Everything you need to know about hydrogen fuel cell vehicles

Despite being heavier and larger than the first generation car, it takes just 8.7sec to travel from 0-62mph, and 25.5sec to hit 100mph. That’s thanks to a powertrain that produces 180bhp and 221lb ft of torque.

However, the Mirai wasn’t cheap when it launched in 2021. It commanded a price tag of £64,995, and you can’t currently order one directly from Toyota.

Read our Toyota Mirai review

Hyundai Nexo

Hyundai has been developing fuel cell technology since the 1990s, and the Nexo is the firm’s first production hydrogen car. 

Priced similarly to the Mirai at £65,995, the Hyundai Nexo’s powertrain produces 161bhp and 291lb ft. Meanwhile, 0-62mph is completed in 9.6sec. 

The Nexo can store up to 6.33kg of hydrogen, which supplies power to a 1.56kWh battery. It offers a range of around 380 miles, and we were impressed by its solid driving dynamics and rolling refinement. 

There are less than 30 Nexos on UK roads today, and, like the Mirai, it’s not currently available to order.

Read our Hyundai Nexo review

Hyundai iX5 Hydrogen

BMW formed a partnership with Toyota based around hydrogen technology, and it plans to bring the iX5 Hydrogen to market in some form by 2030. 

With a 396bhp powertrain and 524lb ft of torque, it packs significantly more punch than the Toyota and Hyundai, backed up by its sub 6.0sec sprint from 0-62mph. 

Range stands at around 313 miles, and our drive revealed it was comfortable, capable and almost ready for the road. It certainly paved the way for BMW's entry into the world of hydrogen.

Read our BMW iX5 Hydrogen review

Pros of hydrogen cars

One of the biggest benefits of driving hydrogen cars is that they produce zero emissions on the road apart from water. That means they’re a lot more environmentally friendly to drive than a petrol or diesel car, and would be welcome in the ever-increasing number of clean air zones popping up around the UK. 

Hydrogen cars are also faster to fill up than electric cars, refuelling in a fraction of the time compared to EV counterparts. Hydrogen is also the most abundant element on the planet. 

Some consider hydrogen cars to be more efficient than other powertrains, as hydrogen power uses between 40-60% of its fuel’s energy with a 50% reduction in fuel consumption. It’s not uncommon to see around 400 miles of travel on a single tank when using hydrogen. 

Unlike EVs, the range of a hydrogen car is not impacted by outside temperatures. 

Cons of hydrogen cars

While hydrogen cars can be more efficient and environmentally friendly for the driver, there are some drawbacks.

Emissions from the tailpipe might be zero, but there are significant environmental challenges with producing hydrogen on an industrial scale. 

Producing hydrogen at this level uses a significant amount of fossil fuels. According to tyre giant Pirelli, as much as 10kg of CO2 is produced for every kilogram of hydrogen. 

There are methods of producing hydrogen that involve using renewable energies, but these are currently far more expensive. Denmark, for example, produces hydrogen from wind, while Iceland makes use of geothermal energy to produce the element. 

Hydrogen cars are also quite expensive to buy due to their complexity, and obviously, the small number of refuelling stations is a significant black mark against this modern technology.

The future of hydrogen vehicles

Currently, hydrogen cars aren’t quite viable for the broader public. There are simply too few filling stations, and the hydrogen itself isn’t yet commercially or environmentally viable to produce en masse. 

But with investment from the UK government aiming to accelerate the implementation of hydrogen vehicles, we could see more car makers turn their efforts to this modern technology in the coming years. 

One such company hoping to drive the production of hydrogen vehicles is Williams Advanced Engineering, which revealed a platform for hydrogen electric vehicles in 2023.