The Fuel Cell Vehicle bandwagon is finally
gathering momentum. Like a snowball coming down a hill, it has picked up bulk
and speed in the last few months.
DRIVING & LIFE has written extensively
about Fuel Cell-powered vehicles being the big hope for low emission cars for
the future; and after all the research and Fuel Cell development projects we
have witnessed it’s our opinion that Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCEVs) could become a
major part of a ‘portfolio of powertrains’ – internal combustion/hybrid/Fuel
Cell/Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVS) – powering cars of the future.
The only obstacles to rapid uptake of FCEVs are two things; (1) The initial coast of the vehicle, and (2) Hydrogen Gas
Refueling infrastructure. Both of these dragons are about to be decisively
slain.
Four vehicle manufacturers are currently
making FCEVs in commercial production:
Hyundai, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Honda
Hyundai iX-35 FCEV |
Toyota FCEV |
Mercedes-Benz 'B Class' F-Cell |
Honda Clarity FCEV |
These companies all have cars on the road,
and both Hyundai and Toyota have announced availability of their FCEVs for
consumers in 2015.
Toyota Fuel Cell |
Honda will launch its ‘Clarity’ FCEV in 2016, and Mercedes-Benz
says its cars will be ready by 2017.
Now, what about refueling stations?
Germany proposes to have 1000 hydrogen
refueling stations throughout the country within the next five years.
The State of California is leading the way
in the USA with a plan to build more than 100 refueling stations across the
state in the next few years.
Once commercial vehicle production begins,
and consumer acceptance grows, then the price of the cars will reduce rapidly.
Then the only other hurdle to overcome is
the production of hydrogen gas by renewable technology. Hyundai suggests two
low-emission pathways – biogas, made from methane captured from sewerage
plants; and electrolysis from solar electricity.
Hyundai Australia is banking on solar power
to provide the electricity required to make hydrogen, and has even proposed a
‘Hume by Hydrogen’ concept, where hydrogen refueling stations would be
constructed along the Hume Highway to allow FCEVs to travel easily from
Melbourne to Sydney – leaving just ‘water vapor’ in their wake.
Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell |
Mercedes-Benz engineers say it’s also possible
to create hydrogen using algae. This could mean that fuel to make hydrogen
could be taken from, or even grown in, rivers and lakes where there's potential to
create normal algae growth.
So, the only remaining challenge is to make
the electricity to create hydrogen gas by a ‘totally green’ method, such as
renewable energy (solar/wind/wave) or from plant algae, or methane from
sewerage. For instance, providing the electricity from a grid of coal-fired
power stations is a no-no – as there is no benefit to the environment.
The age of commercialized FCEVs is coming
closer, quickly.
To prove its point about the practicality
and drivability of FCEVs, Mercedes-Benz drove a fleet of three ‘B’ Class FCEVs
around the world in 2011.
The cars were
accompanied by support vehicles which were able to provide hydrogen gas for
refueling in places where there were simply no supplies.
However, the program was completed on time,
and was able to prove to the world’s politicians and environmental groups that FCEVs were feasible and
could be cost-effective.
It’s sad to note that the only country
which did not send any politicians or public servants to view the Mercedes-Benz
project and experience the cars, was Australia. Shame!
Dr. Andreas Truckenbrodt |
The former head of the American Fuel Cell
Corporation (AFCC), a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Ford Motor
Company (now joined by Nissan) is Dr. Andreas Truckenbrodt, he also accompanied
the Mercedes-Benz project ‘World Drive.
He has said that Fuel Cell technology is
not only achievable, feasible and easy to put into production, but that once an
infrastructure building program for refueling stations is undertaken, then the
last obstacle to wider acceptance has been overcome.
When the Mercedes-Benz ‘World Drive’
reached Sydney I took a test drive with Dr.
Truckenbrodt, and this revealed the cars had excellent performance to keep pace with Sydney's traffic.
Although the technology relating to fuel
cells is by no means new science, adapting it to ‘drive’ vehicles is only
recent. Mercedes-Benz has been working on Fuel Cell technology since 1994, when
it produced the first FCEV. Later came buses powered by the technology, including a fleet of Fuel Cell buses operating in Perth, Western
Australia since 2004.
Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell Bus - Perth, Western Australia |
Hyundai iX-35 Fuel Cell Monitor |
As we know pure BEVs suffer from short driving range, and long
re-charging times (up to 8-10 hours) – whereas a FCEV has a range of up to
600km, and can be refueled in similar time to a current petrol/diesel car.
With a FCEV personal mobility is
maintained, emissions consist of only water vapor, and the production of
hydrogen gas from renewable energy lowers the carbon footprint related to using
hydrogen gas.
It truly is a win-win all round. The only
thing to do is put pressure on politicians around the world to embrace the
technology. Especially in Australia!
No comments:
Post a Comment