Why Batteries Are A Step Ahead From Fuel Cells When It Comes To Reducing Emissions?

There are a number of communities that feel safer to invest in electric vehicles then in fuel cell based vehicles. It is true that hydrogen infrastructure offers some extra energy points but electrical cars are considered to be more cost-effective than the other. The fact was recently revealed in a study conducted by scientists at the Technical University of Munich and Stanford University. They made a comparison between batteries based and hydrogen fuel based cars and found that the electrical vehicles costs were down as compared to the other one.

The lead author of this paper and doctoral pursuer at TUM says that, “We looked at how large-scale adoption of electric vehicles would affect total energy use in a community, for buildings as well as transportation. We found that investing in all-electric battery vehicles is a more economical choice for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, primarily due to their lower cost and significantly higher energy efficiency.” According to a co-author and energy resource engineering professor at the Stanford, Sally Benson, “Studies such as these are needed to identify the lowest cost and most efficient pathways to deep decarbonization of the global energy system.”

Presently, the electric vehicles can be availed in two distinct types: the fuel cell based vehicles and the plug-in cars with rechargeable batteries. These are a step ahead from gasoline based vehicles as these reduce the carbon emission to zero. However, their deployment on a high scale demands new infrastructure and higher costs. One of the most important questions faced by policymakers is that what kind of commutation technology will help in reducing all emissions for lowest possible costs? And if we were to see beyond transportation, could the hydrogen technologies offer clean energy for lighting and heating of buildings? For now, none of the two energy sources is hundred percent emissions free. A few people charge their batteries by plugging those into power grids; the electricity for this is generated by burning fossil fuels. Similarly, most hydrogen cells are extracted from natural gas that comes again from an industrial process that emits harmful gases. Therefore, the coming generation of researchers will have to come up with some alternatives to empower complete system with emission free fuels and vehicles.

Matthew Pellow charges his all-electric Nissan Leaf at Stanford. Pellow has found that battery electric vehicles are a more cost-efficient choice for reducing carbon dioxide emissions than cars powered by hydrogen. (Image courtesy of Mark Shwartz/Stanford University.)