But now large auto companies like GM, Toyota and Honda are finally seeing their investments in hydrogen fuel cell research beginning to pay off.
In Toyota’s case their hydrogen fuel cell’s price was reduced by minimizing the amount of platinum components in the fuel cell while also eliminating a number of parts from its design.
According to Brett Smith, co-director at the Center for Automotive Research, “GM, Toyota, and a couple of other automakers have done a lot of great work. Fuel cells are getting close to being viable, closer than most people might think”.
In fact, Toyota has plans to debut a hydrogen fuel cell concept sedan in the coming months that should be available for sale sometime in 2015. What the car will cost though is still up for debate. Some at Toyota believe that the company’s first hydrogen powered car will be priced at around $100,000. However, Chris Hostetter, Toyota’s VP of strategic planning in the US, says it could go for as little as $50,000, significantly cheaper than it’s would-be competitor Tesla’s Model-S.
Later prices could come down dramatically if the hydrogen powered cars were to be mass-produced. “Costs have come down at a pretty steady rate,” says Daniel Sperling, director of the University of California’s Institute for Transportation Studies “Most people in the auto industry think that, once in large-scale production, cost won’t be a barrier.”
After more than a decade of fits and starts, hydrogen fuel cell technology appears to be on its way to commercial and technical viability. However, if the fuel cell cars are to be widely adopted they’ll need a hydrogen refueling infrastructure too. Fortunately for auto manufacturers Tesla has a roadmap to navigate through that pitfall.
Image Courtesy of Toyota