@JOB you re right. I ve discussed this with a friend of mine owning a jeep grand cherokee (also diesel powered) there is some conversion kit in development he told me to turn diesel engines in hydrogen powered engines.
Living in a family with half of them mechanical engineers worked Bosch and other suppliers to the automotive industry and optical engineering such as Rodenstock (glasses / eye)
There is a term - called efficiency.
What is the cost of creating a car, operating it, what is the content of energy per volume of fuel, what storage, how much energy is needed create the store and what amount is successfully turned in to the needed amount of motion, temperature, electric power etc.
Still diesel and gas/petrol is unmatched.
The engine however is rather complex and noisy.
The e-engine is simple - needs far less maintenance - and power to weight ratio is much better.
But not considered what a combustion engine delivers as side effect is heat, servos, driving compressors for A/C , powerSteering, and much more.
Any electric vehicle must do this with additional electric parts and featers sucking from battery..
No matter if FC or purely battery - a battery has a comparable low energy density and high weight and charging time.. - The FC System if pure Hydrogen needs a special storage. H Atoms are so small they decarbonize steel and disappear through metal. So perhaps Methanol Direct Fuel Cell instead? Need still some secure fuel tank - but proven in Top Fuel Class
However a little bit lower risk than gaseous Hydrogen.
The complexity of a Diesel versus the complexity of a E Power-Generation from Hydrogen Storage - to FC array - to both buffer battery and electrical consumers. Does it match?
A Hydrogen combustion engine still has the risk - of quite explosive hydrogen. But at least it is a conversion option if the story reported to me is true.
So to me both are not real alternatives to classic diesel or petrol/gas powered engine (considering OffRoad - and travelling long distance)
Pure Battery powered e-cars are nonsense in most cases. No one mentions child labour, immense use of potable water for Lithium, etc and recycling? (Reminds me on windgenerator rotor blades - no one knows on proper recycling instead they do landfill.
FC cars make sense if powered by Methanol Direct Fuel Cell in some normal cars - - as long as there is a reliable source of methanol.
(not in near future for offroading and overlanding) - FC will bind an IG owners to countries with sufficent infrastructure in the intended area of operation.
Storing Methanol in high volumes is dangerous compared to diesel that is far more difficult to burn) And probably quite difficult to acquire when travelling to certain countries with low infrastructure.
To me the only sensible replacement of Diesel / petrol from Natural crude oil may be E-Fuel Diesel/petrol - if that can be produced for an acceptable price.
Ineos must however develop some alternative fuel vehicle to meet or at least indicate to governments that they re willing to go that "lower CO2" fairy tale
I consider the technology as immature anyway. As long as e vehicles turn in to combustion vehicles involuntarily ;-) ..
As long as our big d*cks of industry and politics and NGO like WEF use their private jets, high volume cars and super yachts - burning tons of fuel - I give a damn.
