本SAE EDGE研究报告分析了推进这项技术的利弊，并提出了促进从化石燃料到氢燃料的平稳过渡的建议。 有关燃料电池和电动地面车辆经济性的未解决问题讨论了汽车行业中氢和燃料电池应用的未解决经济问题。最近，在汽车应用中使用氢气的想法越来越流行。虽然使用电解水产生的清洁氢燃料的概念并不新鲜，但之前将该技术纳入主流的努力却惨遭失败。大约十年前，能有效地将氢气和大气中的氧气转化为电能的燃料电池技术还没有那么先进，燃料电池原型体积庞大且价格昂贵。 然而，许多新的燃料电池电动汽车（FCEV）已经出现，全球正在建设加氢基础设施。 尽管取得了重要进展，但制氢和燃料电池的成本仍然很高，无法与基于化石燃料的解决方案竞争。虽然氢可以成为对抗气候变化和空气污染的可行工具，但目前氢几乎不具备商业价值。尽管政府补贴（以及对碳税的担忧）推动了许多氢基础设施的发展，但详细的经济评估表明，创造氢的规模经济可以降低技术成本，创造成为具体的全球市场参与者所需的机会之窗。

This SAE EDGE Research Report looks at the pros and cons of moving this technology forward and brings recommendations to facilitate a smooth transition from fossil fuel-based to hydrogen-based mobility. Unsettled Issues Concerning the Economics of Fuel Cells and Electric Ground Vehicles discusses the unsettled economic aspects of hydrogen and fuel cell applications in the automotive industry. Lately, the idea of using hydrogen in automotive applications is gaining momentum. While the concept of using clean hydrogen fuel generated from water via electrolysis is nothing new, previous efforts to mainstream the technology failed miserably. About a decade ago, the fuel cell technology, which efficiently converts hydrogen and atmospheric oxygen into electricity, was not as advanced and the fuel cell prototypes were bulky and expensive. Yet, many new fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) have emerged, and hydrogen refueling infrastructure is being built globally. Despite the important steps forward, hydrogen generation and fuel cells are still costly and cannot compete with fossil fuel-based solutions. While it can be a viable tool in combating climate change and air pollution, hydrogen currently hardly makes a business case. And although many hydrogen infrastructure developments are fueled by government subsidies (and fear of carbon tax), detailed economic evaluation suggests that creating a hydrogen economy of scale can reduce technology costs, creating the window of opportunity it needs to become a concrete global market player.