Hydrogen cars: are they the future?

The government and most of the car industry has hedged its bets on electric cars and vans, with EV registrations close to 20% of the new car market today. 

But one solution is unlikely to suit all, particularly when it comes to transporting people and goods hundreds of miles. That's why some carmakers put hydrogen forward as a sustainable fuel source. 

Hydrogen cars, or hydrogen fuel cell cars, have been around in concept form for many years. But it took until 2014 for Toyota to become the first manufacturer to put a hydrogen car on sale to the public, with the Mirai. 

Over a decade has passed since then, so why aren't there thousands of hydrogen fuel cell cars on the road? Is there still untapped potential in hydrogen power for transport? We'll take a look in this in-depth guide. 

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Hydrogen cars are powered by electricity they produce internally through chemical reactions between hydrogen and oxygen. 

The only tailpipe emissions are water since the by-products of the chemical reaction which powers the hydrogen fuel cell are just heat and water.

The electricity generated either powers the car directly, or charges a battery which stores the energy until it’s needed. This traction battery is usually significantly smaller and lighter than the battery of a fully electric car.

The hydrogen fuel is stored in a high-pressure tank and can be refilled in much the same way as petrol and diesel.

These cars are sometimes known as “Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles” (FCEVs).

Hydrogen cars’ high-pressure tanks can be refilled in around five minutes with a fuel pump at a filling station.

Despite multiple attempts over the years to fund the expansion of a hydrogen filling infrastructure in the UK, there are currently only around 15 stations operational across the country.

However, the infrastructure is even more limited because only about six of those filling stations are accessible to the public. They are located in Birmingham, London, Sheffield, Swindon, Aberdeen and Port Talbot. 

An £8 million government grant was issued to a British start-up in 2023 to help build a hydrogen infrastructure in the north-east of England, but this had yet to materialise. 

Currently, the vast majority of hydrogen production still uses natural gases. However, the government is investing heavily in greener alternatives like CO2 capture technology.

Electrolysis, the process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, is a more eco-friendly option when using renewable electricity. 

In February 2020, the government announced plans to move away from natural gas-based hydrogen production confirming the funding of Europe’s first large scale, low-carbon hydrogen plants.

As of February 2025 there are several operational low-carbon hydrogen plants in the UK, with the government setting a target of producing 10 gigawatts of low-carbon hydrogen by 2030. 

Pros

Cons

The biggest issue with hydrogen power is the lack of infrastructure, but if no-one buys hydrogen-powered cars, that’s not going to change anytime soon.

Hydrogen filling stations are expensive to build, but the UK government and the EU are backing a drive to increase the number available.

Nevertheless, by early 2024 Europe as a whole had just 265 hydrogen filling stations.

The 'chicken and egg' situation that plague early electric car charging infrastructure remains: if the hydrogen infrastructure isn't increased then few people will buy or lease hydrogen cars, but there's no profitable market for hydrogen filling stations without hydrogen cars on the road to fill.

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Many manufacturers have tested hydrogen cars, but as of 2025 there are only two available to buy or lease in the UK.

Toyota Mirai

The second-generation Toyota Mirai debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2019.

Its name translated from Japanese means “the future” and its manufacturer hoped it could be a sign of things to come. 

Priced at £64,000, its cost relative to electric cars, combined with the lack of infrastructure, means that it hasn't been a big seller in the UK - though Top Gear presenter James May owned one. 

Hyundai Nexo

The Nexo was the first hydrogen-dedicated model from Hyundai and succeeded the Hyundai ix35 FCEV.

A range of 414 miles comes at the hefty price of nearly £69,000, with no zero-emission government grant to lower the price these days. . 

The South Korean manufacturer claims the vehicle can even purify air. Sadly, sales haven't matched the promises. 

The video below from Hyundai expains how the hydrogen fuel cell works.

Riversimple Rasa

Made by a small company in Wales, the Rasa is a prototype hydrogen car with a range of 300 miles from just 1.5kg of hydrogen, giving it the equivalent of around 250mpg.⁶

Designed as an open source vehicle with the intention of helping other manufacturers produce fuel cell vehicles, the Rasa is a tiny two-seater with a top speed of 60mph.

Sadly, the Rasa is not a production car that you'll be able to buy or lease any time soon. 

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Environmental impact

Both electric and hydrogen powered cars emit no tailpipe gases, however, the production of the vehicles creates a lot of carbon emissions. 

If hydrogen were to be produced by renewable energy - not just powering the car, but also powering the factory it's built in - the environmental impact would be significantly reduced.

However, the same logic applies to electric cars charged up using renewable energy and built in renewable-powered factories. 

Cost of fuel

Sold by the kilogram, with current prices around £15 per kilo, it’ll cost up to £85 to refuel the hydrogen tank of a Toyota Mirai,

With consumption of around 70 miles per kg, you'll be looking at a range of just under 400 miles.

While an electric car charged using expensive public charge points could be comparable, it'll be much cheaper to run a battery EV that's charged up at home than a hydrogen fuel cell car. 

Upfront cost

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have a huge advantage over hydrogen cars in terms of cost. 

The Hyundai Nexo costs nearly £69,000 to buy outright. Meanwhile the similarly-sized Hyundai IONIQ 5 can be purchased for under £40,000. 

What does the future hold?

The success of hydrogen fuel cell cars depends on a range of factors; the costs and green credentials of hydrogen production, infrastructure improvements including readily available refilling stations, and the fuel cells becoming cheaper.

With nearly 382,000 electric cars registered in the UK alone in 2024, is battery power the dominant solution for green motoring? Or do you still think hydrogen power has potential? 

Let us know what you think of these vehicles in the comments below.