QuoteThe law of conservation of energy states that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant; it is said to be conserved over time. In the case of a closed system the principle says that the total amount of energy within the system can only be changed through energy entering or leaving the system.
So (Car + battery + water + catalyst + ICE engine) is supposed to be better than (Car + battery + electric motor)?
We only have one power source the battery. We will use the same battery in both cars.
The water to gas conversion will have 50% power loss. And the ICE engine will only be 30% efficient. The power loss in the electric motor car is only from the imperfect efficiency of the electric motor, which at 85% is at least double the ICE engine. The wires between the battery and motor waste negligible power. Only the 85% efficiency has to be considered.
If the battery has charge to drive the ICE engine car 15 miles, the same charge will make a standard electric powered EV go 85 miles if they weigh the same. But wait there is more.
The weight of the ICE motor is hundreds of pounds. That is weight the standard EV does not need at all, so expect the range ratio to be more like ten to one after you add in the weight of all the additional and totally unnecessary new hydrogen conversion hardware. An electric motor has a better power to weight ratio than an ICE motor does. And far better efficiency.* Adding hydrogen to the mix can only reduce efficiency. Conservation of energy says so.
* A high-performance electric motor used in electric vehicles can have a power-to-weight ratio of 6 kW/kg or higher. A typical internal combustion engine in a car could have a power-to-weight ratio of only 0.1 to 1.0 kW/kg.