I’ve been in the automotive media since 2007 and a car enthusiast for long before that, and I’ve been hearing about hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles for as long as I can remember. I’ve even driven one.
Yet, unless you live in California, you still can’t get one.
Will they ever be on our roads en masse?
A group of Toyota Mirai owners/lessees are suing the automaker in part because they believe there aren’t enough stations for refueling, and in part because the range between fill-ups is alleged to be less than what Toyota promised.
The whole story is worth the read, but it also serves as a jumping off point for me to ponder if hydrogen fuel-cell cars will ever be on the market in large numbers.
I know why they aren’t now, so please don’t remind me of that. I am asking you if the challenges that hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles face now can be solved in the near term.
Before I turn it over to y’all, I will say that my short time piloting a Hyundai Nexo on a closed course was interesting — the Nexo drove essentially like an EV. Hydrogen fuel-cell cars have some of the same advantages of EVs and there’s an argument to be made that it might be easier to built out hydrogen refilling infrastructure than EV charging infrastructure. Emphasis on “might”.
What do you think? Sound off below.
[image: Toyota]
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