Actually I think it matters a lot. Compared to hydrogen internal combustion engine, the fuel cell plug-in hybrid electric drive has minimal noice, vibration, it has remarkably better efficiency in converting fuel to electricity and it can improve total efficiency with regenerative deceleration, it has less weight and much less moving parts, need for lubrication and cooling, plus all the benefits of plug-in.
I was writing this rather quickly on a coffee break with my smartphone. Now I'd like to further open the benefits of this HFCPHEV (just invented a handy acronym for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) compared to hydrogen fuelled piston engine and conventional drivetrain. As I see it.
- Electric drive gives nice smooth torque from start to top speed without gear changes.
- Plug-in enables using possibly cheaper mains electricity or even solar electricity directly from the panels without any taxes and third party business profits.
- Better efficiency enables smaller tanks or longer range and reduces operating costs.
- Fuel cells can be placed without limitations of the mechanical driveline, which allows optimizing the internal space.
- Fuel cells require much less volume and weigh less than piston engine with auxiliaries. This enables improved volume and weight efficiency in the car. --> Smaller cars require less space on road and parking.
- With a clean fuel like hydrogen the fuel cells need maintenance next to nothing.
- When production rates increase, fuel cells should be much cheaper than piston engines with all needed auxiliaries.
- Less noise and vibration is good both for the neighborhood and for the passengers.