Will Americans Buy Toyota Motor Corporation's Hydrogen Car?

[PoliticAverse]

Hydrogen-powered cars are coming to U.S. dealerships. But will Americans buy them?

Toyota (NYSE: TM ) is betting that at least a few Americans will be willing to pay for a car that runs on hydrogen. The company is expected to launch a production version of its FCV Concept vehicle in Japan, the U.S., and Europe next year.

The FCV Concept is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. Essentially, it's an electric car that extracts its energy from compressed hydrogen, instead of a battery. Advocates of fuel-cell-powered cars say they're just as clean as battery-electrics -- their only "exhaust" is water vapor -- but they can be smaller and lighter in weight, because they don't have heavy battery packs.

Read the rest at: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/03/31/toyotas-hydrogen-car-is-coming-here-soon.aspx

[get the red out]

1. More than a bit expensive for me

But I like the concept.

[NYC_SKP]

2. Honda has been leasing their Hydrogen "FCX Clarity" in the US since 2008.

In Southern California only, no sales, there were 20 out there in 2010, not sure how many now.

It's all about infrastructure, of course, and there's little of that in place at this time.

They're basically electric vehicles with hydrogen the onboard fuel instead of batteries.

Like EVs, they can use any original source to create the stored energy (hydrogen is not a fuel, it's a carrier like electricity in batteries).

Battery power and hydrogen require some energy source to begin with, so are as clean or dirty as the energy source used to create them, coal, solar, wind, natural gas, something has to create the energy.

[oldhippie]

3. Yes, a few will buy them, like any other novelty item ...

Last edited Tue Apr 1, 2014, 04:50 PM - Edit history (1)

There are those who will buy them for the "cool" factor, if nothing else. But they are not practical for everyday use at this time.

If I had the money I would design and build a PV powered electrolysis plant to produce hydrogen from water. Then pressurize it and store it for use in the PEM fuel cell car. There are some engineering challenges that would be fun to work on. It would also be expensive, and I don't have the money, so I guess I will just dream.

[nationalize the fed]

9. Here's a guy that has done it- in New Jersey

Inside the Solar-Hydrogen House: No More Power Bills--Ever A New Jersey resident generates and stores all the power he needs with solar panels and hydrogen

Stores Hydrogen in Propane tanks

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hydrogen-house/ (2008)

2013 update:

[oldhippie]

10. Thanks! I had heard of that guy ....

.... and seen a short article which mentioned how much it cost (an why it is likely that I will only dream about it.) But I hadn't seen that SA article before. Thanks for providing that!

[oldhippie]

4. I guess there's not much support for hydrogen fuel cell cars .....

... based on this thread.

[PoliticAverse]

5. Not at $90,000+. Also there's the problem of lack of hydrogen stations

at the moment.

[Nihil]

6. Rather have an electric one at that price ...

Or, better yet, a hybrid and keep most of that price tag in my pocket.

(I wish!)

[PasadenaTrudy]

7. Not at that price n/t

[phantom power]

8. Access to fuel seems like a major structural limiter. And yeah, the price point is quite high.