Hydrogen’s the classic future – not electric
Iread with increasing alarm the various predictions about the demise of petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles ( CCW, 19 February) – and that a ban of new internal combustion engines in 2032 is likely to see nearly 70 per cent of UK cars being electric by 2040.
Can you imagine what market forces will do to petrol stations? They will become fewer and fewer as the market declines and the cost of the fuel they sell will go up and up. If you could manage to find a garage still open, would you be able to afford the product?
The sad thing is that we are not really looking ahead with any degree of common sense; how many times have we done that in the past? We will find ourselves in a situation where the demand for electrical energy will be such that if you can find a charging point, you will be adding to pollution because the electricity must be generated at a power station, more often than not powered by fossil fuel. I would love to think that we will be generating much of our electricity by environmentally-friendly methods by 2040 – but will we?
The wiser answer would be hydrogen fuel cells. The technology exists but needs money to further develop it. We have tanker drivers and vehicles to deliver it, we have a range of stations and forecourts already there to deliver it to the public and we have vehicles that could be modified – even classics.
New vehicles would need less re-tooling to modify than for electric motors.
I would like the chance to drive my classic for many years to come, even if it means converting it to hydrogen which is possible, both technically and financially.
My classic cannot be changed to run on electric power without significant reengineering that would be way beyond my pocket.
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