Popular fuel cell costs are too high

Hydrogen-powered vehicles may have higher emissions than fuel vehicles. Fuel cells have to be popular. Costs are too high. Cleaning cars is an upstart in the industry. With the advent of various new energy vehicles, a new era of automobiles seems to be just around the corner. In fact, some so-called "zero-emission cars" may be more "dirty" than traditional cars.

Hydrogen Power: More pollution than a vintage car Where there is an automotive engineer, where will hear the sound: Hydrogen is the future of automotive fuel.

In the automotive world, hydrogen-powered cars have been fired for decades, but they have been thundery and rainy. However, judging from statements made by auto companies such as Honda, Hyundai and Toyota at the Auto Show in Los Angeles and Tokyo recently, from the spring of 2014, hydrogen-powered cars will be on stage at major auto shows. This seems to indicate that the era of hydrogen-powered cars is coming.

As a transportation fuel, hydrogen does not contain carbon as does all hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline, diesel, kerosene, natural gas, etc. Therefore, it does not generate greenhouse gases containing carbon as a main component during combustion, at least in engines.

However, as long as the oxidant is air instead of pure hydrogen, the combustion of hydrogen generates various harmful nitrogen oxides just like burning of fossil fuels. They even destroy air quality more than carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Because of this, the industry has always been less enthusiastic about the idea of ​​reforming internal combustion engines and using hydrogen as a fuel, even though such power transformation is cheaper than using other clean energy sources.

German BMW Motors had produced several hydrogen-powered super-powered cars and it turned out that they were no cleaner than the old cars before catalytic converters.

Fuel cells: Costs need to be reduced, and the industry is turning to fuel cells.

The fuel cell can extract chemical energy from hydrogen without burning, the principle of which is similar to the reverse effect of electrolysis: two kinds of gas are synthesized by electrochemistry and produce electricity. In this process, the fuel cell releases water vapor and heat. At present, the simplest fuel cell is the "proton exchange membrane", which is abbreviated as "PEM" in English.

Essentially, a fuel cell powered vehicle is an electric vehicle that is equipped with a hydrogen-charged fuel tank, has no bulky battery, and is three to four times more powerful than an internal combustion engine. It solves two major problems that have long plagued battery-powered vehicles: limited range and long charging times.

The latest figures show that a box of hydrogen can be used to fuel a 480-kilometer fuel cell vehicle, and it takes only five minutes to fill a box of hydrogen. Like battery-powered cars, it is classified as a "zero-emission vehicle."

Another attraction of fuel cells is the continuous reduction in costs. In 2007, Honda launched Clarity, a fuel cell powered vehicle, at a cost of $3,500 per kilowatt. No wonder then only 200 prototypes were produced. However, manufacturers continue to improve technology, and now have reduced the cost to 1,500 US dollars per kilowatt; if the volume production, it is expected to be reduced to less than 50 US dollars per kilowatt, comparable with the consumption of ordinary internal combustion engines.

Another bottleneck that hinders the development of fuel cells is the catalyst. The electrolyte in PEM uses platinum-palladium as a catalyst and is expensive. If we can find cheap alternatives, it will undoubtedly help the large-scale promotion of fuel cells. The relevant research is expected to achieve breakthrough progress by 2020.

Zero Emissions: Relying on Renewable Energy However, the above description does not suffice to prove that the temptation of fuel cell power is coming.

First, the supply of hydrogen fuel is a problem. At present, there are about 100 hydrogen charging stations in the United States, of which only a dozen are open to the public. The rest are all owned by the industry, the military, government agencies, and research institutions and are for internal use only.

The Californian government has approved plans to spend more than $20 million to build more than 100 hydrogen-filled stations for the public in the next 10 years. In the United States, if you want to make hydrogen filling stations as dense as petrol stations, the cost will reach 500 billion US dollars.

Another problem is that the hydrogen extraction process will generate a lot of carbon dioxide. At present, hydrogen is extracted mainly through natural gas and water vapor. This process is not particularly environmentally friendly. A Colorado federal agency produces 11.9 kilograms of carbon dioxide for every kilogram of hydrogen produced.

To truly achieve "zero emissions," hydrogen must be obtained using expensive electrolytes for water treatment instead of using natural gas for steam conversion.

The electricity used to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen also ensures that no greenhouse gases are produced during the production process. The only way to meet this requirement is to strictly rely on renewable energy such as wind, solar and nuclear power. Unfortunately, renewable energy is not currently available.

Due to the lack of clean electricity, electric cars and hydrogen-powered cars may eventually become a more serious source of pollution than gasoline and diesel-powered cars. Automakers hope that policymakers will recognize this and do not blindly promote so-called "zero-emission vehicles." Tang Hao related links from the Los Angeles Auto Show to see the future of automotive technology "2013 Los Angeles Auto Show" on November 22 in Los Angeles to the public. From this year's Auto Show in Los Angeles, we can see that the development of automotive technology as a way of life, while pursuing higher driving safety, and providing solutions for future traffic, environmental pollution, etc., will become the future direction of automotive technology.

Spokesman Brendan Flynn said that the interconnectedness is an important trend in the automotive industry in the future, and it is also a major theme of this auto show.

Audi stated that the Audi A3 launched will become the most connected car in the world, and A3 will fully integrate with 4G LTE technology. The car's connected service system can provide Twitter and Facebook site voice prompts, connect thousands of Internet radio stations around the world, provide a variety of personalized information services, multi-person wireless high-speed network services.

In order to enhance driving safety, many car manufacturers have introduced new cars equipped with related technologies. Ford’s EdgeConcept concept car, which was introduced at this exhibition, has a fully automated parking assistance system. With this technology, motorists will be able to achieve automatic parking with a button or remote control. In addition, the car also has a number of driver assistance systems.

The pursuit of green environmental protection is also a major feature of the Los Angeles Auto Show this year. "Green Car Magazine" announced this year that the 2014 Honda Accord was elected "2014 Green Car".