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.
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...
