**The Future of Hydrogen Cars: A Mixed Bag**

So what does this mean for our environment? Well, hydrogen cars are about half as efficient as an electric vehicle meaning they required twice as much energy to power. This energy is taken from things like fossil fuels, nuclear power plants, and windmills.

No car is completely green, but hydrogen is a surprisingly worse alternative than EV vehicles, but still more efficient than a gas-powered car - it's a weird middle ground. If hydrogen is to succeed, it needs a lot more research, money, and government legislation thrown at it. And it will take years to produce adequate infrastructure for these vehicles.

If all this happens, hydrogen cars may have a chance at securing a spot in the automotive industry, but for now, something else is stealing all hydrogen's hype and funding, reducing the chances at a hydrogen future. What is this? Well, I actually already told you. If anything can be blamed for the death of the hydrogen vehicle, it's the EV.

Companies like Tesla came onto the scene at the same time hydrogen fuel cells had some interest, but with the success of the electric vehicle, came disinterest in hydrogen. The market leaned towards electric cars and lithium battery technology began to advance quickly beyond hydrogen vehicles. EVs took the spotlight and tons of money and research went into developing and perfecting lithium batteries.

Hydrogen on the other hand was left in the dust. It's kinda like when the Dreamcast came out, and it was super mind-blowing with its crazy graphics, but then the PS2, and X-Box came out like a year later with even better graphics. There simply just wasn't enough room for hydrogen fuel cells to succeed.

Hydrogen cars tried to fix a problem that to be honest didn't really need to be solved, and it didn't even succeed at fixing the problem in the first place. Hydrogen cars can run exceptionally long distances on hydrogen, but the factors like price, performance, and convenience put the nail in the coffin for hydrogen fuel cell cars.

Now you might be thinking, hey, the technology is super impressive. So if it's not gonna work for commercial vehicles, where can we apply it? Well, surprisingly enough, hydrogen fuel cells are being used for many other things today outside of cars. Many warehouses, such as Amazon use hydrogen-powered forklifts to move their inventory around.

Very smart when you're indoors. Companies are looking to make heaters, buses, and even power sources for cities, and hydrogen presents itself as a great option for auxiliary power in rural areas. NASA uses hydrogen fuel cells on their space shuttles as a source of electricity, and many manufacturers are looking to create hydrogen-powered semi-trucks.

There is a use for it; it's just that the car space already found a good solution. Hydrogen cars were supposed to be the future, but they weren't, and it makes sense why. Maybe one day despite all the current barriers, some technological breakthrough will occur, and hydrogen cars will rule the road.

But for now though, hydrogen cars remain an expensive dumpster fire with a somewhat bleak future, and gas and electric cars will continue to steal the hearts of consumers. Just make that Marai do zero to 60 in like three seconds, and we're good.

**Introducing the Donut Beanie**

Hey guys what's up? I got some big news, and it's right here on my head. Introducing the first official Donut beanie only available at donutmedia.com. It comes in two awesome colors: vibrant orange for those who want to stand out during the day, and navy blue for those who want to blend in at night.

And the best thing about a beanie, no matter who you are, it can help highlight your personality. Whether you're intimidating at first but once we get to know you, you're a really nice person. Or if you're someone who always has that band that your friends never heard of, and you're shocked and you make them listen to them right away.

Just like sort of an old poetic soul kind of type, an actor slash writer slash director slash musician. I own an acoustic guitar. The Donut beanie is the perfect hat for any occasion or any type of person; get yours @donutmedia.com today.

**Thanks for Watching Wheelhouse**

Hey, thanks for watching Wheelhouse. Pretty interesting stuff if you ask me. I think that there's a future for hydrogen just not necessarily in passenger cars, but that's okay. If you saw that other handsome guy in this video and you wanna check out more of Jeremiah's stuff, I'll leave a bumper to bumper right here.

We mentioned the Prius a little bit, and hey if you're feeling nostalgic, there's an update on Prius right here. Follow Donut on all social media @donutmedia. Follow me @nolanjsykes be kind, take care of each other. See you later.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- There was a time when hydrogenwas presented as the futureof fuel for our cars.These vehicles promised thingslike longer driving distancesfaster refueling and eco-friendly energy.George W. Bush, remember him,liked hydrogen fuel cells so muchthat he offered $1.3 billion in fundingto get these cars on the road.This all sounds fantastic.So why aren't we allscooting around on our ownhydrogen horseless carriages?The technology had plentyof pretty dope featuresthat appeal to consumers,but nobody really seems totalk about these cars anymore.Why did the hydrogenvehicle lose its tractionafter all the hype thatwas surrounding it?Is it actually better for theenvironment than gasoline?And who or what killed the hydrogen car?(upbeat music)Big thanks to Kove forsponsoring today's video.This is the Kove split speaker.Sorry that's loud, really loud.We use the Kove splitspeaker for over a year now.It's water resistant hasbuilt in microphones and,its got a 30 foot range.This thing's got seven hours of playtimemaking it perfect when you're on the go,working in the garageor just want a break fromthose uncomfortable headphones.The Kove split speakercreates a full 360 degreesurround sound effect.But what really makesthe difference is this.Now that 360 degree effect is an optimalleft and right stereo sound.And with Kove giving youa massive 67% off or morethis puppy is one of the most uniqueand affordable speakers I've ever seen.So hurry up, visit koveaudio.com/donut68and use code donut six eightto get your discount today.Now let's get back to Wheelhouse.Seriously, these things are sick.In 1966, we got thingslike the Porsche 911 Sthe Lamborghini Mira and the Pontiac GTO,but what never made it intothe spotlight that yearwas the world's firsthydrogen fuel cell car.Hydrogen vehicles have beenaround for quite some time,but have recently been advertisedas the future for passenger vehiclesand civilian transportation.Hydrogen fuel cells run offof pressurized hydrogen,that has a refill time equivalentto a gas filled vehicleand brags about things like zero emissionswith literal water comingout of the exhaust.This sounds great, especiallycompared to electric vehicleswhich can sometimes take runan hour to charge at a station.Hydrogen seems great intheory so what happened?Well, there are a few reasonswhy hydrogen cars losttraction and publicity,it all boils down to five factors,price, convenience, performance,the environment, and competitionBuying a car's One of thebiggest financial investmentssomeone can make next to a house.And the biggest determining factorwhen it comes to buying avehicle is inevitably the price.There are three hydrogenfuel cell vehiclesavailable on the market right now.The Toyota Mirai the HyundaiNexo and the Honda Clarity.The 2021 Toyota Mirai isthe cheapest of the bunchstarting at $50,000.But if you play your cards rightwith the right incentives and financingyou can pick a brand new onefor just shy of 18 grand,pretty big bargain.The sticker price seemsto be a really good dealbut how much does it cost to refuel?The average price forhydrogen fuel is about$16.50 per kilogram yes, kilogram.Hydrogen is measured by weight,much different to howgasoline is measured,which is by volume.Each hydrogen fuel cellvehicle holds aboutfive to six kilograms of hydrogen,traveling up to 400 miles on one fill up.So even though six kilograms of hydrogencan make a car move up to 400 miles,the cost of a tank is over$80, which is pretty priceyconsidering the morecost-effective alternatives,like hybrids, but we'llget to that in a second.There are only 45 hydrogenrefueling stationsin the United States.And similar to how buyersare afraid of hydrogenbecause of the price tag,companies are afraid ofhydrogen for the same reason.The cost to constructjust one refueling stationcan amount to around $2million, which is way morethan your average gas stationor electric charging station.To make matters worse moststations just have one pump.With such a small customer base,it's hard for companies tocommit such large sums of moneytowards hydrogen stationswith no promise of returnon investment. Makes sense.There is some good newsthough for hydrogen car ownersand that comes througha little ray of sunshinecalled manufacturer fuel incentives.Companies like Toyotaunderstand that hydrogen,for the time being, is pretty expensiveand hope to Lure incustomers by offering buyers$15,000 credit towards fuel costs.I think that's sick as hell,thank you Toyota, very much.This fuel credit is a nice benefitto anyone buying a hydrogencar, but the catch isthat you need to spend that $15,000on fuel within the firstthree years of owning a car.Once that runs outcustomers have to paythe high hydrogen prices,with a very limited selectionof refueling stations.There is one more glimmer of hope thoughfor hydrogen car believers.California government subsidies.These subsidies offer millions of dollarstowards the construction ofhydrogen fueling stations,and seek to have over a hundredstations in place by 2025.This is still significantly lessthan the tens of thousands of gas stationsand EV charging stationsthat scatter the US.So only time will tellif hydrogen stationsbecome a prevalent form of refilling.But it's a step in the right direction.For now with the averagefuel tank North of $80and the exorbitant construction costsfor refilling stations,things aren't looking verypromising for hydrogen cars.The hydrogen fuel cell market relies onsubsidies and incentives tostay afloat and keep costs down.But even with help from thegovernment and manufacturersconsumers just aren'tinterested in hydrogen carsas much as gas or electric.Why is this?Well, let's talk aboutconvenience or the lack thereof.We talked earlier about how there are only45 hydrogen refueling stations in the US,mostly in California.For some perspective,there are 16 red lobsterseafood restaurantsfor every one hydrogenrefueling station in America.That's a 16 to onecrustacean, station ratio.With only 45 stations across the US,hydrogen car buyers are forcedto conduct their daily liveswithin the vicinity of these stations.So if you live outside of somelarge cities in Californiayou might have sometrouble driving anywhere.The painful lack of conveniencefrom the shy number of stationsis very dissuading to consumers.But the good news is you can leave LAand go on that boy's trip to Vegas.But if you've taken your hydrogen car,you might end up stranded there.I guess, with a hydrogen vehicle,whatever happens in Vegas,literally stays in Vegas.Infrastructure offers convenienceand without the adequate infrastructurehydrogen cars are a huge hassle.So to visit my parents up in Atascaderowhat I would have to do,I've thought about this,I would have to leave LAstop in Santa Barbara totop off, get to my parentsand then limit my drivingat all while I'm up there.And then refill as I'mcoming back down thisSanta Barbara which wouldbe, it'd be kind of dicey.I would not feel great about that.So does the hydrogen car offer anythingthat can make up for thesevere lack of convenience?Let's talk about what we really care abouthere at Donut all right?Performance. Sure hydrogencars are expensiveand a pain to refuel.But if they're fasterand more fun to drivethen maybe they might beworthy of consideration right?Well, maybe, but that doesn't matterbecause most commercial vehicles are farfrom performance vehicles.The 2021 Toyota Mirai goes from zero to 60in 9.1 seconds and reachesa blazing top speedof a hundred six miles per hour.It's not awful, but comparethis to something likethe Tesla model three whichgoes zero to 60 in 3.1 seconds.It's a bit of a different story.So is there a hydrogencar that can competewith established performance cars?The answer is yes.Take a look at the hydrogenpowered Hyperion XP-1which boasts a range of a thousand miles,a thousand horsepowerand claims to go fromzero to 60 in 2.2 secondsreaching a top speed of 220,and even better the car looks likethe illegitimate child of aTron bike and a Bugatti Chiron.This thing is superimpressive and I want one.So where could I buy one?Well, unfortunately for customers,the car it's not availablefor purchase yet.And when it is, it's safe to saythat the price will be extremely high.You're definitely not gonnawanna hit the dragstripin your Toyota Mirai anytime soon,but clearly hydrogen technologyis capable of creating speed,it's just much more expensiveand requires more fuel cellstacks in order to reach speeds,comparable to a regular sports car.Hydrogen cars are marketed as green easy,energy efficient vehicles,much like Toyota Prius.This makes sense after allthey are hydrogen powered.So unfortunately, most manufacturersaren't building thesethings to be speed demons.But who knows no car's truly off limitsfor a dedicated tuner.So maybe we'll see a few Miraisat the strip sometime soon.If companies are gonna markethydrogen cars as green,You would assume they'regreat for the environmentbut I'm not so sure as greenas people say they are.Why is this?Hydrogen cars are heraldedas zero emission angelsspitting out water rather than pollutants.How does the car produce only water?Look, I spent a lot of time in collegeplaying Rocket League and watching movies.So I don't feel veryqualified to explain this.Here's Jerry(upbeat music)- Compressed hydrogen runs down a pipeto a positive terminal in the fuel cell.Then oxygen from the airruns down a second pipeto the negative terminal.The positive terminal, it'smade up of platinum, which actsas a catalyst that helps speedup the chemical reaction.When hydrogen atoms reached the catalystthey split up into hydrogen ionswhich are protons and electrons.And hydrogen ions theyare just hydrogen atomswithout their electrons.Since hydrogen only has oneproton and one electron,a hydrogen ion is literally just a proton.The positively charged protonsare attracted to the negativeterminal and peel offrunning through the electrolyte.Only protons have the abilityto pass through the electrolytesince it's a special polymer.The free electrons nowfree of their protons,they flow through the outercircuit towards the motor.As they do so theypower the electric motorwhich drives the car's wheelseventually arriving atthe negative terminal.And at that negative terminal,the protons and electronsrecombine with oxygen from the airin a chemical reaction creating H2Oor what I like to call water.This is the water that comesright out of the exhaust.You can drink that water ifyou wanted, but I wouldn't.- So it's safe to assumethat these cars are goodfor the environment, right?I mean, all they use is hydrogen for fueland it's shooting out water.So are hydrogen cars actuallybetter for the environmentthan gas cars?Well, let's look at howhydrogen is produced.Hydrogen does not exist in a pure stateand must be separated from other moleculesin a process called electrolysis.This process uses a lot of power.In order for a hydrogen fuel cell to work,it uses electricity to create hydrogenat the production plant,and then turns that hydrogenback into electricity topower the vehicle's motors.This is called theenergy vector transition.Let's take a hundred Watts of energy.To create hydrogen we must pass it throughwater via electrolysis.This is only 75% energy efficient.Now the hydrogen mustbe compressed, chilledand transported to the station.Once it's pumped into the car,it must be turned back into electricity.This is only 60% efficient.The energy then must power the motorbut this is only 95% efficient,because it gives off energy such as heat.Put this all together, andonly 38 of our 100 Wattsare actually used to run the car.So fuel cells are only 38% efficient.That's not great, but it could be worse.How does it compare togas and electric cars?Combustion engines arenotoriously inefficient,letting off enough heatthat leaves them with onlyabout 25 to 35% efficient.So hydrogen is decently betterthan gasoline powered cars.But what about electric vehicles?Since electric vehicles usethe electricity directlywithout having toconvert it into anything,they make about 80% efficiency.This is twice as efficientas a fuel cell vehiclemaking hydrogen cars inefficientwhen compared to their electric cousins.So what does this meanfor our environment?Well, hydrogen cars are abouthalf as efficient as an electric vehiclemeaning they required twiceas much energy to power.This energy is taken fromthings like fossil fuels,nuclear power plants and windmills.No car is completely green,but hydrogen is asurprisingly worse alternativethan EV vehicles, but still more efficientthan a gas powered cars,it's a weird middle ground.If hydrogen is to succeed itneeds a lot more research,money and governmentlegislation thrown at it.And it will take years toproduce adequate infrastructurefor these vehicles.If all this happens, hydrogen carsmay have a chance at securing a spotin the automotive industry,but for now something elseis stealing all hydrogenshype and funding, reducing thechances at a hydrogen future.What is this?Well, I actually already told you.If anything can be blamedfor the death of thehydrogen vehicle it's the EV.Companies like Tesla came ontothe scene at the same timehydrogen fuel cells had some interest,but with the successof the electric vehiclecame disinterest in hydrogen.The market lean towards electric carsand lithium battery technologybegan to advance quicklybeyond hydrogen vehicles.EVs took the spotlight andtons of money and researchwent into developing andperfecting lithium batteries.Hydrogen on the otherhand was left in the dust.It's kinda like whenthe Dreamcast came outand it was super mind blowingwith its crazy graphics,but then the PS two, and X-Boxcame out like a year laterwith even better graphics.There simply just wasn't enough roomfor hydrogen fuel cells to succeed.Hydrogen cars tried to fixa problem that to be honest,didn't really need to be solved.And it didn't even succeedat fixing the problemin the first place.Hydrogen cars can runexceptionally long distance on hydrogen.But the factors like price, performanceand convenience put the nail in the coffinfor hydrogen fuel cell cars.Now you might be thinking, heythe technology is super impressive.So if it's not gonna workfor commercial vehicleswhere can we apply it?Well, surprisingly enough,hydrogen fuel cells are being usedfor many other thingstoday outside of cars.Many warehouses, such as Amazon usehydrogen powered forklifts tomove their inventory around.Very smart when you're indoors.Companies are lookingto make heaters busesand even power sources for citiesand hydrogen presentsitself as a great optionfor auxiliary power in rural areas.NASA uses hydrogen fuelcells on their space shuttlesas a source of electricity,and many manufacturersare looking to createhydrogen powered semi-trucks.There is a use for it,it's just that the car spacealready found a good solution.Hydrogen cars weresupposed to be the futurebut they weren't, and it makes sense why.Maybe one day despiteall the current barrierssome technological breakthrough will occurand hydrogen cars will rule the road.But for now though,hydrogen cars remain anexpensive dumpster firewith a somewhat bleak futureand gas and electric cars will continue tosteal the hearts of consumers.Just make that Marai do zeroto 60 in like three seconds,and we're good.- Hey guys what's up? I got some big newsand it's right here on my head.Introducing the firstofficial Donut beanieonly available at donutmedia.com.It comes in two awesome colors.Vibrant orange, for those whowanna stand out during the dayand Navy blue, for those whowanna blend in at the night.And the best thing about abeanie, no matter who you areit can help highlight your personality.Whether you're intimidating at first,but once we get to know you,you're a really nice person.Or if you're someonewho always has that bandthat your friends neverheard of, and you're shockedand you make them listento them right away.Just like sort of an oldpoetic soul kind of type.An actor slash writer slashdirector slash musician.I own an acoustic guitar.The Donut beanie is theperfect hat for any occasionor any type of person getsyours @donutmedia.com today.- Hey, thanks for watching Wheelhouse.Pretty interesting stuff if you ask me.I think that there's a future for hydrogenjust not necessarily inpassenger cars, but that's okay.If you saw that otherhandsome guy in this videoand you wanna check outmore of Jeremiah's stuffI'll leave a bumper to bumper right here.We mentioned the Prius a little bit,and hey if you're feeling nostalgic,there's a up to speed on Prius right here.Follow Donut on allsocial media @donutmedia.Follow me @nolanjsykes be kind,take care of each other.See you later.