Improve electric cars or hydrogen will overtake

For a basic shopping cart which is little more than an electric milk float of old, the present electric cars ‘might’ just about rank as usable, if horribly uneconomic. However, as noted the costs are not remotely acceptable and it is hard to see such vehicles as a real prospect. Hydrogen has several considerable advantages and one or two real drawbacks. The main draw back is the highly volatile nature of the gas which is, to say the least, very keen to burn. So far it is also unclear how much hydrogen could be stored in the car and thus how much range one could obtain.
Perhaps the greatest plus for hydrogen is the fact that it can be produced when it can be produced and stored for use when it is needed, thus decoupling generation from consumption and functioning somewhat like a ‘storage battery’. This could mean either the much derided and probably somewhat useless wind driven generators, or perhaps solar installations along, with many other possible or potential sources. However, while generating small amounts of power which could simply generate hydrogen from water is relatively easy, storing hydrogen by compression is not. So how much range could be pumped into a hydrogen car and at what cost?
Today I am likely to do almost no mileage, perhaps 10 miles, yesterday I did about 160 miles and much of the previous week has been somewhat like yesterday. I am retired but have considerable, but variable demands on my time. An electric car would be totally useless for me, currently a petrol car which achieves close to 60 miles per gallon is meeting the needs, though even with that mileage I have to visit the filling station far too often at the moment!
This brings up other possible issues with the hydrogen car, e.g.
1) How much of the gas would leak out while the demand was low? How would venting be safely handled?
2) What would the refuelling arrangements be? Local, e.g at home or at only refuelling points? If the latter then the idea of home generation is out of the question.
3) Would a fuel cell be a better prospect than a traditional 4 cycle engine?
4) Even if the obvious issues were easily addressed, how much range could be delivered for a hydrogen car and how will the ‘real world’ costs pan out?

Hydrogen cars have been produced – their range is much the same as petrol powered cars. The element which gives the electric power is a fuel cell unit. The big problem is availability of hydrogen “pumps”, but no doubt this will be overcome in time. I think this is the way to go in future.
The short range of electric cars is the main snag – OK for city types but not for general use.
Which ever fuel is used there is the problem of generation with consequent carbon generation. Until the fuel can be made using recyclable principles we are stuck with carbon emissions.

When batteries can be produced – and produced at an affordable price and not be full of environmentally destructive components – which can be charged as quickly as a petrol or diesel car can be filled with fuel, then and only then will electric cars be viable for general use.

Hydrogen cars are not carbon neutral.

Currently the most common method of producing hydrogen is to extract it from natural gas, the carbon being thrown away. It would be far more sensible, and more “green”, to simply run the car on the natural gas. Before hydrogen can become a carbon neutral fuel there needs to be a massive investment in alternative methods of production, a huge increase in renewable and nuclear electricity generating capacity which is going to take a generation or more to build. The way things are at the moment we won’t have enough electricity to meet our current needs, let alone the extra demands of millions of electric and hydrogen cars.