Is anyone making a hydrogen car?
Automobiles. As of 2021, there were two hydrogen cars publicly available in select markets: the Toyota Mirai and the Hyundai Nexo. Predictions of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle market is expected to increase at a rate of 20% between 2025 and 2030, highlighting the accelerating development of hydrogen-powered vehicles.Neither cars are cheap. If you were to offer hard cash, Toyota’s hydrogen car, the Mirai (pictured), will cost you £62,500 after the £3,500 low-emission vehicle government grant, while the Hyundai Nexo, due to be launched in March 2019, will cost around £65,500 after the grant.Hydrogen cars didn’t fail for lack of innovation—they failed because the energy chain was fundamentally inefficient, and the economics never penciled out.Hyundai has been a leader in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles since introducing the Nexo in 2018, the world’s first hydrogen-powered SUV. As of 2025, the automaker has continued to maintain its hydrogen mobility market dominance.
Are hydrogen cars available now?
Though there are new H2 cars on the horizon, there are currently two hydrogen-powered cars available in the UK: the Toyota Mirai and the Hyundai Nexo SUV. When there’s fuel enough to run them, hydrogen-powered cars can go farther and refuel much faster than EVs of the same size. Hydrogen fuel cell cars aren’t as clean or efficient as battery EVs, however, and developing a reliable, affordable and widespread fueling infrastructure is a big problem right now.Fueling Costs While the current price of hydrogen is higher than gasoline, fuel cells are approximately 2. An added bonus is that most fuel cell car manufacturers include three years’ worth of free fuel with a vehicle.The key problem for hydrogen cars is not the fuel cell but actually getting the clean hydrogen where it is needed. The gas is highly flammable – with all the safety concerns that entails – must be stored under pressure and leaks easily.That’s true to an extent, but hydrogen-powered cars are not really expected to replace EVs. Instead, hydrogen is intended to complement pure-electric power, and there’s a good reason for this: it is the cleanest fuel possible.
Are hydrogen cars better than EV?
When there’s fuel enough to run them, hydrogen-powered cars can go farther and refuel much faster than EVs of the same size. Hydrogen fuel cell cars aren’t as clean or efficient as battery EVs, however, and developing a reliable, affordable and widespread fueling infrastructure is a big problem right now. The cost of hydrogen fuel cells and refueling stations is currently higher than the cost of electric batteries and charging stations. This cost difference is likely to narrow in the future, but it is not clear that hydrogen will ever be as affordable as electricity, especially as demand continues to shrink.Production of green hydrogen costs between three and four dollars per kg (~Rs 230 and Rs 350 per kg). All major economies, including India, are working towards reducing this to bring it to around one or two dollars a kilogram (~Rs 80 or 150 per kg).Hydrogen produced using clean energy costs four times as much as hydrogen made from natural gas, according to BNEF. And it’s hard to build the infrastructure to supply hydrogen—not just plants to make it but pipelines to move it—when the demand may not materialize for years.Range and Tank Size Hydrogen vehicles typically have tanks that can hold 5 to 8 kg of high-pressure compressed hydrogen. With the average consumption rates mentioned earlier, this would result in a range of approximately 500 to 800 kilometers per full tank.Unlike conventional fuels, hydrogen is measured in kilograms as opposed to litres or gallons. When being used to generate power for homes, buildings and industrial applications, hydrogen is measured in kilowatt-hours (kW). In the UK, hydrogen fuel generally costs motorists between £10 and £15 per kilogram.
What is the lifespan of a hydrogen car?
A typical hydrogen fuel cell lasts around 5,000 to 10,000 hours in vehicles, equivalent to 150,000 to 300,000 miles of driving. How far does an average car go on 1kg of Hydrogen? One kg of hydrogen contains about the same energy as a gallon of gasoline. Today a fuel-cell electric vehicle with 1 kg of hydrogen can drive approximately 60 miles, compared to conventional vehicles, which get about 25 miles on a gallon of gasoline.Mileage usually varies because of driving patterns, models, and road conditions. Still, you can expect 250 kms on one kilogram of hydrogen. What is the highest mileage hydrogen car? Toyota Mirae has a record of 845 miles without requiring second refuelling.
How far can a hydrogen car go on a full tank?
Fuel cell cars can carry enough hydrogen fuel for 300-400 miles of range and their tanks can be refilled as quickly as that of a standard car’s gas tank. One major issue is the inefficiency of producing and storing hydrogen fuel. The process of creating hydrogen gas through electrolysis or reforming natural gas requires a significant amount of energy, often derived from non-renewable sources.Under “normal” pressure and temperature conditions, 1 kg of hydrogen occupies about 11,000 liters. Even if it contains, per kg, 4 times more energy than gasoline, the difference in volume is gigantic.Fuel cell cars can carry enough hydrogen fuel for 300-400 miles of range and their tanks can be refilled as quickly as that of a standard car’s gas tank.Essentially, they’re near impossible for the public to get a hold of, however there are plans for the hydrogen car market to ramp up over the next few years. The BMW iX5 Hydrogen is another example that isn’t too far away, planning public availability by 2030.Poor conversion efficiency (see below chart) within the vehicle leading to energy losses and high fuel costs. Higher lifetime costs of FCEVs, almost exclusively due to the higher fuel cost.
How much is 1 kg of hydrogen fuel?
Blue hydrogen —produced from natural gas paired with carbon capture and storage — costs between US$5 to 7 per kg in the US, and $7 to 11 in Europe and Australia. Green hydrogen produced through electrolysis using renewable power costs US$10-15 per kg , depending on availability. Hydrogen produced using clean energy costs four times as much as hydrogen made from natural gas, according to BNEF. And it’s hard to build the infrastructure to supply hydrogen—not just plants to make it but pipelines to move it—when the demand may not materialize for years.Costly: Hydrogen is significantly more expensive than using fossil gas for heating and could add on average 70% to heating bills from 2025 for both electricity and fossil fuel-based hydrogen, according to a study by Cornwall Insight.