Falling costs are making fuel-cell vehicles look like a plausible alternative to conventional cars.
Hydrogen-powered vehicles have been out of the spotlight for years, but they’re about to make a surprising comeback. Toyota says it will unveil a hydrogen fuel-cell-powered sedan later this year that will go on sale in 2015; several other automakers, meanwhile, have announced partnerships to commercialize the technology (see “Ford, Daimler, and Nissan Commit to Fuel Cells”), including GM and Honda, which announced such a collaboration this week.
While many challenges remain for hydrogen vehicles, in recent years researchers have made big improvements in the oft-maligned technology, including greatly lowering its cost. As a result, fuel-cell vehicles look poised to play a significant role in meeting ambitious vehicle emissions regulations, particularly in places such as California.
“GM, Toyota, and a couple of other automakers have done a lot of great work. Fuel cells are getting close to being viable, closer than most people might think,” says Brett Smith, co-director for manufacturing, engineering, and technology at the Center for Automotive Research, a nonprofit in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Fuel-cell vehicles were once the darling of the Bush administration—President Bush called for $1.2 billion in funding for the technology in his 2003 State of the Union address. They emit only water vapor and could be as convenient as conventional cars, since they can be refueled in the time it takes to fill a gas tank and have a similar driving range. But fuel-cell vehicles proved extremely expensive, and would require a massive investment in hydrogen filling stations to be practical. There have also been questions about just how environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles actually are: while the cars themselves don’t emit carbon dioxide, hydrogen is produced from natural gas, a fossil fuel, in a process that releases large amounts of carbon dioxide. Hydrogen can also be made using solar and wind power, but that process is inefficient and expensive.
As the challenges with the technology became more apparent, interest waned (see “Hype about Hydrogen”), and Bush started emphasizing biofuels instead. In 2009, the Obama administration cut funding for fuel-cell vehicle R&D. The energy secretary at the time, Steven Chu, said it would take a miracle for fuel-cell vehicles to succeed. (Actually, he said it would take four. See “Q&A: Steven Chu.”)
But miracles do happen. Since 2009, the costs involved with fuel-cell vehicles have fallen. The prototypes that GM and Toyota built a few years ago cost well over $1 million each. Now Toyota says its goal is to sell its fuel-cell sedan for less than $100,000. Costs fell as Toyota found ways to reduce the number of parts in its fuel-cell system and to decrease the amount of costly platinum needed. The company says it’s pushing hard on R&D for manufacturing technology, among other things, to lower costs still more ahead of the 2015 launch.
Chris Hostetter, vice president of strategic planning at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A, says the sedan might go for as little as $50,000, which would make it cheaper than Tesla’s Model S electric vehicle, which has a similar range (other electric vehicles are cheaper, but require frequent recharging). “We may surprise people with the advances we’ve made,” Hostetter says.
“Costs have come down at a pretty steady rate,” says Daniel Sperling, director of the Institute for Transportation Studies at the University of California at Davis and a member of California’s Air Resources Board, which oversees vehicle emissions regulations. “Most people in the auto industry think that, once in large-scale production, cost won’t be a barrier.”
A careful look at the emissions of competing technologies such as electric vehicle and conventional cars shows that fuel-cell cars have significant environmental benefits, even when the hydrogen is made from natural gas. In May, the U.S. Department of Energy released its most recent analysis of the expected total carbon dioxide emissions from fuel-cell vehicles in 2035, including the emissions associated with making hydrogen from natural gas, compressing it, and transporting it. The analysis shows that the cars will emit less than half as much carbon dioxide as conventional gasoline-powered vehicles do now. They would also release less carbon dioxide than electric vehicles when electric vehicles are charged in parts of the U.S. that rely heavily on coal power. However, electric vehicles look better in places like California—which uses little coal—and in a hypothetical future when they’re charged exclusively with sources such as wind and solar power.
Fuel-cell vehicles could also be a boon to renewable energy by helping to address their intermittency. One option being considered in Germany is to use excess wind power generated at night, when demand is low, to electrolyze water, making hydrogen (see “Hydrogen Could Be Key to Germany’s Energy Plans”). Sperling says using hydrogen as a way to store excess renewable energy makes sense. He also notes that there are other promising routes to low-carbon hydrogen production in development, such as engineering plants to produce hydrogen from sunlight directly, although those are in early stages of development.
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- California Welcomes First Big-Rig Hydrogen Fuel Station in U.S.on April 26, 2024 at 9:08 am
The country’s first commercial hydrogen fuel station for big-rig trucks is up and running at the Port of Oakland, a step toward what hydrogen proponents see as a clean new future for long-haul ...
- RICE develops new underwater robot with a buoyancy control system using fuel cellson April 26, 2024 at 4:31 am
Traditional AUVs rely on thrusters or pumps to adjust depth, which consumes considerable energy and generates noise.
- T.N. is looking at investment partnerships for hydrogen and fuel cell researchon April 26, 2024 at 3:10 am
Investment partnerships for hydrogen and fuel cell research in Tamil Nadu drive growth and sustainability in commercial vehicles.
- Honda to set up $11 bln electric vehicle, battery plants in Canadaon April 25, 2024 at 5:53 pm
Honda Motor plans to build an EV production base in Ontario, it said on Thursday, a C$15 billion ($11 billion) investment that will mark the Japanese automaker's largest ever in Canada.
- GILLIG to develop hydrogen fuel cell powered buson April 25, 2024 at 9:05 am
GILLIG is collaborating with BAE Systems and Ballard Power Systems on the development of the hydrogen fuel cell bus.
- This legendary brand cracks the code: here’s the most powerful hydrogen fuel cellon April 25, 2024 at 7:29 am
Legendary brand has created the first lightweight hydrogen fuel cell: the most powerful, but the smallest ever seen in history ...
- What are fuel cell EVs?on April 24, 2024 at 4:00 am
Fuel cell EVs run on hydrogen gas, which mixes with oxygen in a chemical reaction to create electricity. The hydrogen is stored in a tank on board the vehicle.
- Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Market (CAGR) of 56.3%, The Journey Begins Audience Odyssey in Market Identificationon April 23, 2024 at 9:08 pm
Report Ocean has unveiled a cutting-edge research report titled “Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Market” Size, Share, Growth Overview by Rising Demands and Scope for the year 2024 to 2032, delving into ...
- New platinum-based hydrogen fuel cell as cheap to make as conventional car engineon April 21, 2024 at 8:36 am
The addressable global fuel cell market for passenger cars and vans is anticipated to be worth $750-billion (£596-billion) by 2040, and if car manufacturers adopt its IE-DRIVE™ fuel cell ...
- New platinum-based hydrogen fuel cell as cheap to make as conventional car engineon April 18, 2024 at 3:01 pm
The brand-new platinum-catalysed hydrogen fuel cell system that has just been released for passenger cars reveals that fuel cells can be as cheap to manufacture as internal combustion engines (ICEs), ...
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- FirstElement opens world’s first commercial truck stop for hydrogen-fueled vehicleson April 26, 2024 at 1:09 pm
FirstElement Fuel has opened the world’s first large-scale hydrogen fueling station for heavy trucks. Located near the Port of Oakland, the station has ...
- Toyota Indiana invests $1.4 billion in electric vehicle assemblyon April 26, 2024 at 11:56 am
Toyota Indiana is bringing a new battery electric SUV to their Princeton, Indiana assembly lines, along with the construction of a new battery pack assembly plant on their Gibson County campus. The $1 ...
- SEPTA, BART retire long-time transit vehicleson April 26, 2024 at 9:15 am
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- The Right Chemistry: The folly of water-fuelled vehicleson April 26, 2024 at 8:00 am
It seems, though, that the problems for this version of a water-fuelled car were too big to overcome, since we haven’t heard of any developments since 2006. However, we have heard about Abu Hamed. He ...
- T.N. is looking at investment partnerships for hydrogen and fuel cell researchon April 26, 2024 at 3:10 am
Investment partnerships for hydrogen and fuel cell research in Tamil Nadu drive growth and sustainability in commercial vehicles.
- GILLIG to develop hydrogen fuel cell powered buson April 25, 2024 at 9:05 am
GILLIG is collaborating with BAE Systems and Ballard Power Systems on the development of the hydrogen fuel cell bus.
- Honda to Spend $11 Billion on Electric Vehicle Strategy in Canadaon April 25, 2024 at 7:06 am
Honda Motor Co. will spend C$15 billion ($11 billion) to build out its electric-vehicle supply chain in Canada, with billions of dollars of financial aid from government, as the Japanese automaker ...
- Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Market (CAGR) of 56.3%, The Journey Begins Audience Odyssey in Market Identificationon April 23, 2024 at 9:08 pm
Report Ocean has unveiled a cutting-edge research report titled “Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Market” Size, Share, Growth Overview by Rising Demands and Scope for the year 2024 to 2032, delving into ...
- Hydrogen cars set new range recordson April 23, 2024 at 5:10 pm
A t the end of February 2024, the UK ran its second Hydrogen Week. During this week, Hyundai set two new records for the driving range of its fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). While certainly a ...
- With China’s EV sector at top speed, Beijing eyes ‘economical’ hydrogen-power vehicles amid green energy transitionon April 19, 2024 at 2:30 pm
Hydrogen is a carbon-neutral energy source that offers the benefits of rapid refuelling, making it suitable for large commercial vehicles. Pang estimated sales of fuel cell vehicles - which use ...
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