Car fuel cells: the road ahead

(This article is from Energy storage Report published on 2nd October 2013)

Today we’ll be taking a look at an energy storage medium that’s very much in the news

at the moment, with various auto-manufacturers announcing hydrogen-powered

vehicles, fuel cells increasingly being used for off-grid energy supply and back-up, and

innovations in the production of hydrogen. So let’s kick off with cars.

The current star of the electric vehicle (EV) show, at least in terms of media coverage,

is Tesla Motors, a company that uses packs of multiple Panasonic lithium-ion batteries

that would otherwise be destined for laptops. General Motors (GM) has announced it plans

to outsmart and out-compete Elon Musk’s company by offering vehicles with specially

designed energy packs.

Meanwhile, the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt lead the field commercially with more than

80,000 vehicles sold jointly in the US since launching in 2010.

But what if they’ve all got it wrong?

What if the future of electric car motoring is hydrogen fuel cells, not conventional

chemical batteries, despite the fact that this has been the technology of choice for EVs

for over a century, whereas only very limited numbers of fuel cell road vehicles have

been released in the US so far… and these are mainly for testing purposes rather than

retail sales?

Collaboration; but where are the cars?

GM is one of the auto manufacturers hedging its bets, or at least appearing to do so.

One way it and its competitors are dipping a toe in the pond is by collaborating in fuel

cell research. GM, for example, is going into partnership with Honda to build a better cell by

2020. Daimler and Ford have also got together for a fuel cell future with the Automotive

Fuel Cell Cooperation Corp. (AFCC for short).

There are other alliances, too, some with state backing. As for the cars themselves, only

the Nissan Clarity and Mercedes F Cell are currently for sale in the US, with the Hyundai

iX35 scheduled for production in 2015. But there are other niches for fuel cell vehicles to

fill. Lifting vehicles such as forklift trucks have been used commercially, although these

also rely on internal combustion engines.

Where fuel cells win

Despite their current scarcity, there are several reasons why battery EVs might one day

be trumped by fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). These include speed of refuelling and range,

which are significant barriers to the mass adoption of EVs. Like a conventional petrol-

powered vehicle, FCVs take minutes, not hours, to recharge.

In addition, fuel cell vehicles are set to suffer less from ‘range anxiety’, with the Honda

FCX Clarity, for example, clocking up 240 miles between refuel stops. Long-distance travel

depends on a widespread refueling network, however… but we’ll deal with that later. In

fact, if fuel cells are to beat batteries on the road, it may not initially be through powering

a sedan or a station wagon.

Another technical advantage of fuel cells over the current crop of batteries is their ability

to power larger, higher power vehicles such as buses. And some of these vehicles are

being trialled in China, Brazil and Canada. Numbers remain low, however.

Obstacles on the road

So what is keeping FCVs back? Initial thought would be the lack of a hydrogen

infrastructure; why would car companies and their customers invest in cars with few and

far refueling points? To address the issue of hydrogen infrastructure, GM has claimed

that in the US, at least, 70% of the population lives within a few miles of a commercial

hydrogen source.

Another aspect may be fear of flammability: people are rightly, or otherwise, cautious

of the gas that fuelled the Hindenburg and the R101, so safety considerations are bound to

add to the cost. According to a recent Navigant report, it’s capital costs that will be the real

barrier to adoption. The analysis predicts a measly 1,000 vehicles sold in 2015, but with

sales taking off somewhat to 2m units a year from 2030.

That’s a global figure, though, and still only a tiny percentage of total car sales. So if the

future for the mobile fuel cell economy looks uncertain, what about the other uses of the

technology? And who are the major players in the industry? We return presently with

answers to these questions… and a lot more. See you then!