A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate electricity generally using oxygen from the air and compressed hydrogen. Most fuel cell vehicles are classified as zero-emissions vehicles. As compared with internal combustion vehicles, hydrogen vehicles centralize pollutants at the site of the hydrogen production, where hydrogen is typically derived from reformed natural gas. Transporting and storing hydrogen may also create pollutants."How Do Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles Work?". Union of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved July 24, 2016. Fuel cells have been used in various kinds of vehicles including forklifts, especially in indoor applications where their clean emissions are important to air quality, and in space applications. Fuel cells are being developed and tested in trucks, buses, boats, ships, motorcycles and bicycles, among other kinds of vehicles.
The first road vehicle powered by a fuel cell was the Chevrolet Electrovan, introduced by General Motors in 1966. The Toyota FCHV and Honda FCX, which began leasing on December 2, 2002, became the world's first government-certified commercial fuel cell vehicles, and the Honda FCX Clarity, which began leasing in 2008, was the world's first fuel cell vehicle designed for mass production rather than adapting an existing model. In 2013, Hyundai Motors began production of the Hyundai ix35 FCEV, claimed to be the world's first mass-produced fuel cell electric vehicle,"Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell", accessed November 18, 2018"The World’s First Mass-Production of FCEV", accessed November 18, 2018 which was subsequently introduced to the market as a lease-only vehicle. In 2014, Toyota began selling the Toyota Mirai, the world's first dedicated fuel cell vehicle.
, 31,225 passenger FCEVs powered with hydrogen had been sold worldwide. Go to the Global EV Data Explorer tool and choose "EV Stock", "Cars" and "World" for global stock, and "Country" for the country stock. , there were only two models of fuel cell cars publicly available in select markets: the Toyota Mirai (2014–present) and the Hyundai Nexo (2018–present). The Honda Clarity was produced from 2016 to 2021, when it was discontinued. The Honda CR-V e:FCEV became available, for lease only, in very limited quantities in 2024.Voelcker, John. "Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles: Everything You Need to Know", Car and Driver, April 29, 2024 As of 2020, there was limited hydrogen infrastructure, with fewer than fifty hydrogen fueling stations for automobiles publicly available in the U.S. Critics doubt whether hydrogen will be efficient or cost-effective for automobiles, as compared with other zero-emission technologies, and in 2019, The Motley Fool opined: "What's tough to dispute is that the hydrogen fuel cell dream is all but dead for the passenger vehicle market."
A significant number of the public hydrogen fuel stations in California are not able to dispense hydrogen."Station Status", Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership. Retrieved October 17, 2024; and "Southern California Retail Hydrogen Station Network Status in California", Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership, July 19, 2024 In 2024, Mirai owners filed a class action lawsuit in California over the lack of availability of hydrogen available for fuel cell electric cars, alleging, among other things, fraudulent concealment and misrepresentation as well as violations of California’s false advertising law and breaches of implied warranty.Martin, Polly. "Toyota sued over lack of hydrogen availability for fuel cell cars in California", Hydrogen Insight, July 15, 2024
Description and purpose of fuel cells in vehicles
All fuel cells are made up of three parts: an electrolyte, an anode and a cathode."Basics", U.S. Department of Energy, Retrieved on: 2008-11-03. In principle, a hydrogen fuel cell functions like a battery, producing electricity, which can run an electric motor. Instead of requiring recharging, however, the fuel cell can be refilled with hydrogen."What Is a Fuel Cell?" , The Online Fuel Cell Information Resource, Retrieved on: 2008-11-03. Different types of fuel cells include polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells, direct methanol fuel cells, phosphoric acid fuel cells, molten carbonate fuel cells, solid oxide fuel cells, reformed methanol fuel cell and Regenerative Fuel Cells."Types of Fuel Cells" , U.S. Department of Energy, Retrieved on: 2008-11-03.
History
The concept of the fuel cell was first demonstrated by Humphry Davy in 1801, but the invention of the first working fuel cell is credited to William Grove, a chemist, lawyer, and physicist. Grove's experiments with what he called a "gas voltaic battery" proved in 1842 that an electric current could be produced by an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen over a platinum catalyst. English engineer Francis Thomas Bacon expanded on Grove's work, creating and demonstrating various alkaline fuel cells from 1939 to 1959.
The first modern fuel cell vehicle was a modified Allis-Chalmers farm tractor, fitted with a 15 kilowatt fuel cell, around 1959.Wand, George. “Fuel Cell History, Part 2” . “Fuel Cell Today”, April 2006, accessed August 2, 2011 The Cold War Space Race drove further development of fuel cell technology. Project Gemini tested fuel cells to provide electrical power during crewed space missions.“PEM Fuel Cells”. “Smithsonian Institution”, 2004, accessed August 2, 2011Dumoulin, Jim. “Gemini-V Information”. NASA - Kennedy Space Center, August 25, 2000, accessed August 2, 2011 Fuel cell development continued with the Apollo Program. The electrical power systems in the Apollo capsules and lunar modules used alkali fuel cells. In 1966, General Motors developed the first fuel cell road vehicle, the Chevrolet Electrovan. It had a PEM fuel cell, a range of 120 miles and a top speed of 70 mph. There were only two seats, as the fuel cell stack and large tanks of hydrogen and oxygen took up the rear portion of the van. Only one was built, as the project was deemed cost-prohibitive.“1966 GM Electrovan”. “Hydrogen Fuel Cars Now”, accessed August 2, 2011
General Electric and others continued working on PEM fuel cells in the 1970s. Fuel cell stacks were still limited principally to space applications in the 1980s, including the Space Shuttle. However, the closure of the Apollo Program sent many industry experts to private companies. By the 1990s, automobile manufacturers were interested in fuel cell applications, and demonstration vehicles were readied. In 2001, the first 700 Bar (10000 PSI) hydrogen tanks were demonstrated, reducing the size of the fuel tanks that could be used in vehicles and extending the range.“Hydrogen Storage Technology for the Hydrogen Economy” . “Iljin Composite”, KCR, Korea, accessed August 2, 2011
Applications
There are fuel cell vehicles for all modes of transport. The most prevalent fuel cell vehicles are cars, buses, forklifts and material handling vehicles."Hydrogen Fueling Stations Could Reach 5,200 by 2020" . Environmental Leader: Environmental & Energy Management News, July 20, 2011, accessed August 2, 2011
Automobiles
Honda established the world's first fuel cell vehicle dealer network in 2008, and at the time was the only company able to lease hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to private customers. The Honda FCX Clarity was introduced in 2008 for leasing by customers in Japan and Southern California and discontinued by 2015. From 2008 to 2014, Honda leased a total of 45 FCX units in the US. Over 20 other FCEV prototypes and demonstration cars were released in that time period,"Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicles Worldwide". TÜV SÜD Industrie Service GmbH, accessed on August 2, 2011 including the GM HydroGen4, and Mercedes-Benz F-Cell.
The Hyundai ix35 FCEV Fuel Cell vehicle was available for lease from 2014 to 2018,Voelcker, John. "The New Hyundai ix35", Hyundai, accessed December 7, 2014 when 54 units were leased."Plug-In Electric Car Sales Continue Rise In 2014: 100,000-Plus Last Year", Green Car Reports, January 5, 2015 In 2018, Hyundai introduced the Nexo.Panait, Mircea. "2019 Hyundai Nexo Fuel Cell Vehicle Features 370 Miles of Range", AutoEvolution, January 9, 2018 In 2024, Hyundai recalled all 1600 Nexo vehicles sold in the US to that time due to a risk of fuel leaks and fire from a faulty "pressure relief device"."Hyundai recalls hydrogen fuel cell vehicles due to fire risk and tells owners to park them outdoors", Associated Press, via Boston.com, October 18, 2024
Sales of the Toyota Mirai to customers began in Japan in December 2014. Pricing started at (~) before taxes and a government incentive of (~). Former European Parliament President Pat Cox estimated that Toyota initially would lose about $100,000 on each Mirai sold.Ayre, James. "Toyota To Lose $100,000 On Every Hydrogen FCV Sold?", CleanTechnica.com, November 19, 2014; and Blanco, Sebastian. "Bibendum 2014: Former EU President says Toyota could lose 100,000 euros per hydrogen FCV sedan", GreenAutoblog.com, November 12, 2014 , global sales totaled 5,300 Mirais. The top selling markets were the U.S. with 2,900 units, Japan with 2,100 and Europe with 200.
In 2015, Toyota announced that it would offer all 5,680 patents related to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell charging station technology, which it has been researching for over 20 years, to its competitors free of charge in order to stimulate the market for hydrogen-powered vehicles. The Honda Clarity Fuel Cell was produced from 2016 to 2021. The 2017 Clarity had the highest combined and city fuel economy ratings among all hydrogen fuel cell cars rated by the EPA that year, with a combined city/highway rating of 67 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (MPGe), and 68 MPGe in city driving. In 2019, Katsushi Inoue, the president of Honda Europe, stated, "Our focus is on hybrid and electric vehicles now. Maybe hydrogen fuel cell cars will come, but that's a technology for the next era."Allen, James. "Honda: Now Is The Right Time to Embrace Electric Cars", The Sunday Times, November 4, 2019
By 2017, Daimler phased out its FCEV development, citing declining battery costs and increasing range of EVs, and most of the automobile companies developing hydrogen cars had switched their focus to battery electric vehicles.Williams, Keith. "The Switch from Hydrogen to Electric Vehicles Continues, Now Hyundai Makes the Move", Seeking Alpha, September 1, 2017 By 2020, only three car makers were still manufacturing, or had active manufacturing programs for hydrogen cars.Morris, Charles. "Why Are 3 Automakers Still Hyping Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles?", CleanTechnica, October 14, 2021 In 2023, 3,143 hydrogen cars were sold in the US compared with 380,000 BEVs.Woody, Todd. "Few Stations and $200 to Fill Up: Life on California’s 'Hydrogen Highway'", Bloomberg, April 4, 2024 The Clarity was later discontinued, but the Honda CR-V e:FCEV became available, for lease only, in very limited quantities in 2024. In 2024 (through November), Toyota's worldwide sales fell to 1,702 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
A significant number of the public hydrogen fuel stations in California are not able to dispense hydrogen. In 2024, Mirai owners filed a class action lawsuit in California over the lack of availability of hydrogen for fuel cell electric cars, alleging, among other things, fraudulent concealment and misrepresentation as well as violations of California’s false advertising law and breaches of implied warranty.
Fuel economy The following table compares EPA's fuel economy expressed in miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (MPGe) for the two models of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles rated by the EPA , and available in California. One kg of hydrogen is roughly equivalent to one U.S. gallon of gasoline.