cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/52369691
According to the complaint, Toyota and its hydrogen partner, FirstElement Fuel (True Zero), intentionally concealed evidence of:
hydrogen leaks near hot engine components, creating explosion risks
sudden power loss, acceleration, and braking failures leading to collisions and injuries
a collapsing hydrogen infrastructure, leaving drivers stranded for weeks without access to fuel
aggressive financial collection tactics by Toyota Motor Credit Corporation, targeting owners of inoperable vehicles.
I’ve always gotten nothing but weird vibes from proponents of hydrogen. Everyone I’ve ever spoken with is either sceptical and waiting for it to make sense, an unshakeable zealot, or a speculative investor who hates BEVs.
I’m a proponent of Hydrogen if for no other reason than I find it foolish for the transportation industry to place all of it’s eggs in one basket.
99% of the world’s hydrogen comes from natural gas steam reforming. That’s why the vibes are so weird, it’s a fossil fuel industry distraction
It has a place in heavy industry. But right now green hydrogen is very scarce and expensive. Until that changes, it will be somewhat boutique.
It takes huge energy to produce, store and transport. Just use that energy directly. Calling hydrogen stupid was the only smart thing Elon Musk has ever said.
It can never work, the energy needed to make it is more then energy available from the H. It’s like needing 1 barrel of oil to make 3/4 of a barrel of oil.
I’d say this is the least problematic aspect of all. If it was a viable energy storage solution, then it’d work even with higher energy input.
If that energy came from renewables then it could have some uses (wherever nothing but hydrogen will do), but yeah.
The case with transit is such that they keep trying to invent ways not to use trains, and we just have to tap our feet and wait for them to look facts in the face.
I guess you never been to the Alberta tar sands, that’s exactly what they do with gas and water to make oil.
I’m glad the ICE hydrogen engines have been coming out. Not because they’re directly useful. Outside of an engineering challenge (which is perfectly fine), they have no purpose outside of some racing applications.
I like them because it flags people who obviously have no idea what they’re talking about. They like ICEs for what it is. And I do actually get that; from an engineering perspective, there’s a lot of fascinating things going on inside there. However, efficiency was already hydrogen’s biggest weakness. Fuel cells are 40-60% efficient, and is only one part of the hydrogen chain. You’re going to replace that part of a chain with something that has traditionally struggled to get 25% efficiency? Why? You’re doubling down on hydrogen’s biggest weakness. This is the opposite of min-maxing.
So anyway, if they bring that up as anything other than engineering and racing purposes, they’re a moron.
Yeah I’ve seen those, and agree. It’s cool that you can do that stuff, but it’s not gonna happen. Just use BEV already and build more trains.