For decades, there's been a lot of talk about what our next sustainable fuel source will be after gasoline depletion. While solely-electric vehicles have received a lot of hype within the last two or so years, a fuel source rarely mentioned, especially in the media, is the most abundant gas in the universe—hydrogen.
The idea of hydrogen vehicles, also called Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs), is nothing new. The technology has been known for decades—even centuries—thanks to a chemist named William Grove and demonstrated by Humphry Davy in 1801. Yet the application of fuel cells in vehicles has yet to become mainstream—at least in America—and probably won't for at least another three years or more. Introduced in 2008, The Honda FCX Clarity was among the first hydrogen cars average consumers could get behind the wheel if they resided in Southern California or Japan, but only if they agreed to a monthly lease. Despite an initial production run from 2008 to 2014, sales in the United States were meager at best. From 2014 to 2018, the Hyundai ix35 FCEV was available for lease, but very few ever found homes. If anything, the purpose of developing a hydrogen car was more for showing it off at auto shows than producing it for consumer use. The application of FCEVs doesn't just comprise passenger cars. Busses, forklifts, motorcycles, semi-trucks, airplanes, boats, trains, and even submarines have been powered by hydrogen in the past, primarily for research purposes. So why isn't the use of hydrogen more popular? The short answer is infrastructure. The number of EV charging stations compared to hydrogen fuel stations is at least 500-to-1, and more charging stations are added daily. Hydrogen's lack of popularity is mainly due to automakers—very few of them—investing in the technology. As of 2022, Toyota's Mirai and Hyundai's Nexo are the only FCEV consumers can buy new. While most automakers are dragging their feet and unwilling to invest in fuel cell technology, Airbus has plans in the coming years to produce the same planes they've been making, such as the A330, which is capable of carrying more than 300 passengers but begin producing variants designed to use hydrogen. This is beyond exciting to me. One of the most polluting forms of transportation—needing to burn thousands of gallons of jet fuel for just one trip in the past—now can produce zero emissions and transport hundreds of people and cargo. Not only would these large planes produce no emissions, but hydrogen is significantly lighter than jet fuel, which will result in being able to travel further distances than before while also reducing the number of required stops along the way, thus resulting in substantial time savings for airlines and passengers. And the old saying of 'time is money' couldn't be more accurate regarding airlines. Hydrogen planes will undoubtedly revolutionize air travel, and I applaud Airbus for seizing the opportunity hydrogen presents, and I hope Boeing will follow. Last year I invested stock in Nikola Corporation, a start-up company producing heavy-duty commercial hydrogen-powered trucks. Since then, the stock price has sharply declined, and I'm currently losing money, but I believe once their infrastructure is completed and more trucks are produced, the price will increase. I invested stock in this company because I believe in its product, and it will play a role in leading FCEVs to become mainstream in the future. And of all the cars I've ever known, the Hyundai Nexo is the one I geek out about the most. In my eyes, it's among the most revolutionary vehicles ever made and is the future—sleek, high-tech, long-range, and no emissions—all conveniently packaged as a versatile SUV. And it's just like owning a typical car. After driving up to 380 miles emitting nothing but water vapor, it only takes five minutes to refuel the Nexo in the same fashion you would with a gas-powered vehicle. My favorite feature is that the Nexo leaves the air cleaner than before you started driving, thanks to an integrated filter catching more than 97% of particulates. Imagine a world of more than a million Nexos operating in the most polluted regions, such as India and China, continually purifying the air the more people drive. Now, this is the pinnacle of driving green and breathing clean and is a feature EV and hybrid vehicles can't do as seamlessly, if at all. And everyone loves the idea of being able to cut the cord for good and saying sayonara to the hours of charging that EVs require. Hyundai will also give you three years or $ 15,000 worth of complimentary fuel to compensate for the cost of hydrogen. Unfortunately, these 45 fueling stations are only located in California, so you need to live in the state to own a Nexo. If I could own one, I would. Additionally, let's not forget that an electric car (or any "green" car) is only as green as where its electricity comes from. If your EV's power comes from a coal plant—like how much of this country's electricity is generated—you just defeated the purpose of driving an electric car. And don't forget the harmful environmental impact of manufacturing thousands of pounds of toxic batteries required to produce just one EV and the astounding amount of energy needed. FCEVs utilize far fewer batteries than EVs do. The fuel cell is clean, incredible technology that reaps many benefits over battery-only powered vehicles. EVs are not the only solution to our energy needs like politics and the media continue to preach. There's another way to drive green and breathe clean; all we need to do is use it.
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