10,000 PSI hydrogen tanks, tanks, and more tanks just to get...

10,000 PSI hydrogen tanks, tanks, and more tanks just to get decent range on the Toyota Mirai FCEV hydrogen car. The good news is if there’s a leak and a fire, the flame is invisible and it’s all odorless. I’m looking at the Mirai owner’s manual and it says:

“In high-humidity, the nozzle may become frozen and unable to disconnect from the vehicle for a period of several minutes or longer.” Tells you to not pour water on it or try to warm it.

Then there’s an entire plethora of electronic communication that has to happen between the station storage, the pump, the nozzle, and the car to ensure safety. If any one suspects a fault, you have a no-go because of the pressures and possible leaks… and this is why the stations and pumps are up only about half the time.

Internal combustion hydrogen is even better, it needs twice the tank storage space for the same range as this FCEV. You guys remember that Toyota Yaris hydrogen race car? In a 24 hour race it stopped 35 times to refuel, and the tanks took up the entire interior behind the rear seats, but the windows were tinted so you couldn’t see all the tanks.