The low cost of lithium-ion batteries and the more mature commercialization make them the natural choice for electric vehicle manufacturers. However, its characteristics such as low energy density, flammability, toxic reaction products, and slow charging are also potential hidden dangers. Especially after mass production, various problems are naturally magnified
The hydrogen fuel power cell can be directly hydrogenated, the replenishment time is short, the battery life can easily reach more than 500km, and the discharge is only water, which is completely pollution-free. This advantage easily overwhelms lithium-ion batteries and is more in line with the concept of environmental protection. However, the cost of platinum, rare and precious metals, an indispensable reaction catalyst in the use of hydrogen fuel is extremely high, and the cost of hydrogen fuel charging stations is the same as that of Tesla super charging stations. Five or six times, its high cost has become a stumbling block for hydrogen fuel to become a commercial road. In fact, no one is willing to buy this sky-high price list for environmental protection.
Although the real market for hydrogen fuel power cells is extremely low today, only a few countries and car manufacturers represented by Japan, South Korea, and Europe favor it, but it has a strong presence in the battle with lithium-ion batteries. This is because compared with lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen fuel-powered batteries have the decisive advantages of short replenishment time, zero pollution, and high cruising range.
In the market competition, lithium-ion batteries will of course win. After all, the latter has a solid century-old development history, and the market maturity is much higher than that of hydrogen fuel power cells. In terms of infrastructure construction costs, lithium-ion battery charging stations cost much less than fuel-powered cells. For example, the construction cost of a Tesla supercharger is about $300,000, while the cost of a hydrogen refueling station is as high as $1 million to $2 million.