cell vehicles. A mature fleet will require 11,000 stations coast to coast
at a cost of $20 billion to $25 billion, according to General Motors. Unless
forced by Washington, oil companies, which generally do not produce hydrogen,
have no motivation to add rival hydrogen fueling to their gasoline stations. So
the industry’s calculus is that by and large hydrogen must be sold at new,
dedicated fueling stations.
Another problem is cost. In order to spark the chemical reaction necessary to
create electricity and propel a vehicle, fuel cells currently use platinum as a
catalyst and platinum, of course, is not cheap. John Voelcker, who runs the
website Green Car Reports, told me that so much electricity is required to break
down the chemical bonds in natural gas to create hydrogen that it is often more
efficient simply to use the electricity directly in a vehicle such as a
battery-propelled electric car.
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