We have already reached cost parity between hydrogen and gasoline in many cases
This might come as a surprise to many, but the cost of refueling a hydrogen car is basically the same as a gasoline car of a similar spec in places where both fuels are available. And this is true right now. That's because hydrogen in California costs $13.14/kg† with newer stations. Regular gasoline in California costs $4.095‡ on average. Premium gasoline costs $4.399‡. Since the Mirai gets 74 miles per kilogram, that's approximately $0.1776 per mile of driving. Compare this to various RWD gasoline cars and it is basically the same. Here is the chart:
Car
Fuel Economy††
Cost of fuel
Cost per mile
2021 Toyota Mirai
74
$13.14 (H₂)
$0.1776
2021 Kia Stinger 2.0L
25
$4.399 (Premium)
$0.1760
2021 Chrysler 300 3.6L
23
$4.095 (Regular)
$0.1780
2021 BMW 530i
28
$4.399 (Premium)
$0.1571
2021 Mercedes-Benz E350
25
$4.399 (Premium)
$0.1760
2021 Genesis G80
26
$4.399 (Premium)
$0.1692
2021 Infiniti Q50
23
$4.399 (Premium)
$0.1913
I think the facts speak for themselves. Refueling a Mirai is basically the same cost as refueling any of the above RWD large sedans. And since many of these cars are luxury cars, the up-front cost is the same or worse for those cases (Mirai starts at $50k, less than many luxury cars). In other words, among the luxury car segment fuel cell cars already have a similar or lower cost of ownership.
So anyone who talks about hydrogen or fuel cell cars being too expensive has already been disproven in a major way. While this is a common criticism of hydrogen, it is rapidly falling as an argument. It's also interesting how quickly this went from being a credibly argument to one that is turning into a comically bad one.
Finally, I believe we are heading for a massive wake-up call with regards to hydrogen. So many people are still holding obsolete beliefs from the early 2000s. They forgot that FCEVs were getting around 150 miles of range for cars that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to make. They also forgot that no one was investing in green hydrogen at the time, so we had no path the zero emissions via hydrogen back then. All of these facts have radically changed in the last few years. But rather than updating their viewpoints, they are in stasis. I suspect there will be a fairly dramatic impact with the truth in the near future.
Add comment