Hydrogen vs Battery: The Weight Crossover

Vehicle class

Mission

Required range 300 km

Battery pack density 220 Wh/kg

H₂ storage

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🔋 Battery system–

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💧 Hydrogen system–

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How it works

Both systems must supply the same onboard energy = range × consumption. A battery pack's mass grows linearly with that energy divided by its density (Wh/kg) — no fixed overhead, but a fairly low ceiling on density. A hydrogen system pays a near-fixed fuel-cell-stack tax up front, then adds mass far more slowly per extra kilometre, because hydrogen's own energy density (33.3 kWh/kg) dwarfs any battery even after storage-tank losses.

m_battery = range·consumption·1000 / density_Wh_kg
m_H2 = range·consumption / (33.3·η_fc·tank_fraction) + m_stack

Vehicle class sets energy consumption per km and typical payload budget — a ship or freight train needs orders of magnitude more onboard energy than a car for the same range.
Battery density is the Wh/kg of the whole pack (cells + cooling + casing); today's EV packs sit near 200–250, so raising this slider previews what future cell chemistry would do to the crossover.
H₂ storage: 700-bar compressed tanks hold roughly 5.5% of their own mass as hydrogen; cryogenic liquid tanks do better (~11%) but need constant boil-off management.
The crossover range is where the two lines meet: below it, a battery is lighter; beyond it, hydrogen's slow-climbing line wins — which is exactly why long-haul trucks, unelectrified trains and ships lean hydrogen while cars and buses stay battery-electric.

Real-world relevance: this weight tradeoff, not efficiency alone, is why FCEVs concentrate in heavy, long-range transport even though hydrogen loses on well-to-wheel efficiency — a battery big enough to match a truck's range and payload would be too heavy to be useful.

Battery mass vs range Hydrogen system mass vs range Crossover range

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