Where Are All the Hydrogen Cars We Were Promised?

“If you look at how much energy is actually flowing through your hand as you’re holding a dispenser at a gasoline pump, it’s on the order of 1 to 2 megawatts,” Wipke says. Compare that to the 2 kilowatts—a thousand times less power—that's available at a standard wall outlet. It’s easy to see why charging times are so long for battery electrics.

“With hydrogen, you’re still moving molecules," he explains. "As long as you have enough pressure and low-resistance flow paths, then you can push the molecules from the station to the car very quickly.”