You've heard of EVs... but have you heard of hydrogen vehicles?

Car companies like Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai are investing into hydrogen vehicles.

What can hydrogen cars do that conventional cars or EVs can't?

• Emissions: Hydrogen cars emit water from the tailpipe - minimizing air pollution.

• Refuel Speed: The speed to refueling is about 3-5 minutes, like a conventional car but much faster than an EV.

• Distance: Estimated range on a single tank is about 300-400 miles.

It seems like hydrogen cars are a much better performance alternative to EVs. Hydrogen cars also seem to be a better environmental alternative to conventional cars.

So what's the deal? Why aren't we all driving hydrogen cars?

• Fueling: Existing infrastructure would have to change. There are only 9 fueling stations in the UK.

• Cost: Producing hydrogen fuel can be expensive and pollutive if not done right.

  • Fossil fuels? Again?: The current method of getting hydrogen gas to power hydrogen cars is.... to use fossil fuels. Natural gas gets heated to a very high temperature and mixed with steam. That creates a chemical reaction to form hydrogen case and carbon monoxide. The carbon monoxide reacts with more steam, producing even more hydrogen gas. This doesn't feel very safe nor eco-friendly as I'm typing it.

  • BUT! There's another option: Electrolysis. It uses electricity to break apart molecules of a compound into its elements. We can use electrolysis to split H20 (water) into hydrogen and oxygen and collect the gases. Using electricity or energy to make energy? This might not be worthwhile.

• Cost... again: Cost on the consumer side is higher than gasoline cars or EVs.

Again... what's the big deal? How does it work?

Hydrogen cars run on hydrogen gas instead of gasoline. A hydrogen fuel cell (or battery) powers the car.

The fuel cell takes in hydrogen gas and oxygen from the air around the car. It combines the hydrogen and oxygen in a chemical reaction. That reaction produces electricity, making it possible for the car to move.

The only byproducts of the process are heat and water vapor. So we don't have to worry about emissions, as opposed to conventional vehicles.

To refuel a hydrogen car, you'd have to go to a special hydrogen refueling station. There, hydrogen gas is pumped into the car.

Now, I don't want you to think that hydrogen gas or hydrogen cars are bad. There could be some things that seem off with how we retrieve hydrogen gas. But - no one is saying that it's a perfect solution to conventional vehicles. There will always be room for improvement.

At least we know that hydrogen cars could have less of an emission impact on the environment than conventional cars.

What's happening now?

• Production and sales: Honda announced a new hydrogen car in the United States soon.

• @ CES: Hyundai shared plans to build more hydrogen fueling stations. They plan to help hydrogen cars become more common.

• Government funding: The U.S. government is giving $7 billion to build more hydrogen stations.

Looks like hydrogen cars are gaining traction - but not very fast.

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