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Chickens, eggs and the future of green vehicle travel

  • Writer: John Emslie
    John Emslie
  • 2 days ago
  • 1 min read

I just can't shake my long-standing feeling that we're getting this EV thing badly wrong and the photo below from this month's 'Local Transport Today' just kind of triggered me to write this!


Apart from the prospect of the further proliferation of EV charging paraphernalia on our streets which we've been trying to de-clutter for decades, I just don't buy the (far more important) environmental argument for EVs...surely hydrogen as a clean fuel must be the way forward?


I'm no 'expert' in this, but probably like you, have read many well-informed articles making the case for EVs by people I respect (including some I've worked with). But amongst other things, I just can't reconcile the EV-related precious mineral mining, street charging infrastructure, battery size, weight and disposal with a 'better' future.


You can buy a hydrogen fuelled car in the UK today, but they are expensive. You'd refuel at one of the UK's 6(!) filling stations, but once there could fill your vehicle in 5 minutes with a 300-400 mile range, with the tailpipe emissions as, er, water!


So like early EVs, its 'chicken and egg', with more hydrogen fuelled vehicles, down come the costs, and the infrastructure grows.


(btw...I haven't finished with egg-based allusions yet)


Is it too late to have our eggs in more than one basket like some other enlightened countries and halt the sole focus on EVs?


 
 
 

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