Hydrogen energy and heavy trucks are the "real CP"

Editor? /? Qian yaguang

Design? /? Du? triumphant

Source? /? Wall? Street? Diary? Author: Mike? Corrias? Bob. Tita

GM, Toyota and Hyundai have spent decades researching and developing hydrogen fuel cell technology in small cars as a green substitute for automobile fuel, but with little effect. Today, they are shifting the technical focus of hydrogen fuel cells to the truck industry.

This technology mixes hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, providing power for vehicles, and only emits water vapor. Car companies say that this technology has special advantages for commercial trucks that need to refuel quickly for long distances. People are constantly exploring how to find alternative fuels for large trucks, and hydrogen fuel cell technology just meets this demand.

Hyundai Motor is one of the companies that study fuel cell-driven trucks.

The increasingly stringent emission regulations in Europe and America are prompting automakers to consider replacing diesel trucks to reduce pollution risks. For example, a new law in California will require commercial truck dealers to add some zero-emission models by 2024.

"Obviously, hydrogen fuel cell trucks are necessary," said Andrew Lund, chief engineer of Toyota North America R&D Center, who is responsible for developing hydrogen fuel cell technology for heavy trucks. Lund) said, "They provide solutions that other technologies can't meet for a long time."

Lithium batteries are no longer practical when they meet heavy trucks.

Truck manufacturers have been looking for lithium battery power supply technology, which can fully charge small trucks and buses in just a few hours at night. However, hydrogen energy advocates say that lithium batteries are not so practical for large trucks that transport cargo trailers over long distances, and these vehicles often travel all night. The lithium-ion batteries that power these behemoths usually weigh 25,000 pounds (1 1.3 tons), which reduces their efficiency.

Automakers such as Toyota and General Motors began testing hydrogen fuel cells decades ago. General motors once imagined that fuel cells were the main technology for consumers to turn to zero-emission vehicles. However, the high cost of vehicles and the demand for hydrogen refueling stations have become two major obstacles.

Honda Clarity hydrogen fuel car

At present, only three fuel cell vehicles produced by traditional American car companies are on sale, which are from Toyota, Hyundai and Honda. Last year, the sales of these three cars totaled about 2,000 vehicles, which was lower than the average daily sales of Ford F- 150.

Fuel cells extract hydrogen from the gas storage tank on the truck and convert it into electric energy, so there is no need to rely on bulky lithium-ion batteries to store electricity. With available hydrogen fuel, trucks can now drive on the road like diesel fuel for several days.

This new demand for truck transportation is reviving the confidence of automobile manufacturers to further develop hydrogen fuel cells. This has also attracted some start-ups, such as Nikola and Hyliion Holdings in Phoenix.

American trucking company? Xpress？ Enterprises has ordered hydrogen fuel trucks from companies such as Nikolai, and will start production at the end of 2020. "The sooner the product is launched, the better." Eric fuller, CEO of transportation company (Eric? Fuller) said, "We really believe that this product will have a huge competitive advantage once it is listed."

In September, General Motors reached a temporary agreement to provide hydrogen fuel cells to Nikolai Company and use them on Nikolai's heavy trucks. If the transaction is completed, it will be the first time that GM has made money from fuel cell technology since it began to develop it in the 1960s.

However, further transactions between GM and Nikolai were delayed because short sellers accused Nikolai of misleading investors, although Nikolai tried to deny the accusation. People familiar with the matter said that GM and Nikolai will continue to discuss the terms.

Recently, Daimler has also shifted the focus of fuel cells from passenger cars to truck products, including Folena and Westerstar brands in North America. In April 2020, the company cooperated with Swedish truck manufacturer Volvo Group to develop fuel cells for trucks and industrial applications.

Toyota and Hyundai are also working in this direction. Toyota 10 10 said in October that it is working with its subsidiary Hino Truck (Hino? Trucks) cooperated to develop a fuel cell truck, aiming at the North American truck market.

Hyundai Motor hopes to use this technology to help it enter the commercial truck market in North America. At present, the company does not sell any heavy truck models in North America. It plans to deliver 50 new fuel cell trucks this year, and will achieve the goal of selling 65,438+02,000 hydrogen-powered heavy trucks within ten years.

"The bigger and heavier the truck is, the fuel cell seems to be a better solution." yuval, director of product strategy of Hyundai Motor? Steadman said.

Or should we solve the problems of cost and hydrogen source?

There are still great obstacles to its wide application. The first is the supply of hydrogen. According to the Hydrogen commission (hydrogen? In the report of June+10, 5438, the Council pointed out that it would cost about $30 billion to develop the network of hydrogen refueling stations and the infrastructure for transporting hydrogen fuel around the world. The Committee is an alliance of companies that advocate investing in hydrogen-related projects. According to the organization, another $20 billion is needed to develop renewable hydrogen resources. The initial sales volume of hydrogen fuel cell trucks will be relatively low, and its cost will be higher than that of diesel trucks widely used at present.

The performance and durability of hydrogen-powered trucks in high mileage service have not been accurately verified. Generally, diesel trucks can serve for about 14 years, and the mileage has accumulated to 10000 miles (16 10000 kilometers) after passing the owners several times. This service ability is the most important point for truck companies to resell large trucks.

Amy Davis (Amy? Davis) said that in order to establish hydrogen as a feasible alternative energy source, trucking companies and their customers may have to accept higher freight costs. "Fuel cells will become a very important factor towards a zero-emission world." She said, "However, in the final analysis, these electric technologies are just more expensive."

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.