As the prices of petrol and diesel are rising continuously, people across the world are looking into alternative fuels. Many countries, including India, are quickly moving to electric vehicles (EV), while others, like Japan, are experimenting with hydrogen as a fuel.
Toyota's Mirai sedan recently broke the global record for the greatest distance traveled on hydrogen gas, later added to the Guinness Book of World Records. The car's most impressive feature was its 1,360-kilometre range after refuelling. In response, the car had a mileage of 260 kilometers per kilogram. Just 5.65 kg of hydrogen was consumed over this period.
Toyota launched Mirai in 2016. It was the company's first hydrogen fuel cell electric car. This car is available in North America for purchase. People will greatly benefit from hydrogen gas use. However, hydrogen gas is not yet considered a viable option in India.
When Hydrogen is not produced in India?
The cost of hydrogen production is rather high. Due to inflation, it was not considered a viable option. However, the cost of hydrogen production is steadily decreasing as a result of new technology. According to Mukesh Ambani, chairman and CEO of Reliance Petroleum, India's largest private-sector petroleum company, the cost of hydrogen generation could reach $1 per kilogram over the next decade.
Electric car vs hydrogen-powered car
Electric cars are a possible alternative to fuel cars. However, all-electric cars manufactured to date can only go around 500 kilometers on a single charge. Hence, the most challenging job is establishing a massive charging station infrastructure across the country. The second barrier is the time required to charge these cars and its unpredictable range in different weather and driving conditions.
