Japan made a fatal mistake wasting so much effort on hydrogen cars. Yet Tesla leaped forward with Panasonic's battery technology It's ironic.
And it's not just batteries. The supply chain of mineral mining, purification processing, to sub component manufacturing is dominated by Chinese companies. I think it's something like 98% of the global purified graphite needed for battery cathodes comes from Chinese refineries; everywhere else multiple times more expensive. For procuring one of the most common elements on the planet; carbon.
I suspect part of the reason why Japan not so hesitant anymore is because of the US Japan Critical Minerals Agreement covering cobalt, graphite, lithium, manganese, and nickel.
https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-...
[0] https://www.bmwgroup.com/en/news/general/2024/hydrogen-coope...
I'm not sure this is true. They're talking about hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles here, not hydrogen-burning ICEs. So a fuel cell (which I believe has no moving parts at all) converts hydrogen to electricity, and from there the rest of the drivetrain is basically like an EV. In effect, you're using a tank of hydrogen gas as a crappy battery that can only discharge.
>what's the big deal with hydrogen cars?
Oil companies like them because it means that they stay relevant: you can generate hydrogen from fossil fuels pretty easily, plus this keeps them in position as necessary for fueling your car: instead of having to go to a Chevron station for gasoline, now you go to that same station for hydrogen. You don't get power from your electric utility to run your car, which makes the oil companies obsolete.
Toyota and Nissan both launched elextric and hybrids very early. E.g. Prius, Leaf.