Hydrogen fuel cells may become the new darling of China's new energy vehicles

Compared with the current mainstream pure electric vehicles, the advantages of renewable, zero pollution and low temperature resistance of hydrogen energy vehicles are more conducive to solving the problem of energy crisis and environmental pollution. Therefore, there are views that pure electric vehicles are only a transition, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are the cleanest energy solutions for mankind. However, why are hydrogen cars, which have many advantages, not widely used? Is the technology stuck? Or is the external environment not ripe yet?

Hydrogen energy has taken substantial steps in the industrial layout

Recently, the foundation stone laying ceremony of Toyota fuel cell research and development and production Project (Phase I) was held in Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone. The main body of this project is composed of United Fuel Cell System Research and Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. and Huafeng Fuel Cell Co., LTD., which will build fuel cell system production line, inspection line and research and development center, produce fuel cell system products, and carry out related research and development work of fuel cell system.

It is worth noting that this is the first time that Toyota has established a research and development and production company in the field of hydrogen fuel overseas. Why did Toyota choose to land the project at this time? Qiu Bin, associate researcher of the Department of Automotive Engineering at Tsinghua University, said: "Toyota's new energy vehicle technology route is different from other car companies, on the road to electric development, Toyota chose to focus on hydrogen fuel cells, but the development process is not smooth." At present, China is actively promoting hydrogen energy, and this "Dongfeng" is conducive to the promotion of Toyota's hydrogen energy vehicles and the construction of hydrogen energy industry chain related infrastructure."

In December 2021, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other five departments issued the "Notice on Starting a new batch of fuel cell vehicle demonstration application work" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), "Notice" proposed to speed up the formation of fuel cell vehicle development can be copied and promoted advanced experience.

On March 23, 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the "Medium and Long-Term Plan for the Development of Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). The plan defines the energy attributes of hydrogen and positions it as an important part of the future national energy system.

Does this mean that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are about to start large-scale promotion in the field of passenger cars? "As the route of passenger cars is uncertain, fixed-line commercial vehicles are more suitable for hydrogen vehicles." In Qiu Bin's view, the characteristics of hydrogen vehicles such as long driving range, short hydrogenation time, and low temperature resistance are more suitable for logistics vehicles and buses.

In addition, the high cost of hydrogen refueling stations also restricts the development of hydrogen vehicles to the C end (passenger cars). According to the "China Hydrogen Energy Industry Development Report (2020)", excluding the cost of land, the cost of building a charging station of the same scale is less than 1/10 of the hydrogen station. According to the data released by the National Energy Administration, as of June 2022, the number of hydrogen refueling stations in China is 270.

In order to speed up the construction of hydrogen energy infrastructure, local governments have also provided real money subsidies to related enterprises. Taking Beijing as an example, hydrogenation stations built within the administrative area of Beijing (including renovation and expansion) will be given a quota construction subsidy of 5 million yuan and 2 million yuan in accordance with the 12-hour rated working capacity of the compressor of not less than 1000 kg and 500 kg, respectively.

Security risks cause users to worry

"Hydrogen is the smallest molecule in the periodic table, which means it's the most leaky and long-term storage is a problem. In addition, hydrogen spreads in the open space, basically does not explode, but is afraid in the closed space, taking Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou as an example, about 90% of the cars in first-tier cities are parked in underground garages, if a car leaks, it will produce a huge danger." Liu Ke, a professor at Southern University of Science and Technology.

In the early stage of the development of new energy vehicles, electric vehicles were frequently exposed to spontaneous combustion incidents, which also made consumers question the safety of electric vehicles. Therefore, whether it is powered by lithium batteries or hydrogen fuel, the user's personal safety must always be placed in the first place.

Qiu Bin believes that the current technology can solve the flammable and explosive safety hazards of hydrogen energy, and at the same time, the state has introduced relevant management norms and confirmed the responsible body, which can effectively avoid the occurrence of accidents. Regarding the safety of hydrogen vehicles, Wu Yanbing, Director of the Public Relations Department of Hyundai Motor Group (China), said, Hydrogen explodes only under certain conditions. When the concentration of hydrogen in the air is less than 4.0 percent or more than 75 percent, it will not explode even if it encounters an ignition source. The concentration of hydrogen in the air is very low, and the density is small, and it is extremely easy to escape, and explosion is not easy to happen.

Wu added: "The conditions for hydrogen storage are very strict and demanding. The mainstream approach is to use carbon fiber storage tanks that can withstand pressures of up to 700bar."

In addition to safety risks and imperfect infrastructure, the key to restricting the development of hydrogen vehicles is that hydrogen production costs are higher than electricity. Some experts believe that Hyundai, Toyota as the representative of the hydrogen energy technology route of the car companies, its research and development has been basically mature, the main reason for limiting its development is the high cost and imperfect infrastructure construction, but these two problems are closely linked to the scale, interaction.

Wu Yanbing also gave a similar answer, if the cost of hydrogen fuel cell system can not be reduced, it is difficult to realize the commercialization of hydrogen passenger cars.