In Hydrogen vs. Electric Cars Comparison, Who Wins?

When comparing hydrogen versus electric cars (EVs), battery electric vehicles are the clear winner, based on both their popularity and the better-established infrastructure to support them. Over a million electric cars were sold in the U.S. last year, according to Edmunds data, compared to just under 3,000 hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars. Despite that dominance, the hydrogen cars vs. electric cars battle could be ready to reignite with the awarding last year of $7 billion in federal grants to boost hydrogen production and Honda's upcoming launch of a hydrogen-fueled version of the popular CR-V crossover. Additionally, Toyota, Hyundai and BMW are developing hydrogen cars. What's the allure?

When there's fuel enough to run them, hydrogen-powered cars can go farther and refuel much faster than EVs of the same size. Hydrogen fuel cell cars aren't as clean or efficient as battery EVs, however, and developing a reliable, affordable and widespread fueling infrastructure is a big problem right now. But hydrogen-powered vehicles' range and refueling time could prove to be major selling points for consumers looking to leave internal combustion behind.

Comparing hydrogen vs. electric cars helps tell the story.

Electric
Battery electric vehicles, or EVs, are cars, SUVs and trucks that replace internal combustion engines, multi-speed transmissions, and fuel tanks with electric motors, large arrays of lithium-ion battery cells called battery packs, and usually simple single-speed transmissions. EV battery packs are charged by plugging into the electric grid. Those packs vary in capacity but most are in the range of 60 to 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh).

Hydrogen
Today's hydrogen-powered vehicles, or fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), are also electric but don't rely on a rechargeable battery pack. Instead, they use a fuel cell and pressurized tanks of hydrogen gas. The fuel cell strips the electrons from the hydrogen molecules, making electricity to power the vehicle's electric motor. Excess electrons are stored in a small — usually 2 kWh or less — lithium-ion battery for use when an extra burst of energy is needed. The only "emission" from the tailpipe is water vapor.

Advantage: tie

Electric
There are about 57 battery electric vehicle models — cars, SUVs, light pickups — on sale in the U.S. from nearly two dozen automotive brands, even Rolls-Royce. Industry watchers expect the number of EV models to quadruple by 2040 when many automakers have said EVs will make up most or all of their lineups.

Hydrogen
There are only two hydrogen fuel cell cars available today, the Toyota Mirai sedan and the Hyundai Nexo crossover, both sold only in California. A third model, a plug-in hybrid fuel cell Honda CR-V, will be available in California only by late 2024. No other automakers have yet voiced plans for hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles in the U.S.

Advantage: EVs

Electric
EVs are sold in all 50 states, although not all models are available everywhere. The biggest markets are in the coastal states and the Northeast. Because EVs don't perform as well in extremely cold weather, they are scarcer in regions with very cold winters. But there's at least one EV dealership in every state.

Hydrogen
California is the only place FCEVs are marketed because it is the only state with a network of retail hydrogen fuel stations to support the vehicles. And that network is quite limited — just 53 stations at the latest count, concentrated in the Los Angeles and San Francisco metro regions. The number of hydrogen stations has dwindled recently, as Shell Oil shuttered its seven California retail locations due to supply constraints and low use.

Advantage: EVs

Electric
EVs today average about 290 miles of range on a fully charged battery, with the Lucid Air Grand Touring topping the charts at 516 miles and the Mini Cooper SE in last place at 114 miles.

Hydrogen
The hydrogen fuel cell vehicles available today average about 373 miles of range, with a low of 357 miles for the Toyota Mirai Limited and a high of 402 miles for the Mirai XLE. The average will drop to 321 miles with the addition later this year of Honda's plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicle, rated at just 270 miles.

Advantage: hydrogen, but the gap is closing as battery efficiency increases

Electric
EVs are noted for their instant torque, which results in snappy acceleration at lower speeds. Their battery packs are heavy, often 1,000 pounds or more, and mounted beneath the floor of the car, so EVs typically have very low centers of gravity for great road-holding. Overall, EVs are generally fun to drive but still provide quiet, comfortable transportation.

Hydrogen
Today's hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles don't have big batteries that can send tremendous surges of power to their motors, so they lack the powerful acceleration punch of most battery EVs. They are more suited to comfortable cruising than high-performance driving.

Advantage: EVs

Electric
EVs offer the convenience of charging at home, though an EV can take several hours to fully charge. On road trips or when home charging isn't an option, EVs can use fast-charging stations. New EV models can charge a nearly depleted battery back to 80% of capacity in 13 to 20 minutes; older models typically take half an hour to 50 minutes. Recharging time depends on the EV's charging capacity and the fast-charging station's maximum power output.

Hydrogen
There's no home changing for hydrogen-powered vehicles, but their tanks can be refilled at retail hydrogen stations in a scant 5 minutes.

Advantage: hydrogen

Electric
The price of electricity varies widely from state to state, city to city, and even within cities. The most recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Agency show that at a national average residential cost of 15.7 cents per kilowatt-hour, the electricity needed to equal the energy in a gallon of gasoline costs $5.29.

That's higher than the price of gas in every state — although California and Hawaii come close — but the average EV can travel more than three times as far as an internal combustion engine vehicle on its gallon's worth of energy.

Hydrogen
While hydrogen is a common element, very little of it has been processed for use in FCEVs. It is most often used in oil refining and industrial processes. This scarcity makes hydrogen fuel expensive.

Hydrogen for FCEVs has historically been priced at about $20 per kilogram, the energy equivalent of a gallon of gas. Recently, though, retail stations in California have been charging as much as $36 per kilogram, citing supply chain disruption.

On a gallon's worth of energy, fuel cell vehicles can travel at least twice as far as the most efficient internal combustion engine cars — although at a $36-per-gallon equivalent, that's no bargain.

There's a big push for hydrogen-powered medium- and heavy-duty commercial trucks, however, and that could expand the hydrogen fuel network and lower hydrogen prices.

Advantage: EVs

Electric
The U.S. Department of Energy counts over 9,500 high-power DC fast-charging stations in the U.S., most with multiple charging plugs. Tesla's Supercharger network accounts for about 2,200 of those locations with over 26,600 connectors. A variety of private companies operate the remaining 7,000 or so stations, with roughly 18,000 connectors. The federal government has authorized $7.5 billion in spending through 2030 to build tens of thousands of additional public charging stations.

Hydrogen
There are only 52 publicly available hydrogen stations in the U.S., all but one in California. Hawaii has the other. Unlike EV charging stations with multiple ports, most hydrogen stations are single-outlet, meaning only one vehicle at a time can refuel.

Advantage: EVs

Electric
EVs are much cleaner than internal combustion engine vehicles, which emit greenhouse gases and toxic chemicals. Their electricity isn't quite so green, though. A lot of it is produced by burning natural gas and about 16% of the U.S. supply comes from coal-fired plants. Studies by Argonne National Laboratories and others consistently find, though, that electricity generation is still cleaner compared to the environmental impact of drilling, transporting and refining oil into gasoline.

An EV also is about 95% efficient in using electricity to turn its wheels. A modern internal combustion engine is around 40% efficient in turning gasoline into driving power.

Hydrogen
Almost all hydrogen is made by using electricity to split the hydrogen atoms from natural gas or, sometimes water, and then compress the hydrogen for refueling. Unless the electricity is generated with renewable resources, the process of refining that hydrogen creates more greenhouse gases than generating electricity for EVs. It can also be dirtier than gasoline production.

But hydrogen vehicles are still about 30% more efficient than their internal combustion engine counterparts and their only tailpipe emission is distilled water. That more than makes up for the dirtier production of their fuel, according to an Argonne study.

Advantage: EVs

For: Toyota, Honda and Hyundai have long been hydrogen believers, for commercial as well as passenger vehicles. BMW is testing a hydrogen car in Germany. Stellantis — parent of Fiat, Chrysler and a dozen other brands — recently said it is planning to get into hydrogen in a big way, initially on the commercial van side of its business.

Many oil companies are hydrogen proponents as well. Natural gas from their oil wells is used heavily in hydrogen production, as is electricity that's often generated in fossil-fuel-powered plants. Widespread use of hydrogen would guarantee continued demand for petroleum and natural gas.

The federal government — at least under the Biden administration — also likes hydrogen and recently awarded $7 billion in grants for seven hydrogen production hubs.

Against: Many EV proponents see hydrogen as an unnecessary fuel resource that's neither as efficient nor as environmentally friendly as electricity — especially when generated from renewable sources such as hydroelectric, solar and wind-powered plants. Battery EV proponents also see hydrogen vehicles as unnecessary competition for federal green-vehicle funding.

Tesla's chief executive, Elon Musk, has called fuel cells "stupid" in interviews and Volkswagen has said it prefers battery EVs. Other automakers are neutral. Most are developing battery EVs now because that's the dominant technology, but they aren't discounting hydrogen as a viable future fuel source for some electric cars.

EVs beat hydrogen-powered cars on most counts, but faster fueling and longer range could be big selling points for hydrogen if a reliable, cleaner and less costly fuel supply system is ever developed.