My opinion on why hydrogen cars are not going to be anything more than a compliance car or a diversion of money that could be better spent building out the electric infrastructure.

I have a Ford Focus Electric. And while Ford might disagree it looks to me like it’s just a compliance car. A car that is sold in only a few States and in limited numbers. Yes, they do have some dealers in non compliance States like Arizona but try to find one on a lot somewhere in AZ. I looked for months and when one did come in it was either pre sold or sold in less than 5 hours.

So if you read any of my previous posts about it, I went to California to get it. Then I had it shipped to AZ. It couldn’t make the drive because there were no chargers for 200 miles of the route and the car only has an 80 mile range.

So then why did I still buy it? Because I do have electricity at home. So do all my neighbors. I also have a place to charge at work, for free and many of the places I shop have a charger as well.

Although for the 6 months and 4000 plus miles I have had it I have never had to charge anywhere but at home. I do charge at work but not because I have to but because it is free to charge. I have also plunged it into a pay charger a couple times but only because I wanted to be sure I could and new how to do it. It’s not rocket science but you do have to set up accounts to do it.

Now let’s say that I really like the Toyota Miraj. I hear it’s a really great car and gets 300 plus miles on a fill up of hydrogen. I buy it. Fill it up and drive it home to AZ. From one of the 8 California dealers that sell it. Do they deliver it with a full tank? I should be able to get it home. Now what. Do I call AAA and tell them I’m out of hydrogen? Do they tow me back to Los Angeles where they have one of the 8 possibly working Nitrogen Stations that might be able to fill the car in 10 minutes or less. After all, Toyota is giving you free nitrogen for the first few years.

Are they going to build a Nitrogen Station at every Toyota Dealer? At least Nissan has a quick charge station at most of their dealers. Many of them even work most of the time.But even if they don’t you can charge your Leaf in your garage. For a few hundred dollars you can add a 220v outlet and charge your car from zero to full in less than 6 hours. I don’t even have a 220v outlet in my garage and I have never had a problem.

We rarely drive more than 30 miles a day. Only twice have I ever seen the warning that tells me I’m getting to far from home and I better turn back or charge at my destination. It was after a day of running a lot of errands before going to work and I was less than 3 miles from the charger at work and 20 miles from home.

Now the State of California is pretty committed to Hydrogen. They have earmarked $200 Million for building 100 stations in the next several years. In case you’re bad at math that’s $2 Million per station. Holy Crap Batman. $2 Million. That’s $2,000,000.00 And none of those stations have a soda machine or even a bathroom. I’m not even sure if they will have more than one pump. But if they only take 5 minutes to fill the tank I doubt they need more than one pump. At least if it’s working properly and the company supplying the hydrogen has kept the the station properly supplied.

Why would supply be an issue. Well? From the looks of it the hydrogen pump is sort of like a soda fountain dispenser. A supplier has to bring bottles of compressed hydrogen from the factory where they make it and hook them up to the complicated machine that compresses it and then cools it before it’s pumped into your car. At least CNG can be filled at home or a station that has piped in supply. Not Hydrogen. First they have to make it. Usually by using CNG. Why not just eliminate the middle step and just burn CNG in your car?

Now why would I think this is a waste of money. We do need to get off fossil fuels. Not just because of global warming but because we need clean air to breath as well.

Because the economics of battery electric cars make more sense.

Right now there are about 143,000 battery electric cars in the State of California. Every single one of these cars can drive anywhere in the Country and find a place to plug in. Ever since the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930’s pretty much all of the USA has electricity.

While it takes $2 Million to build one Hydrogen Fuel Station it only takes $50 Thousand to build one Electric DC Fast Charger. And that price is even less per extra line. So you can build 20 DC Fast Chargers for the cost of one Hydrogen Fuel Station.

But it gets better. Most people who drive Electric cars don’t need to fast charge. They rarely even need to slow charge. Most people could plug in anywhere they stop or shop and pick up just a mile or few if they need them. The cost for this. Just a plug on a lamp post or the wall near a parking spot. Most people could charge their car like they charge their phone or laptop at the airport. Just park near a plug and the equipment that comes with your car is all you need.

Right now my car has been parked at the airport for the last 3 days. It charged on the fast charger in two hours but it didn’t have to. I’m not going to be back for 4 days.

Where we do need fast chargers, are near highways and rest stops. Just like Tesla is doing. This would allow people like me to drive from L.A. to Phoenix if I really wanted to. Not that I’m planning on taking my Ford Focus Electric on a long trip but I might want to move from Arizona one day and I don’t want to ship the car. For most long trips I get on an airplane and rent a car if I need one. Sometimes I use Uber.

That’s pretty much why I see hydrogen cars as a waste of time and money. Why build a whole new infrastructure that still requires building stations that cost millions and keep you tied to having to buy your fuel like you buy gas now? Maybe that’s the answer. You are still tied to the same old model of buying fuel from a distribution system that puts your money into the pockets of the same companies we do now. No solar panels on your own roof providing your own clean energy. Just hide the dirtiest part of the process so you think that your doing something for the planet. Yes, there is still a lot of electricity made from coal but it is still cleaner than gasoline or all the fossil fuels used today to make hydrogen and transport it to the stations.

My money is on Battery Electric and Hybrid Electric like the Chevy Volt or Ford Cmax Energy Systems. While Toyota had a pretty good idea with the Prius and the Gas Extender Vehicle it’s now the time of the Battery Extender Vehicle. To be followed by the Long Range Battery Electric Vehicle.

I could be wrong but I don’t think the Japanese have made this big a mistake in backing the wrong idea since Pearl Harbor. I wonder why the Germans aren’t all in on hydrogen? Maybe something in their past?