first. 200,000 electric vehicles are
estimated to be operating in the
United States by spring. As for
hydrogen vehicles, they have been
limited to government and business
fleets, plus a few average drivers.
Hyundai, Toyota and Honda are
moving forward with plans to offer
hydrogen cars to people who live in
certain areas of the country, claiming
that by 2020 there will be thousands
of hydrogen cars on American roads.
The real concern with electricity
and hydrogen powering cars has to
do with how people will access it.
While the number of public electric
car chargers is increasing, they still
are anything but common in most
areas. Electricity is available pretty
much everywhere, making it a matter
of just installing charging stations in
homes and at businesses. On the
other hand, most electric vehicles
take hours to charge, making it an
inconvenient way to drive for long
distances, such as going on a road
trip. There are some rapid chargers
that can cut the charge time to a
mere half hour, but that is still far
longer than the time it takes to gas
up a car.
There is even less of an infrastructure
in place to distribute hydrogen, with
only a few hydrogen stations are
located in areas like California. Honda
has opened a hydrogen fueling
station in California, and Hyundai is
opening another one in the state for
consumers who purchase the new
hydrogen Tucson. Setting up enough
hydrogen stations for every car in
the nation would be expensive and
difficult. Hydrogen fans are quick
to point out that fueling takes only
minutes and that hydrogen vehicles
can go longer between fill-ups versus
gas-powered cars, meaning fewer
hydrogen stations would be needed.
Hydrogen vehicles allow drivers to
travel around 300 miles between fuel
stops, which is far more convenient
than the 80 to 90 miles most electric
cars can drive before needing to be
charged up.
At the moment, gasoline-powered
cars are not going anywhere, even
if they go down in numbers over the
next several years. Electric cars are
rapidly catching on as more people
see their benefits. Whether hydrogen
will catch on is still anyone's guess,
but the fuel has the potential to
revolutionize how you get around in
the upcoming years.
CLARITY MAGAZINE march 2014
15