How much will it cost to drive 100 miles on hydrogen?

Question

Assuming the car can do 40 MPG on hydrogen and you produce the gas your self at home

Answer 1

If I understand the answer above, it costs about twice as much to run on Hydrogen as it does on gasoline.

So why don't we continue to use gasoline?  Building more refineries and drilling for more oil off the coast would be a good way to insure our independence from hostile oil producing countries.

Cutting down on pollution is still a great idea and it's already taking place here in the US, so at least we're on the right track.

Of course nuclear power is a great solution too.  I'd love a nuclear car like in Back to the Future.

Answer 2

Are you getting your power from the grid, or making it yourself from a small windmill in the back yard or solar cells on the roof?   This is the only way any pollution will be eliminated by using hydrogen.   There is not enough energy produced by renewables now, or will there in the near future to offset our need to produce power by burning coal.   Even nuclear facilities take years to build.

Answer 3

There are other costs to consider.  The cost of buying and maintaining hydrogen producing equipment and storage facilities.  Insurance could be high.  Converting you vehicle.

If your electricity is produced by coal, oil, nuclear the considerable waste and pollution must be considered and those costs too.

However, your engine should run cleaner and last longer they say but there are additives to petrol to help lubricate your engine.  You must need some additives with hydrogen too, I would imagine.

A nuclear car is just silly right now.  Nuclear isn't magic.  It just creates heat.  You're not going to be happy waiting for your car to produce steam to directly run your steam pistons or, more likely, to produce electricity to run an electric engine.

Since this nuclear possibility would need water, cold climates would have the additional problem of keeping the water from freezing.

Can you imagine the problems when people crash their nuclear cars?  Radio active material all over.

Answer 4

EXPENSIVE! Hydrogen is an out of reach, non-reliable, expensive and dumb way to power your car. If you want a green way to power your car then ask the automakers for electric cars. Then only have 1 moving part and therefore are much easier, and by the way cheaper to maintain. Electric cars with basic NiMH batteries you can get between 80-125 miles per charge which can be done overnight or in about 6-7 hours from a completly empty battery. Cars such as the EV1 from Saturn, RAV4 EV by Toyota and other cars that are no longer in production thanks to Chevron, GM, the Bush Administration, and CARB (California Air Resouces Board). Learn more from the links below.

Answer 5

Mike answered the question accurately.  However, there is an assumption that you used only electrical energy to drive the reaction to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen.   90% of the energy needed can come from solar heating.   That means the $0.10/Kwh becomes $0.01/Kwh and you can get down the road 100 miles for about $1.25 vs $12.50.

The zero emissions are a major plus over gasoline as well.

Answer 6

It requires approximately 50 kilowatt hours of electricity to produce an amount of hydrogen that has an amount of energy equivalent to one gallon of gasoline.

If you pay 10 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity, the cost will be $5 for an amount of hydrogen with an energy contect equal to one gallon of gasoliine.

At 40 mpg, that would be 2.5 gallons, or $12.50.