--- title: "Ukraine Reportedly Turned a Hydrogen Car Into an Improvised Hydrogen Bomb" description: "Using parts from a salvaged Toyota hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, Ukrainian fighters managed to build a tiny hydrogen bomb." date: "2024-08-14" modified: "2024-08-14" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ukraine-hydrogen-car-bomb" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "hydrogen bomb" - "hydrogen fuel cell" - "the digest" - "ukraine" --- # Ukraine Reportedly Turned a Hydrogen Car Into an Improvised Hydrogen Bomb ![Using parts from a salvaged Toyota hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, Ukrainian fighters managed to build a tiny hydrogen bomb.]() *\Image: Garry Lotulung / Anadolu via Getty\* ## Fueled Cell Using parts from a salvaged Toyota hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, Ukrainian fighters reportedly managed to build a tiny hydrogen bomb. As the English-language Ukrainian outlet [*Euromaidan Press* reports](), the hydrogen fuel cell at the heart of one of [Toyota's unpopular Mirai models]() provided the power for the small explosive that successfully forced Russian forces to retreat in the border town of Vovchansk. As the outlet notes, the Mirai had already been wrecked prior to being taken apart to build a bomb. It ended up delivering a key advantage to the defensive forces as they fought against Russians who had [reportedly disrupted the Ukrainian military's electronics](). The bomb in question ended up weighing roughly 440 pounds and was deployed on the ground both because electronics had been disrupted and because, well, it was too heavy to drop [via aerial drone](). The Ukrainian military managed to maneuver the salvaged bomb using a remote-controlled ground drone right up to its Russian target at a shelled factory before going "boom." The resulting damage included "powerful blast waves, fireballs, and debris," *Euromaidan* reports. To be clear, we're not talking about a literal thermonuclear "hydrogen bomb" — Ukrainian forces used plastic explosives to detonate the hydrogen gas within the car's fuel cell. If confirmed, it's certainly a bombshell use of salvaged car parts, but apparently, that sort of thing is par for the course in Russia's ongoing invasion of its former Eastern Bloc neighbor. https://www.twitter.com/KiwiEV/status/1822726925397508461 ## Electric Feel As *Euromaidan Press* notes, fighters in the Vovchansk region have long had to improvise weaponry given their close proximity to the Russian border, which lies less than two-and-a-half miles away. Salvaging parts from wrecked electric vehicles to turn into both bombs and drones has apparently become commonplace in the area as the town faces delays in the delivery of Western-built bombs. Aside from the novel use of the Toyota Mirai's fuel cell, the report also notes that Vovchansk fighters have also used Tesla components to build drones — including the ground drone used to deliver the DIY hydrogen bomb. As with everything related to this conflict, these reports about the homemade hydrogen bomb suggest that the future of modern war — be it [sophisticated invasion tactics]() like those used by the Russians or the [high-tech pseudo-guerilla warfare]() deployed by the Ukrainians — is being written in the former Soviet Union. More on Ukraine: [*Ukraine Apparently Blew Up a 12-Ton Russian Helicopter Using a Two-Pound Drone*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()