While some manufacturers like Audi and Mercedes are entirely focused on going electric, other carmakers are also investing in hydrogen fuel cell technology as it has some clear advantages. However, experts are sceptical about whether the trend will ever really take off.
Toyota and Hyundai are already well advanced in the field and German carmaker BMW will soon launch a small series of a new vehicle, the iX5 Hydrogen, looking to gain experience with the technology and keeping open the possibility of selling such cars in high numbers one day.
"We are already thinking about a possible next generation," BMW chief executive Oliver Zipse has said.
China, meanwhile, wants to have 1 million hydrogen cars on the road by 2030, and Japan and South Korea also see potential in the technology.
An alternative to battery power
BMW plans to sell half of its cars with battery power by 2030 but given the scarcity of the crucial raw materials needed for e-mobility and the still low number of public charging stations at the moment, the autogiant doesn't want to put all its eggs in one basket.
Hydrogen is "the missing piece of the puzzle that can complete e-mobility where battery-electric drives will not prevail," according to Zipse.
Toyota is supplying BMW with the fuel cells for the iX5 Hydrogen. The series will consist of less than 100 vehicles that will be tested by drivers in everyday use in Europe, the US, Japan, South Korea and China.
However, German industry expert Stefan Bratzel is sceptical about hydrogen-powered cars, saying a rapid ramp-up of the technology is not feasible.
"We're talking about long periods of time. That won't help us over the cliffs of the next few years," says the head of the CAM-Autoinstitut in Germany, adding that the technology "is a costly business."
Hydrogen generated with wind and solar power can be burned directly in a petrol engine. Porsche, Toyota, Mazda, Subaru, Kawasaki, and Yamaha are already working on this.
Alternatively, a fuel cell in the car can generate electricity from hydrogen that is then used to power an electric motor. Asian carmakers Toyota and Hyundai already sell such vehicles, and Chinese manufacturer Changan has just started series production.
Hydrogen needs a lot of energy
For Bratzel, the most weighty argument against hydrogen cars is "the high energy input needed for producing hydrogen." On the way from electricity to hydrogen and back to electricity, much of the energy is lost, he explains.
It's true that hydrogen is well suited as a storage medium for surplus electricity and can also be transported over long distances, Bratzel says. "That is of course an advantage but you also have to keep an eye on the costs."
Another argument against hydrogen is the cost of creating the necessary infrastructure. In Germany, for example, there are currently only about 100 hydrogen filling stations. If cars are to refuel with hydrogen, the network would have to become much denser.
Even for the Hydrogen Council, a global CEO-led initiative of more than 100 large energy, transport, industry and investment companies, the battery-powered electric car is still the way to go, crucial for decarbonisation and a mainstream solution for moving away from fossil fuel-powered cars.
However, if 10% of the car fleet were to run on hydrogen that would reduce the demand on the power grid, a saving that would offset the cost of hydrogen refuelling stations, according to the initiative.
For drivers, a hydrogen vehicle offers advantages that they are already familiar with from petrol and diesel cars, Zipse said, namely fast refuelling and a long range.
Former VW chief executive Herbert Diess once called hydrogen the champagne of the energy transition. Just as with expensive bubbly, Zipse is "convinced that there is a market for fuel cell cars in Europe in the premium segment too."
However, e-cars with batteries are likely to remain the cheaper option when it comes to small and mid-range cars rather than fuel cells, Bratzel says.
