I realized today that I hadn't done my homework when a house guest started extolling the Wonderful World of FCVs. So am starting this thread to learn more about them - I know this forum won't find many champions of them, but perhaps their detractors could provide good cogent reasons as to why they should take a backseat to EVs? (and is this the right subforum for this thread? )
I am sure anyone could do better than me, but for starters, hydrogen is generally made by pulling it off of methane molecule, leaving carbon. This step, or pulling hydrogen out of water, is energy expensive. Putting the same power into a battery for use later is a lot more efficient.
The idea of using a fuel cell is the same as using a battery: Energy storage. Fuel cells don't make power, they store it. The problem is that there are several steps to store energy in a fuel cell. Let's see.
1. Make hydrogen and pump or pipe or truck it to service stations. I spose it could be made from Nat Gas at the station. Takes a while. Takes a lot of power, too. I doubt they will be doing steam reformation at a gas station.
2. Pump hydrogen up to about 10,000 lb/sq in. This takes a lot more power.
3. Put into a crash proof tank, which takes up lots of room somewhere in the vehicle (like a battery, maybe - no better) Can store maybe 200 miles' worth.
4. Run hydrogen through various tubings and fittings which will probably leak somewhere, to the fuel cell area. Hydrogen will leak through metal, plastic, rubber, etc.
5. Maybe have hydrogen detectors on the car to smell leaks, because no one wants to turn a light on in the garage after the car has sat there overnight. Hydrogen is way more flammable than gasoline. Wait til the news services get hold of the stories of hydrogen fires at home. Or on the freeway. Or at the filling station.
6. Run hydrogen through a fuel cell. Sorry, an EXPENSIVE fuel cell. Where all it makes is water vapor. Water vapor is also a greenhouse gas.
7. Store power from fuel cell in a -- gosh, a BATTERY!
8. Use power to drive an electric motor.
Seems like you could eliminate about half of those steps, get a lot less complication and more reliability.
The advantage is that you can fill up in about 10 minutes. They say 5, maybe 15, but you have high pressure fittings to pump 10,000 lb / sq in that take more than the average driver to use. You would have a trained attendant.
The other advantage is that the oil companies can furnish the hydrogen and control the whole process, sort of like now with gasoline. They keep the profit. You will not fill up at home overnight.
Hydrogen will cost about what gas costs now, if all goes well. The only advantage is that you have faster fueling for an EV. An EREV would beat it on fueling availability and speed, but hydrogen would eliminate gasoline. But it will not eliminate the Corportate Fuel Companies (Exxon Mobile, Shell, BP) which sell methane.
And the life cycle of the fuel cell is still shorter than gas engines.
Win- win. Right?