A number of factors are converging to make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles more attractive to investors and consumers, according to a new report. “We seem to be tantalizingly close to the beginning of a hydrogen transition,” says Joan Ogden, professor of environmental science at the University of California, Davis, and lead author of the study. “The next three to four years will be critical for determining whether hydrogen vehicles are just a few years behind electric vehicles, rather than decades.”

Are hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles (FCV) ready for the big stage? We seem to be tantalizingly close to the beginning of a hydrogen transition. Of course, energy decision-makers have heard this before. What’s different this time around? In our latest white paper, “The Hydrogen Transition,” my ITS-Davis colleagues Christopher Yang, Michael Nicholas, Lew Fulton and I analyze challenges surrounding transitioning to mainstream adoption of hydrogen.

“In many respects, hydrogen fuel cell cars offer consumer value similar or superior to today’s gasoline cars,” said Joan Ogden, the lead author of the study. “The technology readily enables large vehicle size, a driving range of 300-400 miles, and a fast refueling time of three to five minutes.”

Researchers at the Institute of Transportation Studies University of California, Davis suggest that a number of positive trends indicate that we may be seeing the beginning of a real hydrogen transition in transportation, despite earlier starts that fizzled.

While battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars have had much of the spotlight to themselves for the past four years, we’re going to be hearing a lot more about hydrogen fuel-cell cars over the next few.

And a new study just released by the University of California–Davis suggests that we are “tantalizingly close to the beginning of a hydrogen transition.”

Those are the words of the study’s lead author, Joan Ogden, who’s a professor of environmental science and policy and works in the university’s Institute of Transportation Studies.

A recent study from the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis analyzed the potential costs, but even this optimistic view faces potential criticism. “We seem to be tantalizingly close to the beginning of a hydrogen transition,” says lead author Joan Ogden. “The next three to four years will be critical for determining whether hydrogen vehicles are just a few years behind electric vehicles, rather than decades.”

UC Davis professor and director of Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways Joan Ogden explains: “We seem to be tantalizingly close to the beginning of a hydrogen transition. The next three to four years will be critical for determining whether hydrogen vehicles are just a few years behind electric vehicles, rather than decades.”

 The lead author Joan Ogden, said in a statement that, “We seem to be tantalizingly close to the beginning of a hydrogen transition.” But there’s no guarantee. “The next three to four years will be critical for determining whether hydrogen vehicles are just a few years behind electric vehicles, rather than decades,” she said. There are three places where the study thinks a “targeted regional investment of $100-$200 million in support of 100 stations for about 50,000 FCVs would be enough to make hydrogen cost-competitive with gasoline on a cost-per-mile basis.”

“We seem to be tantalizingly close to the beginning of a hydrogen transition,” said Joan Ogden, the lead author of the study and a professor of environmental science and policy. “The next three to four years will be critical for determining whether hydrogen vehicles are just a few years behind electric vehicles, rather than decades.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles could soon gain ground on electric cars in the race to develop zero-emission cars, according to a new report.

The auto industry is seeing a convergence of factors that make fuel cell cars more viable, according to the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis.