Hydrogen could be the biggest next thing in the automotive industry, and in fact, the International Energy Agency expects hydrogen to fuel 16% of land-based transport by the middle of the century.
Some industry analysts and insiders are even expecting hydrogen cars to overcome EVs in upcoming years as a green alternative, although that remains quite optimistic.
Hydrogen engines only produce water molecules as a byproduct, representing a true green and planet-friendly alternative to gasoline and fuel, thus companies invested millions of dollars to investigate its usages.
Toyota in particular is a massive proponent of hydrogen fuel, and last month, Chairman Akio Toyoda said he expects EV cars to peak at 30% of total global market share, with internal combustion engines and hydrogen cars accounting for the rest.
BMW is alo a significant proponent of the technology, continuing to invest considerable resources in its developments in recent years.
There are already several hydrogen cars in the market, the Mirai from Toyota, and the Nexo SUV from Hyundai, however their market are extremely limited due to infrastructure constraints.
Hydrogen production is also an energy-intensive process, which in turn could defeat the whole purpose of using it as a clean alternative to gasoline and diesel.
And indeed, most hydrogen used in industrial applications today is called “gray hydrogen” , meaning it’s produced through fossil fuels, while blue hydrogen is produced through natural gas, while “green hydrogen” is produced through sustainable sources, although that remains rare and impractical.
A promising application for hydrogen engines would be in the transport sector, both transport vehicles and huge industrial ships, which are a major culprit of CO2 emissions and are usually harder to electrify, opening the door for hydrogen technology to step in and take a prominent place.
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