History And Mystery Of Hydrogen-powered Vehicles

Hydrogen is the fuel that won’t go away. But, while fuel cells are relatively new, hydrogen has always been floating in the background of the automotive industry. While modern-day gearheads may think that hydrogen cars began with the Toyota Mirai, some of the earliest engines ever mounted to a horse-cart were powered by hydrogen. But, for various reasons, a succession of other fuels have come in and out of style while hydrogen never quite took off. As the dawn of hydrogen’s era (possibly) arrives at last, let’s look at how far back hydrogen goes.

In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturer websites and other authoritative sources, including Hagerty, Top Gear, and MotorTrend.

The First Hydrogen Combustion Engine Hit The Road In 1808

• The first hydrogen car (and possibly the first internal combustion car) was made in 1808.
• While hydrogen never dominated the automotive world (not even in the early days), it took a long time for gasoline and diesel to become the only fuels in use.

The first car powered by hydrogen was made in 1808. A year earlier, a French-born Swiss scientist named François Isaac de Rivaz had devised a hydrogen engine. His engine barely resembled the modern internal-combustion engine, not even on a foundational level. Nevertheless, a flammable fuel went into the engine and motion came out of it. Depending on how one defines “internal-combustion vehicle,” this may have been the first one ever. That’s right, hydrogen preceded gasoline and literally everything else.

Hydrogen Fueled The First Car That Directly Turned Fire Into Motion

Of course, this wasn’t the first self-propelled vehicle ever. However, it is very possible that the first car that propelled itself directly from internal combustion was a hydrogen car. Various steam cars have existed since before the United States gained independence from England, but a steam car is not an internal combustion one. Steam cars would have their own, surprisingly long history and (briefly) be more successful than hydrogen has been to date.

It Took A Long Time For Gasoline And Diesel To Replace Everything Else

When discussing the early history of cars, it should be noted that it took a long time for the industry to settle on gasoline and diesel. Early internal combustion vehicles often ran on whatever could be poured into the fuel tank. (Model T owners still love to point out that their vehicles can run on anything from gasoline to alcohol with a few routine adjustments to the carburetor and the fuel system.)

And, steam-powered cars, which rivaled internal combustion until surprisingly far into the 20th century, could be made to run on nearly anything from coal to corncobs (with varying degrees of efficiency) by careful adjustment of the various drafts and dampers on the boiler.

The First Hydrogen Fuel Cells, And The First Time Anyone Put Them In A Car

• The first hydrogen fuel cells were developed in 1839. They worked the same way as fuel cells today.
• GM made the first car powered by fuel cells in 1966.
• Toyota and Honda introduced the first production FCEVs in 2002.

The first hydrogen fuel cell was announced in 1839. (1839 also gave us another invention that would prove crucial to automotive journalism: the first photography patents.) British lawyer and scientist William Grove demonstrated what he called the “gas voltaic cell,” which was based on the work of fellow British scientist Humphrey Davy. This was the fuel cell as we know it today: hydrogen gas passed through a catalyst and was split into protons and electrons, thus making electricity.

Some readers may recognize Davy’s name from the “Davy Lamp,” which was used to detect flammable gas pockets in underground mines so that miners could avoid detonating them with lanterns or with sparks from mining equipment. (No one wants to die in a violent underground explosion.) Whether the Davy lamp actually made mining safer is debatable, but that is outside the scope of the history of hydrogen cars.

General Motors Made The First FCEV In 1966

While fuel cells were invented just in time to be photographed, 127 years would pass before anyone made them propel a vehicle. In 1966, General Motors demonstrated the Electrovan concept vehicle. This was a hydrogen-converted GMC Handi-Van (General Motors’ panel van offering at the time). Although the Electrovan never went into production, it was a fully functioning vehicle instead of a half-finished concept. Although the Electrovan would prove to be a developmental dead end for GM, the company preserved the single van in its Heritage Collection museum.

The real surprise here is that it took so long to unite a car chassis, a hydrogen fuel cell, and an electric motor. All of these had existed for decades by this point. (The history of motors is its own complicated story. But it’s worth noting that in 1838, a Russian scientist named Moritz von Jacobi produced a battery-powered motorboat that carried passengers on a river against the current.)

Where FCEVs Are Today

Various laboratories (some owned by auto manufacturers, some not) would produce a steady smattering of fuel cell prototype vehicles in the decades after GM demonstrated the Electrovan. However, 36 years would pass before anyone started mass-producing them. Of course, in the world of hydrogen cars, “mass production” is a relative term.

In 2002, Honda and Toyota introduced the near-identically named FCX and FCHV, respectively. Like the Chrysler Turbine and the General Motors EV1, Honda and Toyota leased their respective hydrogen cars instead of selling them. (Well, the Turbine wasn’t leased. But nevertheless, none of the lucky people who drove one ever got the title for it.)

Honda and Toyota continue to be the biggest names in the barely-existent market for FCEVs (Toyota in particular). Hyundai has also entered the competition with the Nexo SUV. But, for now, the demand for hydrogen cars is quashed by the sales-killing question: “But where would I fill the tank?”

The Possible Return Of Hydrogen Engines Could Take ICE Cars Back To Where They Began

• Hydrogen engines have appeared sporadically since they were first invented, including a Norwegian truck in 1933.
• Today, Mazda and Toyota are both introducing hydrogen combustion cars at race tracks.

While fuel cells have (slowly) begun to take off, hydrogen engines have yet to go beyond the boundaries of proving grounds and racetracks. Toyota has been one of the biggest promoters of hydrogen engines. The stalwart of Japanese reliability has taken hydrogen-converted cars, including a Corolla and a Yaris, to various track meets and auto shows. However, most of the automotive world has apparently decided that burning hydrogen is not the most efficient way to use it.

Norway’s One-Off Hydrogen-Generating Truck Generated Fuel While Driving

Norwegian power company Norsk Hydro produced a hydrogen truck in 1933. Unlike most other hydrogen-powered vehicles (whether they piped the hydrogen into a fuel cell or an engine), Norsk Hydro’s design didn’t actually have hydrogen tanks on it. Instead, the truck had tanks of ammonia from which the hydrogen was extracted by a chemical reaction. Like a so-called “acetylene plant” connected to a pre-electric farmhouse, Norsk Hydro’s fuel system generated the gas as needed while driving instead of storing it ready to burn. (Yes, in the days before rural electrification, some farmhouses had acetylene piped through the walls and into the lights and sometimes the stove and water heater. It was generated in a reactor that was always placed in its own shed far from the house in case it exploded.)

Mazda Has Worked On A Hydrogen Rotary Engine

The most unexpected part of hydrogen’s recent history is how mundane most FCEVs are. Hydrogen is perhaps more suited for enthusiast-centric development than any other fuel. After all, given how hard it is to find somewhere to refuel a hydrogen car, anyone who buys one has to really want it. Hydrogen is nearly impossible to sell to commuters and child-hauling parents, which means that most of the car-buying public is unlikely to be interested.

However, this puts hydrogen cars (whether fuel cell or combustion) in the perfect place to sell to the purest of purists who never actually drive their cars but instead ferry them on trailers to various track meets. Until people can get hydrogen as easily as gasoline, it is perfect for anyone who has a manual gear shifter where their personality should be.

Mazda has realized this and announced that it is (probably) dusting off its rotary engine yet again. The company used one as a range extender in its Iconic SP concept car, which was gorgeous enough to get gushing reviews despite the horrendous absence of a manual gearstick between the two bucket seats. Mazda has dropped a few tantalizing hints that it may put a hydrogen-burning rotary engine into a car without tying it to a hybrid powertrain. This opens up the thrilling possibility that said rotary engine may be mated to a manual transmission.

Mazda is following Toyota’s lead by showing its hydrogen engines in race cars rather than putting one into a minivan. Since fuel efficiency is a lesser concern when a car is occasionally driven back and forth on a track, this could be indicative of where a hydrogen engine would truly find its place.

Hydrogen’s Uncertain Future

At this early stage in the rise of EVs, hydrogen still hasn’t found its place. If fueling stations become more commonplace, hydrogen could become a rival to battery-electric vehicles. “Hydrogen versus batteries” could become the next “gasoline versus diesel.” However, it is also possible that hydrogen will become a half-remembered “transitional phase” in the history of cars. While a few factories are putting out hydrogen cars that anyone can purchase, the same was true for steam cars for multiple decades.

Europe May Become The World’s Hottest Hydrogen Market

One sign that hydrogen may finally become a mainstream option instead of a curiosity comes from the European Union. In 2021, the EU mandated that hydrogen fueling stations must be placed every 150 kilometers on its planned TEN-T network. The TEN-T, or Trans-European Transport Network, is a web of roads, railways, airports, and waterways.

If completed, it would (very) roughly be analogous to the United States’ interstate highway system if the U.S. hadn’t restricted its cross-country network to cars. If the EU’s network of transcontinental arterial roads with hydrogen stations is ready on schedule, an entire continent of car buyers will be primed to buy hydrogen.

Hydrogen Has Been In Cars From The Beginning

Hydrogen has been the perpetual “also-ran” of car fuels. Throughout the history of automobiles, it has been outsold by everything from steam to gasoline. However, hydrogen has refused to completely go away. So, while it’s uncertain whether hydrogen pumps may replace the currently omnipresent gasoline ones, it’s likely that hydrogen will always be somewhere in the automotive background.