Automakers Criticize Fuel Cells
The world’s top automakers’ leaders finally woke up, looked around, and realized what many experts have been saying for years: hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles don’t make much sense. At the auto show in Geneva yesterday, Bob Lutz, GM’s vice chairman, the global-warming skeptic who is nevertheless leading the charge at GM in promoting cleaner vehicles, seems to have come close to conceding that the company’s much advertised fuel-cell program is little more than a marketing gimmick.
He said that fuel cells are still far too expensive, and that advances in lithium-ion batteries likely make fuel cells unnecessary, according to a report in today’s Wall Street Journal.
As Toyota’s president, Katsuaki Watanabe, voiced his skepticism about the technology, he noted that fuel cells are expensive and that infrastructure for distributing hydrogen widely doesn’t exist.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government continues to pour money into research related to fuel-cell vehicles.
Experts have argued that powering cars with electricity distributed via the grid and stored in batteries is far more efficient than making hydrogen from water and distributing it. (For more arguments against hydrogen, see “Hype about Hydrogen.”) What’s more, the infrastructure to do so is already in place. Better batteries are needed for long-range electric cars. But cars that use batteries for daily driving and efficient gasoline or diesel engines for extended trips could overcome that problem while leading to significantly reduced greenhouse emissions.
Hydrogen may yet play an important role in the future, however. It could serve as a way to store energy from the sun to be used at night. To this end, researchers are developing more efficient ways to split water with sunlight. (See “Cheap Hydrogen.”)
Keep Reading
Most Popular

These materials were meant to revolutionize the solar industry. Why hasn’t it happened?
Perovskites are promising, but real-world conditions have held them back.

Why China is still obsessed with disinfecting everything
Most public health bodies dealing with covid have long since moved on from the idea of surface transmission. China’s didn’t—and that helps it control the narrative about the disease’s origins and danger.

Anti-aging drugs are being tested as a way to treat covid
Drugs that rejuvenate our immune systems and make us biologically younger could help protect us from the disease’s worst effects.

A quick guide to the most important AI law you’ve never heard of
The European Union is planning new legislation aimed at curbing the worst harms associated with artificial intelligence.
Stay connected

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.