CelloMom On CarsFeb 12, 2023

The main reason the hydrogen hype is in overdrive: Big Oil n Gas wants to make money converting fossil gas into hydrogen.

"Before looking at why legacy #automotive companies, resource tycoons and the politicians that represent them, have been such huge advocates for hydrogen-powered vehicles, it’s important to firstly outline why #hydrogen cars are so fundamentally flawed and will never come close to competing with #battery electric vehicles."

#EV #EnergyTransition
https://thedriven.io/2023/02/10/the-madness-of-big-autos-push-for-hydrogen-powered-cars/

The madness of Big Auto's push for hydrogen-powered cars

The battle between hydrogen and electric vehicles has been more about preserving entrenched energy monopolies and less about science. The war is now over but some continue to push the hydrogen pipe dream.

The Driven
Show threadCelloMom On CarsFeb 12, 2023

There is a place for #hydrogen. But blindly applying it everywhere turns it into a solution looking for a problem.

"According to the Renewable Energy Institute (REI), a Japanese environmental think tank, this push to use hydrogen in every conceivable energy sector is actually doing more harm than good. "

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a42665011/japan-hydrogen-energy-failure/

Japan Tried to Build a Hydrogen Society. It Backfired Spectacularly.

Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Popular Mechanics
Show threadCelloMom On CarsFeb 12, 2023

Everybody knows - I hope everybody knows - that fully two thirds of the energy you pour into the gasoline / diesel tank of your ICE car gets lost as heat. It's like buying three pounds of vegetables and immediately throwing out two before you start to cook with the remaining pound.

Turns, out, #hydrogen cars have the same inefficiency: 34% - 37%.

Battery e-cars have a 87% efficiency. The same solar field can power nearly three times more EVs than hydrogen cars.

https://thedriven.io/2023/02/10/the-madness-of-big-autos-push-for-hydrogen-powered-cars/

The madness of Big Auto's push for hydrogen-powered cars

The battle between hydrogen and electric vehicles has been more about preserving entrenched energy monopolies and less about science. The war is now over but some continue to push the hydrogen pipe dream.

The Driven
Show threadToby Inkster Feb 12, 2023
@CelloMomOnCars battery power is just as inefficient. It's just that the wasted power is lost at the electrical generator, not in the car itself
Show threadCelloMom On Cars

@tobyink

True IF the power comes from a thermal plant, so coal or fossil gas.

For a PV powered e-car, it's a different story.

Feb 12, 2023 at 9:24pmWeb
Show threadToby Inkster Feb 12, 2023

@CelloMomOnCars solar power is at best about 40% efficient. Of course what is being wasted is just sunlight, which we have a virtually inexhaustible supply of.

However, the manufacturing process is still terrible. There's no environmentally friendly car.

Show threadHypxFeb 13, 2023
@CelloMomOnCars @tobyink But you basically can't have PV or wind powered EVs because they are highly variable power sources. And no, the example of a person letting a car constantly being connected so that the variable energy source can slowly charge a car is not a scalable solution. Meanwhile, #hydrogen can be stored, and hydrogen cars can refuel when they need to at a convenient time.