Why aren't hydrogen fuel cell vehicles more common?

Question

What is inhibiting this technology from wider proliferation, given the obvious environmental benefits?

Any answers welcome, but if they involve the dominant influence of oil companies then I'd like some level of substantiation.

Answer 1

Because there is no market for it but if the Phillipine goverment or the State of Ca. will mandate the carbon monoxide emmision at its lowest level to reverse the greenhouse effect then Japanese manufacturers will commercially produce fuel cell cars to make it more affordable at $30,000 per unit.

Answer 2

The fuel cells are way too expensive and there is no natural source of hydrogen.

Answer 3

The technology needs further development ... it is suitable for trains and busses but not for cars yet because of ... how do I describe this ...

If you looked at the displacement of an internal combustion engine you can get about 100 hp per liter of displacement.  Oil is a very concentrated form of energy.  But a fuel cell will give you about 1 hp per 100 liters of displacement.

Fuel cells just dont produce enough energy/weight to be viable in autos, yet.

Answer 4

"Due to the fact that goverments worldwide would go bancrupt overnight"

Answer 5

Engineers have not yet fugured out how to make it safe and cost effective yet. Many are working on it.

Answer 6

Hydrogen is very unstable and the technology has not been controlled in an ecconomical manner.

Answer 7

Sounds like you know the answers?

Answer 8

I had heard previous estimates that cost effectiveness ratio won't be competitive until oil reaches $100 a barrel.

That was said back when oil was below $50.

Now that oil is over $80, we may hear more about hydrogen fuel cells.

Answer 9

Hydrogen technology is not economically competitive at the moment.  At some point, perhaps because of taxes or regulation it may become an attractive option, but even then it would take time and money to build up the distribution/production infrastructure.

Answer 10

Hydrogen is volatile and there is not a good way to distribute it.

Answer 11

The cost of a hydrogen fuel cell with sufficient capacity to power a small economy car is approximately $100,000.

the cost of a fuel cell large enough to power a full size sedan is approximately $250,000.

That does not include the cost of the car.

The car is extra.

The cost of fuel cells is prohibitive.

Also fuel cells require extremely clean sources of hydrogen gas.

Small amount of contaminants will poison your fuel cell and render it inoperative.

Your fuel cell will become the world's most expensive paper weight.

That is the reason that we do not have more cars powered by fuel cells.

Answer 12

Too expensive

Poor fuel availability

No fuel distribution system

Fuel cost (if you can get it) is too high

Answer 13

Too many people saw the Hindenburg film.

Answer 14

Because fuel cells are EXPENSIVE, cost more than a regular engine.

Fuel cell technology have been around for quite sometime now, but its cost restrict its use to highly funded applications such as space vehicles and space stations.

Not to mention its bulky, because a single fuel cell generates only a small amount of current, lots of it are needed to power a vehicle.

Answer 15

that technology is still too expensive and creates logistics problems, that is why we don't see cars powered by fuel cells.

Answer 16

monopoly of the combustion engine lobby which have to recover returns from high investment already sunk in the automobile industry.

soon hydrogen fuel cell engines would be a common sight.

thnks