Car manufacturers these days seem to be in two camps when it comes to their views about the feasibility of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Some companies are currently selling FCVs and they expect their popularity to increase in the future, while others are openly shunning the tech, with no plans to ever get in on that market.

Among hydrogen fuel cell vehicles’ strongest proponents are Toyota, Hyundai and BMW, but names such as Renault, Daimler or GM are also working on practical applications for FCV powertrains. These are some of the industry’s most important companies, as well as electrification leaders, and they seem very committed to the hydrogen cause.

AutoTrader UK published a video trying to bring some more clarity on this often controversial topic. According to the presenter, Rory Reid, hydrogen vehicles do make sense, and the reason they have not become more mainstream is quite complicated and nuanced.

First he explains how a hydrogen fuel cell is able to produce electricity, and we have to say this is one of the better explanations that we’ve come across, so if you’re not completely sure you know how this tech works, you might want to pay closer attention around the video’s two-minute mark.

Another very important point raised in this video has to do with the electricity needed to produce hydrogen through water electrolysis. Hydrogen is very abundant, but we also need to expend energy in order to obtain it in a pure form, and that requires electricity - how that electricity is produced ultimately determines the environmental impact of the vehicle that uses.