What’s The Difference Between EVs And Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles?

Electric vehicles are a common sight on our roads today. In just a few short years they have gone from a “social experiment” to a sensible alternative to the traditional internal combustion engine ones. It makes sense considering they require exceptionally minimal maintenance, offer decent performance, and are “whisper quietly” when in motion.

How Do You Tell Them Apart?

But how do you tell an EV and an FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles) apart? On the outside, they look similar because they both emit little noise, don’t give off toxic gases and rely on an electric motor as their mode of propulsion. The main difference between them is in the way they generate electricity.

Traditional electric vehicles have a large battery pack that usually occupies the entire floorboard, which sits directly under the cabin. It consists of hundreds if not thousands of lithium-ion battery cells. Like a regular battery, lithium-ion ones consist of an anode (negative) and a cathode (positive) separated by an electrolyte.

How Do EV Batteries Work?

When placed in a closed circuit, the battery’s lithium’s outer electron travels across the circuit from the negative to the positive terminal. The lithium-ions, with one less electron, travel from the anode (inside the battery), through the electrolyte and flow towards the battery’s cathode.

This electricity is then used to power the electric motor. And once the cells have depleted their power, they will need to be recharged. When charging the battery with an external power source, the exact reverse reaction takes place. The electrons flow through the external circuit from the cathode and head towards the anode. The lithium-ions that have lost said electron, leave the cathode and flows back through the electrolyte to the anode.

How Do FCEVs Work?

Hydrogen vehicles on the other hand operate a little differently. They offer the best of both worlds because they combine the convenience of refueling in a few minutes like a petrol-powered car but use electricity as their mode of power delivery.

FCEVs have an electric motor and single speed transmission like a traditional EV but instead of a large battery pack, use a fuel cell and a tank of hydrogen to generate electricity. But how does this work? Hydrogen from the tank flows into the anode section of the fuel cell where it later combines with oxygen to create electricity.

They do have a battery pack as well but it’s smaller than that of a regular EV and is usually used as a supplement power source to help smooth out the power delivery of the fuel cell. It is also recharged from regenerative braking that takes place during each trip.

But unlike a regular EV that requires at least 30 minutes to charge by using a DC fast charger, an FCEV can fill up its gas tank with hydrogen in under 5 minutes. Like ICE vehicles, they have exhaust pipes too but all that comes out of them is pure water, which some say is clean enough for human consumption, but take that with a pinch of salt.

The fuel cell, if taken care of well, has a service life of between 10 to 20 years, which is better than the battery packs of most EVs. It offers the best of both EVs and ICE vehicles. However, there are two reasons why hydrogen fuel cell technology hasn’t caught on, which are the lack of refueling infrastructure and the low power density of the entire system. Once these two factors are dealt with, they could become the future of private transportation.