Why The Electric Car Push?

The obvious answer would be it's better for the environment, especially air quality in cities. The downside is limited range and recharging time. That simple summary doesn't explain why hydrogen fuel cell cars have been hyped as a real environmentally friendly possibility and then downplayed. 

First, the switch to BEVs that is taking place. Sales were 2.2 million in 2019 and 6.6 million in 2021, now close to 9% of the global total. China sold 3.3 million, or 53% of the total. Many of the China sales are tiny city cars but still an impressive achievement.

So what is wrong with hydrogen fuel cell passenger cars? Sales in the US for 2021 were 3,341 (the Toyota Mirai nearly 80% of that total). Chicken feed numbers. Hydrogen is being pushed for commercial vehicles though. Buses and lorries are seen as the area where fuel cell propulsion will be most successful in the more immediate future.

Commercial vehicles can have a filling station back at a depot or a long haul trucking firm some strategically placed filling points along a regular route. Filling up is quick too. A city based bus service would be pollution free and in future, that may be a mandatory standard for new bus purchases.

The problem is that the vast majority of the world's passenger cars are still using fossil fuels and service stations are doing just fine with their patronage. The setting up costs for hydrogen is not worth it for a few customers. With an absence of filling stations, people will not be buying them. A catch 22 situation. 

So hydrogen fuel cell passenger cars can have a future but they need to be made in large enough numbers to bring the price down. There aren't enough refueling points to sell them in big enough numbers. Car makers have done the maths and virtually all of them are not bothering until that impasse is negated.