Hydrogen Electric Vehicles

To comply with carbon emissions regulations, many automakers have pledged to phase out the production of gas and diesel vehicles in the near future. But there is something in their plans that is hard to ignore. While the pathway to achieving zero-emission vehicles offers two options - battery and hydrogen fuel-cell EVs - the latter has been massively sidelined. Only a handful of hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (HFCEVs) have been produced so far.  

The Toyota Mirai, the Hyundai Nexo, and the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, which was discontinued in 2021. Speaking of which, only three companies are responsible for all hydrogen cars in the market. In contrast, millions of BEVs are gracing our roads today, and nearly every car manufacturer can claim production responsibility for at least one model.

In light of automakers' actions, it appears as if achieving zero emissions is synonymous with producing BEVs instead of exploring other available options. Not long ago, the world’s largest automaker, Toyota, was on the receiving end of criticism for being deliberately slow in shifting toward the production of all-electric vehicles. 

All this time, the company was experimenting with other options, including hybrid and hydrogen cars, which they believed could be better alternatives to achieving the same goal of reducing carbon emissions. 

In their defense, the then CEO Akiyo Toyoda said that EVs are just a hype that will backfire when they flood the market and cause overload on the grid along with more emissions indirectly through electricity generation. Guess what he proposed was the true green vehicle – you got it right – hydrogen fuel-cell cars.  READ MORE...

Undoing Carbon Emissions

Carbon emissions are causing climate change – so rather than sending carbon dioxide into the sky, in Iceland, some are turning it into stone.


The two red-and-white silos of the aluminium smelter at Straumsvík are conspicuous from afar to everyone travelling from Iceland’s international airport to the capital city, Reykjavík. These silos house a mineral called alumina, the raw material used to produce aluminium. 

The alumina makes its way via an automated system to potrooms – three grey, long, low-lying buildings – where the manufacture of aluminium happens. These potrooms are perhaps less noticeable than the towers, yet they are playing a crucial role in reducing Iceland’s carbon emissions.

Heavy industry in Iceland contributes 48% of the country’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, according to the Environment Agency of Iceland, excluding greenhouse gases from land use and forestry.

 Even though these industrial facilities run on renewable energy from hydroelectricity and geothermal power, CO2 is released as part of the process of producing metals like aluminium. 

The larger of the country’s industrial facilities produces silicon metals, which are used in steel manufacturing, as well as aluminium, much of which is exported and used in the automobile industry.

At present, three aluminium smelters, two manufacturing plants and the energy company Reykjavik Energy are investigating becoming carbon neutral by 2040. Together, the facilities release about 1.76 million tonnes of CO2 each year. 

Getting from that figure to zero might seem like a tall order, especially when much of Iceland’s heavy industry already runs on renewables.  TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...