Toyota, Hyundai and Honda have unveiled plans to debut hydrogen fuel
cell cars for 2015 at a time when plug-in cars are gaining a degree of
acceptance.While the Japanese automakers may be better known in the U.S.
for the hybrid technology that pairs a gas engine with an electric
motor, all three think hydrogen fuel cells will be the fuel of the
future.Fuel cells combine the best of electric and gasoline cars without
the downsides, the automakers say. They drive like electric
cars—quietly, with tons of off-the-line power—but can be refueled just
like gasoline-powered cars, writes Jerry Hirsch for the L.A.
Times.Fuel-cell cars use a stack of cells that combine hydrogen with
oxygen in the air to generate electricity, which powers the motor that
propels the car. The only emission is water vapor and, with a 300-mile
range can run 3 or 4 times longer than the most capable electrics, aside
from Tesla’s all-electric Model S, which has a range of 265 miles. The
Nissan Leaf has a 75-mile range. Hyundai plans to produce 1,000 of the
FCEV Tuscon crossover by 2015. GM launched a fleet of hydrogen-powered
Chevy Equinox in 2007. The 119 vehicles have since amassed over 3
million miles. Toyota’s FCV, which Jerry Hirsch said looks like a
futuristic Prius, will debut in 2015.The Honda FCEV, or fuel cell
electric vehicle, will seat 5 and have a range greater than 300 miles.
Honda developed a fuel cell concept in 2006 that became available on a
lease-limited basis in 2008 as the Honda FCX Clarity, a four-seat sedan.
About 200 are for lease for $600 a month in southern California, where
there are hydrogen refueling stations.
Infrastructure, as much
as cost, remain a barrier. The same was and still is true in many places
for the nascent but growing electric vehicle industry, which started in
late 2010 with the near simultaneous release of the all-electric Nissan
Leaf and the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt.Automakers such as Honda, Toyota
and Hyundai believe fuel-cell vehicles are the most expedient path to
meeting stringent zero-emission vehicle mandates set by California and 9
other states. Led by California and its zero-emission vehicle (ZEV)
mandate of having 15 percent of new cars sold be emission free by 2025,
the ten-state coalition aims to have 3.3 million ZEVs on the road by
2025.Thus far, the coalition and similar public-private partnerships
have supported electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The West Coast
Green Highway, for instance, is an electric-charging equipped roadway
from Baja, California to British Columbia, Canada.Will the businesses,
individuals, and municipalities that have invested millions (if not
more) to develop that network have the same energy and resources to
build a similar and competing infrastructure?California has approved
more than $200 million in funding to build about 20 new stations by
2015, a total of 40 by 2016, and as many as 100 by 2024, according to
Hirsch.Lanyard StrapSome
hydrogen stations in southern California are located beside gas pumps,
and take slightly longer than a gas pump fill. The best fast-charging
equipment for electric cars takes 20-40 minutes and requires a distinct
and separate network than hydrogen stations, which can be installed at
existing gas station infrastructure, albeit with major modifications.
The
German automakers think plug-ins have the advantage. BMW as well as
Volkswagen and its Audi brand, are introducing electric vehicles
globally, especially in China, the world’s largest auto market. One big
advantage of plug-in cars is you can charge them at home. Volkswagen of
America Chief Executive Jonathan Browning said you can find a socket
much easier than a hydrogen fueling station, according to
Hirsch.Mercedes-Benz, however, has invested in hydrogen fuel cells. The
B-Class F-Cell small car has a 190-mile range, not enough to get it
between L.A. and San Francisco, the two cities it’s offered in. Just
like electric vehicles can put energy back onto the grid during peak
times, fuel-cell vehicles like Toyota’s FCV can supply enough energy to
power a house for a week. That seems like a far-off benefit.Though
Nissan is at the vanguard of electric vehicles, it is planning a
fuel-cell vehicle for Japan and North America in 2017.Despite GM’s
trials with fuel-cell technology, they seem more committed to the
electrification of vehicles, with the Chevy Volt, Cadillac ELR and the
Chevy Spark. There’s even speculation that GM may bid on Tesla. GM may
be hesitant to be the first one there with fuel cells. In 1996,amino resin it
debuted the EV1 electric car,A sanitary napkin, sanitary towel,
sanitary pad, menstrual pad, maxi pad, or pad is an absorbent item worn
by a woman while she is menstruating.Period Cup and
had to shut down the lease-only program because of high costs and lack
of support, which appears widespread today.With three plug-in cars
available nationwide, Ford appears committed to the electrification of
vehicles as well.Partnerships may help reduce the costs, as it has for
electric vehicle infrastructure.Honda and General Motors Co in July said
they would jointly develop hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle systems over the
next seve years in an effort to cut the cost of the new technology,
according to Nichola Groom for Reuters.Automakers won’t be the only ones
sensitive to cost. Toyota estimates the FCV to cost anywhere between
$50,000 to $100,000. With the cost of electrics dropping along with the
cost of lithium-ion batteries, fuel-cells have a long road ahead to
convince car buyers that the extended range is worth the distended price
tag.
No comments:
Post a Comment