The Role of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles in a Cleaner and Healthier Future

Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) run on compressed hydrogen and emit only water at the tailpipe. They store energy in the form of hydrogen gas, convert it to electricity onboard using a proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, and drive an electric motor—just like a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) from the axle backward. Where they differ is how they store and refill energy: tanks and pumps instead of big batteries and plugs. Proponents argue FCEVs can refuel quickly, drive long distances, and scale well for heavy-duty duty cycles that need high uptime. Critics counter that producing, moving, and dispensing clean hydrogen is hard and—today—expensive.

This article explains how FCEVs work, what health and climate benefits they can unlock, where they best fit alongside BEVs and efficient internal-combustion vehicles (ICEs), and how safety, infrastructure, and policy are evolving. It also gives real-world car examples you can buy or see on the road today. Spoiler: hydrogen isn’t a silver bullet, but in a system where we use the right tool for the right job, FCEVs can be a powerful decarbonization option—particularly where batteries struggle.

Why FCEVs Matter for Public Health and Climate

Transport’s footprint—and the promise of cleaner tailpipes

Transport remains a major source of global CO₂ emissions; the IEA estimates sector emissions were nearly 8 gigatonnes CO₂ in 2022, rebounding after the pandemic as travel resumed. Road transport dominates that total. Progress in cleaning up vehicle fleets is accelerating, but not yet fast enough to align with net-zero pathways. (IEA)

The public-health case is equally stark. Air pollution—particularly tiny PM₂.₅ particles and ozone precursors—raises risks of heart disease, stroke, COPD, lung cancer and more. The World Health Organization attributes about 4.2 million premature deaths per year to ambient (outdoor) air pollution and 6.7 million when indoor and outdoor exposures are combined. Cutting tailpipe pollution is therefore a health intervention as much as a climate strategy. (World Health Organization)

What FCEVs change: At the point of use, FCEVs emit only water. In dense urban corridors and freight hubs, replacing diesel and gasoline exhaust with water vapor (plus much lower brake and tire wear with regenerative braking) can improve local air quality. Of course, total life-cycle impacts depend on how the hydrogen is produced (see Section 4).

How a Fuel Cell Car Works (Plain-English Tour)

A PEM fuel cell stacks hundreds of thin cells like pages in a book. Each cell has:

• Anode: feeds hydrogen (H₂), splitting it into protons and electrons.

• PEM: lets protons pass while forcing electrons to detour through a circuit, doing useful work.

• Cathode: combines incoming oxygen (from air) with the protons and electrons to form water.

The stack makes DC electricity, buffered by a small battery (or ultracapacitor) to capture regen braking and handle power transients. The drivetrain is an electric motor—smooth, quiet, torquey. The vehicle stores hydrogen in 700-bar (about 10,000 psi) carbon-fiber composite tanks. Refueling takes roughly 3–5 minutes—more like a gasoline stop than a plug-in charge.

See Illustration 1: “FCEV Conceptual Layout” shows the tanks, stack, buffer battery, air intake, motor, and water exhaust.

Real Vehicles on the Road (With Examples)

While the FCEV market is niche, several production models prove the concept:

• Toyota Mirai (2nd generation, U.S./Japan)
  EPA-estimated range up to 402 miles (XLE grade). The Mirai is a rear-wheel-drive FCEV sedan that showcases long range, quick refueling, and luxury-leaning ride/tech. (Toyota, Toyota USA Newsroom)

• Hyundai Nexo (Blue & Limited trims, U.S./Korea)
  EPA-estimated range up to 380 miles (Blue), ~354 miles (Limited). A compact SUV body style gives the Nexo day-to-day practicality and a familiar crossover profile. (MyHyundai)

• Honda Clarity Fuel Cell (2016–2021, U.S./Japan)
  Now discontinued, the Clarity Fuel Cell delivered an EPA range around 360 miles and helped pioneer modern FCEV leasing, fueling, and maintenance practices. (Honda News)

Beyond passenger cars, manufacturers are piloting hydrogen in heavy-duty trucks and buses—segments where duty cycles favor rapid refueling and long range. Policy pilots and fleet deployments are growing, even if not yet mainstream.

Climate Math: From Tailpipe to Full Life-Cycle

Tailpipe is the easy part: FCEVs emit only water. But the well-to-wheel (WTW) and cradle-to-grave (life-cycle) story depends on hydrogen’s origin:

• Grey hydrogen: made from natural gas (steam methane reforming) without carbon capture—high upstream CO₂ emissions.

• Blue hydrogen: similar but with carbon capture and storage (CCS), reducing (not eliminating) upstream CO₂.

• Green hydrogen: produced via electrolysis using renewable electricity—lowest life-cycle emissions if the power is truly low-carbon.

Recent life-cycle assessments show that FCEVs fueled with green hydrogen can achieve very low WTW emissions, approaching those of BEVs on clean grids. When fueled with grey hydrogen, however, FCEVs can have WTW emissions comparable to or higher than efficient hybrids. In other words, hydrogen quality matters as much as vehicle efficiency. (ICCT)

On the supply side, the IEA’s Global Hydrogen Review 2024 notes that global hydrogen demand reached ~97 Mt in 2023, still concentrated in refining and chemicals. Low-carbon hydrogen production remains below 1% of total supply—underscoring both the scale of the opportunity and the distance to go. (IEA)

Where FCEVs Fit Best

a) Heavy-duty, long-range, high-uptime

Long-haul and regional trucking, intercity buses, and some off-highway uses value fast refueling, long range, and weight savings when compared with very large battery packs. FCEVs can keep asset utilization high—vital for logistics economics.

b) Cold climates and consistent performance

Hydrogen tanks don’t suffer the same cold-weather range drop seen in some battery chemistries. Fuel cells generate waste heat that can help cabin heating, improving winter performance.

c) Shared, fleet, and depot-based operations

Fleets can centralize fueling at a hydrogen hub and control the upstream hydrogen supply (e.g., on-site electrolysis using dedicated renewables). This can simplify infrastructure and guarantee green hydrogen.

d) Complementary to BEVs

BEVs dominate many light-duty applications and will keep expanding. FCEVs should target niche and heavy-duty segments where they bring unique operational or infrastructure advantages.

Infrastructure: The (Currently) Hard Part

Hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) have grown steadily but remain sparse compared with EV chargers or gasoline stations. As of 2024, the H2stations.org database reported over 1,000 hydrogen refueling stations in operation worldwide (with about 125 new stations opened in 2024 across Europe, China, South Korea, Japan, and North America). That’s real progress—but still a small base. (H2Stations.org)

Scaling challenges include:

• Capex & Opex: Compressors, storage, pre-cooling for 700-bar dispensing, and safety systems raise costs.

• Supply logistics: Moving hydrogen via tube-trailers, pipelines, or producing it on-site with electrolysers—each route has trade-offs.

• Utilization risk: Early stations can be under-used until fleets arrive, which makes private investment cautious.

What helps: co-location with fleet depots; long-term offtake agreements; policy support for green hydrogen; and standardized safety and certification rules (see Section 8).

See Illustration 2: “Hydrogen for Mobility — Value Chain” maps the flow from renewable electricity to the fuel cell vehicle.

Cost Trajectory: Can Green Hydrogen Compete?

Today, green hydrogen (electrolysis with renewables) generally costs more than grey hydrogen, but multiple analyses show potential cost declines as electrolyser manufacturing scales, renewable electricity gets cheaper, and utilization improves. Public data portals (e.g., the European Hydrogen Observatory) track levelized hydrogen costs by technology and country (SMR, SMR+CCS, grid electrolysis, direct renewable electrolysis). In many scenarios, sub-$2/kg clean hydrogen is plausible this decade in favorable locations with policy support. (European Hydrogen Observatory, Hydrogen Program, Sustainability)

For vehicles, total cost of ownership depends on fuel price ($/kg), vehicle cost, maintenance, and duty cycle. Heavy-duty applications with high utilization and predictable routes are most likely to find early parity.

Safety: Engineering, Standards, and Regulation

Hydrogen vehicles adhere to UN Global Technical Regulation No. 13 (Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicles), which sets performance-based safety requirements and test procedures to minimize risks from fire, burst, and explosion of storage systems and fuel lines. Phase-2 updates were adopted in 2023, reflecting the maturing technology and harmonization efforts across markets. Advanced tanks, leak detection, ventilation, and crash standards are part of the framework. (UNECE, H2tools)

In practice, FCEVs undergo rigorous crash testing like any modern car, and refueling stations comply with codes covering setback distances, ventilation, and emergency shutoffs. The safety record to date within regulated markets has been strong, helped by conservative engineering.

Health Co-Benefits: Cleaner Streets, Quieter Cities

By eliminating tailpipe emissions, FCEVs can cut NOₓ, SO₂, unburned hydrocarbons, and particulates at street level. For dense corridors—especially those with heavy diesel traffic—the health co-benefits are meaningful, given pollution’s link to millions of premature deaths yearly. Clean upstream hydrogen (renewables-based) increases those benefits by reducing power-sector and industrial emissions that form secondary particulates downwind. (World Health Organization)

Electrified drivetrains (fuel cell or battery) are also quieter than combustion engines, which helps lower urban noise pollution—an under-appreciated contributor to stress, sleep disruption, and cardiovascular risk.

Comparing FCEVs and BEVs: It’s “And”, Not “Or”

Refueling vs. recharging: FCEVs refuel in minutes; BEVs can DC-fast-charge in 20–40 minutes (or longer), though home charging is a major convenience advantage for BEVs.
Energy efficiency: BEVs are more energy-efficient end-to-end when electricity goes straight to the wheels. FCEVs incur losses in electrolysis, compression, and conversion in the stack.
Vehicle mass & payload: For long range, batteries get heavy; hydrogen tanks are relatively lighter per unit of delivered energy, which matters for trucks and buses.
Grid impacts: BEVs stress distribution networks in hotspots; hydrogen shifts some load to dedicated green-hydrogen production, which can be scheduled to match renewable output.

Bottom line: For light-duty private cars, BEVs will likely remain the mass-market winner in most regions due to infrastructure momentum and superior efficiency. For heavy-duty and specialized use-cases, hydrogen can deliver operational benefits and deep decarbonization—provided the hydrogen is genuinely low-carbon and the stations are in place.

Policy Signals and Market Momentum

• Hydrogen demand today (~97 Mt in 2023) is dominated by industry (refining, ammonia). Mobility’s share is still small but growing where governments support pilot corridors, hubs, and fleet conversions. (IEA)

• Refueling networks crossed the 1,000-station mark globally in 2024, with Europe, China, South Korea, Japan, and North America adding sites. National roadmaps often target heavy-duty corridors first. (H2Stations.org)

• Standards like UN GTR No. 13 harmonize safety, enabling cross-border technology deployment. (UNECE)

• Cost-down levers include electrolyser scale-up, renewable PPAs, offtake contracts, and carbon pricing. Public-private funding and “hydrogen hubs” help manage first-mover risk. (Hydrogen Program)

What This Means for a Cleaner, Healthier Future

1. Air-quality wins in cities and freight corridors. Replacing combustion engines with zero-emission drivetrains reduces local pollutants that harm health—especially when hydrogen is produced with clean power. (World Health Organization)

2. Deep decarbonization in hard-to-electrify duty cycles. Heavy trucks, coaches, and some specialty fleets can benefit from hydrogen’s fast refueling and high utilization.

3. System resilience and flexibility. Hydrogen can store renewable energy over hours to seasons, balancing grids and supplying mobility. That flexibility broadens pathways to reach climate goals. (IEA)

4. A “both-and” strategy beats one-size-fits-all. Optimize for outcomes: use BEVs where they shine and FCEVs where they deliver unique value.

Example Models: Quick Reference

• Toyota Mirai (XLE/Limited)
  Drivetrain: PEM fuel cell + e-motor (RWD)
  EPA-estimated range: up to 402 miles (XLE); Limited ~357 miles. Refueling ~3–5 minutes at 700 bar. (Toyota)

• Hyundai Nexo (Blue/Limited)
  Body: Compact SUV
  EPA-estimated range: 380 miles (Blue) / 354 miles (Limited). 700-bar fueling. (MyHyundai)

• Honda Clarity Fuel Cell (discontinued)
  EPA-estimated range: ~360 miles; an important stepping stone that informed today’s designs and safety practices. (Honda News)

Practical Considerations for Buyers and Fleets

• Fuel availability: Check local H₂ stations and planned hubs; fleet depot fueling may be most practical early on. The global station count is rising but remains limited versus EV charging. (H2Stations.org)

• Hydrogen source: Ask your provider about the hydrogen’s origin. Green hydrogen maximizes climate and health benefits.

• TCO math: For high-mileage fleets, the value of uptime and payload can outweigh higher fuel costs—run your numbers.

• Safety & training: Ensure operators and maintenance staff are trained on high-pressure systems and station procedures in line with international standards. (UNECE)

Looking Ahead

The path to a cleaner transport system is not a single highway but a network of routes. Battery advances will keep reshaping what’s practical for many cars and vans. Hydrogen will continue carving out roles where energy density, refueling speed, and duty cycle demands make it the better tool. Policy certainty, infrastructure build-out, and credible green hydrogen supply will decide how far and fast FCEVs scale.

If we align vehicle technology, infrastructure planning, and clean hydrogen production, FCEVs can materially contribute to healthier air, lower climate damages, and more resilient energy systems—especially beyond the light-duty sweet spot of BEVs.

References (Books & Chapters)

1. Larminie, J., & Dicks, A. Fuel Cell Systems Explained (2nd ed.). Wiley.

2. Barbir, F. PEM Fuel Cells: Theory and Practice (2nd ed.). Academic Press (Elsevier).

3. Sørensen, B. Hydrogen and Fuel Cells: Emerging Technologies and Applications (2nd ed.). Academic Press.

4. O'hayre, R., Cha, S., Colella, W., & Prinz, F. Fuel Cell Fundamentals (3rd ed.). Wiley.

5. Bossel, U. The Physics of the Hydrogen Economy (selected papers & lectures).

References (International Organizations & Major Reports)

• World Health Organization (WHO). Ambient (Outdoor) Air Pollution – Fact Sheet. (2019/updated 2024). 4.2 million premature deaths annually attributed to ambient air pollution; 6.7 million when including household air pollution. (World Health Organization)

• International Energy Agency (IEA). Transport – Energy System (2024) and CO₂ Emissions in 2023 (2024). Sector emissions near 8 Gt CO₂ in 2022; continued clean-energy growth. (IEA)

• IEA. Global Hydrogen Review 2024. Hydrogen demand ~97 Mt in 2023; low-carbon hydrogen still <1% of supply. (IEA)

• LBST / H2stations.org. Hydrogen Refuelling Station Count 2024/2025 Update. >1,000 stations in operation worldwide, +125 opened in 2024. (H2Stations.org)

• UNECE WP.29. UN Global Technical Regulation No. 13 – Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicles (Phase 2 updates, 2023). Safety-related performance requirements and test procedures. (UNECE)

• European Hydrogen Observatory. Cost of Hydrogen Production (2022–2023 datasets). LCOH by technology and country. (European Hydrogen Observatory)

• U.S. DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office. Clean Hydrogen Production Cost – PEM Electrolyzer (H2A) (Record, May 2024). Cost ranges and drivers. (Hydrogen Program)

• ICCT (International Council on Clean Transportation). Life-cycle GHG emissions from passenger cars (2025). Discusses WTW impacts of hydrogen pathways and other powertrains. (ICCT)

References (Vehicle Specs & Examples)

• Toyota Mirai (2024/2025). EPA-estimated range up to 402 miles (XLE); manufacturer documentation & press materials. (Toyota, Toyota USA Newsroom) 

  
  
  

• Hyundai Nexo (2023/2024). EPA-estimated range 380 miles (Blue) and 354 miles (Limited); owner documentation & independent reviews. (MyHyundai, Consumer Reports) 

  
  
  

• Honda Clarity Fuel Cell (2021). EPA range ~360 miles; model discontinued after 2021. (Honda News, EV Pulse)