Everything you need to know about hydrogen fuel cell vehicles

We’re all used to seeing cars powered by petrol, diesel, and even electricity in today’s world. But hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are slowly emerging, and they could yet become a viable option for some use cases in the future.

In this guide, we’ll give you all you need to know about hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, their pros and cons, plus what the future outlook looks like.

What is a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle?

Hydrogen cars, or hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (often shortened to FCEV), are vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen is stored in a tank at 700 bar, which generates high-voltage electricity to a small buffer battery which provides transient power for acceleration.

While many people tout hydrogen as the fuel of the future, the truth is that they have been around for decades. In 1998, Mercedes-Benzproduced the first road-legal FCEV with the A-Class-based Necar.

How do hydrogen fuel cell vehicles work?

Cars draw their power from a fuel cell stack, where oxygen and hydrogen react to generate electricity, sending energy to an electric motor. This means they drive much like an electric car.

Hydrogen cars produce zero tailpipe emissions, making them a much cleaner proposition, at least from the driver’s point of view.

How do you fill up a hydrogen car?

Hydrogen cars can be refuelled using a pump at a hydrogen filling station. Hydrogen filling stations look much like a regular petrol or diesel forecourt.

Refuelling a hydrogen car is a simple task — just open up the fuel filler cap and insert the pump. According to Toyota, refuelling takes roughly five minutes.

The hardest part of refuelling a hydrogen car in the UK is finding a filling station. PerUK H2 Mobility, there are just three hydrogen filling stations available for public motorists in the UK.

They are situated in Hatton Cross, London, Tullos in Aberdeen and the Advanced Manufacturing Park near Sheffield. There are plans for filling stations to be installed in Stockton-on-Tees, Glasgow and the Welsh city of Newport.

British start-up Element 2 is also planning to open four filling stations in 2024. A further 30 pump locations will be identified with plans to install additional pimps by the end