Resolution to study hydrogen vehicles to be filed in House

A person fuels their Toyota Mirai at a hydrogen fuel pump in Torrance, Calif., Oct. 22, 2020. The lack of refueling infrastructure for hydrogen vehicles, along with the cars’ high prices, has held them back in the mainland U.S. An island lawmaker said he will file a resolution to study the viability of promoting the sale of the vehicles in Puerto Rico. (Philip Cheung/The New York Times)

By The Star Staff

Rep. José Aponte Hernández announced Thursday that as part of the upcoming legislative agenda, he will be filing a resolution to study the viability of promoting the sale of hydrogen vehicles in Puerto Rico.

“The sale of vehicles run on hydrogen has gained a type of peak during recent years,” the veteran legislator said in a written statement. “Our aim is to investigate the feasibility of promoting the sale of these vehicles in Puerto Rico. For this we have to study the market, the in-frastructure that exists to support these vehicles compared to electric vehicles, and the availability to the consumer, among other aspects.”

Hydrogen vehicles are run by an electric motor that uses a hydrogen battery. They have a marked advantage over electric vehicles, including a range of 600 miles on one charge.

Recharging the battery in a hydrogen vehicle takes five minutes, in comparison with the average 35-minute charging time for electric vehicles.

“The market for hydrogen vehicles is singular,” Aponte said. “In the continental United States sales have been going down since there are only two factories and only two models. Also, the lack of infrastructure for recharging is another factor. But in Europe and Japan in the second quarter of 2024, sales increased by 18 and 55 percent, respectively. What we are looking for is to see if we can sell these vehicles on the island in good numbers.”

According to available data, 18,740 hydrogen vehi-cles had been sold in the United States during 2024 as of Nov. 20.