Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs)

Find out more about the future of driving.

What is a Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle?

FCEVs are a type of electric vehicle that is powered by hydrogen. They tend to be more efficient than regular vehicles with an internal combustion engine and like battery electric vehicles (BEVs), they produce no emissions. However, they do emit some water vapor and warm air due to the internal mechanisms. The Fuel Cell EV uses hydrogen stored in the engine which is then converted into electricity by the fuel cell but similarly to combustion engine vehicle they fuel in around 5 minuets and have a range of over 300 miles as an average.

Toyota produced the first hydrogen car in 2014 and insist this will be a better alternative to combustion engines than battery electric vehicles due to the fact they run similarly to our petrol and diesel cars we are all so used to. However hydrogen cars are currently still in the development faze with no clear road on when they will be widely available to the public.

Fueling FCEVs?

Hydrogen is one of the most common substances on earth, it makes up 70% of matter in the universe and can be completely carbon free if made with renewable energy. Unlike BEV’s which burn fossil fuels to make and charge.

What will make hydrogen cars more appealing to customers is that they are just as quick and easy to fuel as your normal petrol and diesel cars.

When will we see FCEVs on the road?

There is lots of speculation around when we can expect to see hydrogen cars readily available to the public. Until the infostructure for hydrogen cars drastically improves in the UK we can’t expect to see hydrogen cars any time soon, which is a shame because they sound great!

Currently manufacturers leading FCEV developments are BMW, Hyundai and Honda. However Toyota are leading the way and have already produced their first hydrogen car the MIRAI.