Although electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles have been considered the only plausible alternatives to conventional cars for a long time, and practically all of the world’s biggest car makers have been investing heavily in these technologies, and governments around the world have been trying to promote the use of such vehicles by offering generous incentives and financial benefits to those who choose to buy an alternative fuel vehicle instead of a gasoline-powered car, adoption has been lagging and sales have not been as strong as the auto industry had expected.
Although electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles have been considered the only plausible alternatives to conventional cars for a long time, and practically all of the world’s biggest car makers have been investing heavily in these technologies, and governments around the world have been trying to promote the use of such vehicles by offering generous incentives and financial benefits to those who choose to buy an alternative fuel vehicle instead of a gasoline-powered car, adoption has been lagging and sales have not been as strong as the auto industry had expected.
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This is one of the reasons why some manufacturers have turned their focus to other types of alternative fuel vehicles, such as hydrogen cars, with the likes of Toyota, Hyundai and Honda leading the way in the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. These automakers are betting on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and are convinced that they are a far more viable alternative than electric and hybrid vehicles, due to the fact that they are cleaner, with water as their only byproduct, and they are capable of delivering a 300-mile range, which is a great advantage over electric cars and plug-in hybrids, that can’t get more than 80-100 miles.
With Hyundai planning to start selling its Tucson Fuel Cell SUV and the Intrado this spring at some of their dealerships in Southern California, and their Japanese counterpart Toyota intending to launch their own hydrogen-powered vehicle next year, it seems that the reality of hydrogen fuel cell cars is already here, which raises a few serious questions in terms of infrastructure, regulation, and how ready car buyers are to adopt these types of vehicles.
If the government wants hydrogen-powered cars to become commonplace, it has to work with car companies ad hydrogen technology companies and fuel suppliers, to try and build a network of fueling stations and make refueling a hydrogen vehicle more practical and convenient. That’s why the H2USA was created, an initiative that has brought various government agencies, automakers, as well as representatives from the hydrogen and fuel cell industries, aiming to deploy an advanced hydrogen infrastructure, which car companies insist is necessary before they can start mass production of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Read more from our affiliate, CleanTechies.
Hydrogen car concept image via Shutterstock.
