Electrify all you can; hydrogen is a last resort
An emissions-free vehicle harnesses renewable electricity to rotate wheels, but how the energy makes the journey makes all the difference.
For battery electric vehicles, five per cent of the energy is lost getting power to the charger. Another 10 per cent disappears in charging and discharging the battery, and five per cent goes to the inefficiency of powering the vehicle. Eighty per cent of the energy generated by wind or solar is left to move the car.
Hydrogen is a different story. Making hydrogen uses 25 per cent of the original energy, 10 per cent is lost in compressing and transporting it, another 25 per cent is used in the hydrogen fuel cell, and some more in powering the car. Less than 40 per cent of the original renewable energy moves the vehicle.
So a hydrogen vehicle consumes twice the green electricity of a battery one. That means more solar panels, more wind turbines, more expense.