Top Ten Hydrogen Myths

(Note: To learn more about hydrogen fuel cell cars and their potential to solve the oil crisis, please read the series of articles titled “Twelve Hydrogen Facts” which is part of the Hydrogen Manhattan Project.)

Here is a list of the top ten hydrogen myths:

Myth #1 – Hydrogen fuel cell cars cost $1 million

Truth – Prototype hydrogen fuel cell cars that are made by hand do indeed cost around $1 million to build.  However, hydrogen fuel cell cars will be economical when they are mass produced.

Larry Burns from GM has said that hydrogen fuel cell cars will cost the same as ones with gasoline-powered internal combustion engines once they reach a production volume of one million units and that “lack of scale is the primary reason for the high costs of fuel cell vehicles.”

This is covered in detail in Hydrogen Fact #5.

Myth #2 – The Hindenburg disaster was caused by hydrogen

Truth- The Hindenburg disaster was caused by the coating used on the airship being ignited by static electricity.  The coating contained iron oxide and aluminum-impregnated cellulose acetate butyrate which are used in solid rocket fuel.

This is covered in detail in Hydrogen Fact #2.

Myth #3 – High-pressure hydrogen tanks used in fuel cell vehicles are not safe

Truth – Hydrogen fuel cell cars with high-pressure hydrogen tanks are certified all around the world.  Steve Ellis, Honda manager of alternative fuel vehicles, made the following comment about the safety of hydrogen cars:

“People need to understand that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are safe.  We wouldn’t have handed the keys to the hydrogen car to an ordinary family if we didn’t think it was safe.”

This is covered in detail in Hydrogen Fact #3.

Myth #4 – Water vapor emissions from hydrogen fuel cell cars will cause more global warming

Truth – The vehicles we drive today emit water vapor.  The U.S. Department of Energy says that:

“Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles emit approximately the same amount of water per mile as vehicles using gasoline-powered internal combustion engines.”

This is covered in detail in Hydrogen Fact #4.

Myth #5 – Hydrogen fuel cell cars can’t get the necessary 300-mile driving range that customers demand

Truth – Although driving range used to be a problem, this is no longer an issue with hydrogen fuel cell cars.  For example, Toyota has a mid-size SUV (Highlander Hybrid) powered by a hydrogen fuel cell that has a driving range of 480 miles.

This is covered in detail in Hydrogen Fact #10.

Myth #6 – Plug-in battery vehicles can compete with hydrogen fuel cell vehicles

Truth – Plug-in batteries in cars have numerous problems including: driving range, fueling time, cost, space they take up in the car, durability, safety, weight, cold weather performance, and a negative impact on the environment.

Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, GM, Daimler, etc. are aggressively pursuing hydrogen fuel cell cars even though plug-in battery advocates constantly criticize them.

This is covered in detail in Hydrogen Fact #9.

Myth #7 – Hydrogen from renewable sources of energy is not economical

Truth – The cost of hydrogen produced today from wind power (without any subsidies) would be less than the equivalent of gasoline at $3.50 per gallon.  Here is a breakdown of the costs of a kilogram of hydrogen from wind power:

Electricity from wind power – $3.50

Electrolyzers and hydrogen production facilities – $0.86

Pipelines and storage – $0.37

Compression – $0.50

Trucking – $0.30

Retail fueling stations – $0.51

Taxes – $0.94

This comes to a total of $6.98 per kilogram.

Since a kilogram of hydrogen in a fuel cell will get twice the mileage of a gallon of gasoline in an internal combustion engine, this is equivalent to gasoline at $3.49 per gallon.

This is covered in detail in Hydrogen Fact #7.

Myth #8- Hydrogen pipelines are expensive and have embrittlement problems

Truth- Carbon steel hydrogen pipelines cost $1 million per mile and have embrittlement problems.  However, polymer hydrogen pipelines are estimated to cost half that amount due to much lower installation costs and do not have embrittlement problems.

Polymer hydrogen pipelines will enable the grand vision for a hydrogen economy which is to produce the hydrogen from clean sources of energy such as wind or solar power.

This is covered in detail in Hydrogen Fact #11.

Myth #9 – Hydrogen cars will not be around for decades

Truth – Hydrogen cars are just about ready to be commercialized, but the hydrogen fueling infrastructure needs to be built.

The following quote from Bob Carter, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager, in a recent press release about the Toyota FCHV (a mid-size SUV powered by a hydrogen fuel cell) sums up the situation with hydrogen cars:

“The development of Toyota’s hydrogen fuel-cell powertrains continue to move forward and mature at an impressive pace, far in advance of an infrastructure that will be necessary to support them.”

This is covered in detail in Hydrogen Fact #1.

Myth #10 – The hydrogen infrastructure will cost the U.S. federal government hundreds of billions of dollars or even a trillion dollars

Truth – The car companies are pleading for the initial hydrogen fueling stations to be built, but the oil companies are clearly not interested in funding a competitor to oil.

Although U.S. federal government funding will be needed to build the initial hydrogen fueling stations, this could be paid for by using the $1.8 billion per year that the oil companies currently receive in tax breaks.  And the U.S. federal government could make money through lease payments made by companies who will operate the fueling stations and by selling the fueling stations at some point in the future.

Furthermore, the cost of hydrogen from wind power given above included $0.34 per kilogram to cover the entire cost of the monthly payment on a 20-year loan for $2 million which is the current cost of a hydrogen fueling station.  Therefore, the cost of hydrogen from wind power would be equivalent to less than $3.50 per gallon of gasoline and would include paying the cost of the entire hydrogen infrastructure.

This is covered in detail in Hydrogen Fact #8, Hydrogen Fact #7, and the Hydrogen Manhattan Project.