Honda, Toyota shock the Montreal auto show with investments in hydrogen refueling. "To us, what’s most exciting is that the station will use an on-site electrolyzer to turn Quebec’s abundant hydroelectricity into clean, sustainable hydrogen for fuel cell electric vehicles”

submitted by Chop_Chop from driving.ca

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[–]Mnemonic 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Ah man, you never stop (which is a good thing).

I don't know if I ever ask, what are your (if any) objections to lithium batteries?

[Mine are: stick a knife in your 'smartphone' and BOOM! {also, don't inhale the fumes ;)}]

[–]Chop_Chop[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

what are your (if any) objections to lithium batteries?

I don't really have any objections, but I have concerns over their ability to be recycled in a cost effective way, which is not happening today. Every single Li-Ion battery made will die one day and need replacement. Take a look at a traffic jam on the 405 in LA and imagine every one of those cars has a 1,300 pound Li-Ion battery. We're talking trillions of pounds of waste.

The manufacture of these batteries isn't green and neither is the disposal. But of course every H2 vehicle needs one (actually Toyota uses Ni-Cad in the Mirai but the same concerns apply) so more hydrogen = less battery waste.

There are many promises about solid-state batteries, and Toyota says they will introduce them sometime during the 2020's. On paper, they look much better as far as charging time, but I don't know anything else about them like how easy they are to recycle or exactly what materials go in them. We'll see soon enough.

[Mine are: stick a knife in your 'smartphone' and BOOM! {also, don't inhale the fumes ;)}]

That's why Tesla added a titanium shield under the car, after someone ran over a rock or something and the battery burst into flame. (that shield added time to remove and replace the battery too)

There was that time Actress Mary McCormack's husband was driving down Santa Monica Bl. and his Tesla caught fire for no apparent reason:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZKGot04cE8

Not to say H2 isn't dangerous if something goes wrong, It surely is. Caution is required when dealing with any concentrated form of energy- most people know that propane is very dangerous if it leaks. But unlike Hydrogen- propane sinks when it escapes and hangs around, waiting for a spark.

Here's a leak and ignition test - Hydrogen vs. Petrol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA8dNFiVaF0