As for the power source of electric vehicles, which is more suitable, the lithium ion battery or the fuel cell?

New energy vehicles are developed in the domestic industry in recent years. In January, 2009 the ministry of science and technology, ministry of finance, development and reform commission, ministry of jointly launched the "Ten City Thousands of Energy Conservation and New Energy Car Application Demonstration Project", which is marked that the new energy automotive industry formally rise for the national strategy. In 2012, the state council issued the "Energy Saving and New Energy Vehicles Industry Development Planning (2012-2020)". The planning of fuel-efficient cars, new energy vehicles are defined, which also determines the implementation path and goals. The planning made clear that the development of new energy vehicles in China will focus on lithium ion batteries pure electric vehicles (LIB - EV).

In recent years, lithium ion battery electric cars in our country has become the mainstream of new energy vehicles, the pure electric vehicles in our country power battery is a passenger car with ternary power battery and commercial vehicles mainly adopted lithium iron phosphate power battery basic pattern. As a leader in the global electric car research and development and industrialization of Japan, on electric vehicle technology route is not consistent with our country. In December 2014, the world's largest car company Toyota (Toyota) officially launched the world's first production Mirai type fuel cell electric vehicle, the car is priced at 7.236 million yen in Japan (equivalent to 383000 yuan, subsidies sells for 275000 yuan).Followed, Honda (Honda) in the second half of 2015 also released its new generation of fuel cell car FCVClarity. In fact as early as May 02014, the Japanese ministry of economy was released the hydrogen fuel cell car popularity promotion strategy, which made the domestic hydrogen fuel cell car industry standards.

Later, the Japanese government in the implementation of hydrogen social policy recommendations "proposal, put forward the concrete the hydrogen fuel cell car popularity of the target and policy support. In addition, Nissan (Nissan), South Korea's Hyundai motor (Hyundai), American general motors (GM), German BMW (BMW), mercedes-benz (Diemer - Benz) Volkswagen (VW) are all in the past two years have released their own planning and industrialization of fuel cell electric vehicle prototype.

We can see that China and Japan (in fact, also including South Korea and the European and American mainstream car companies) in the pure electric vehicles to choose the direction of the development of the different technical route. Two fields (Toyota and Honda) the news of the fuel cell electric vehicle production in domestic electric car triggered a heated discussion and formed two kinds of views, a kind of view is that the Japanese car is walking on the pure electric vehicle fuel cell line error (error theory of line), example is the current international hot American Tesla all-electric cars. While another view is that the development of fuel cell car is more to their arms industry services, development direction and mislead the Chinese electric vehicle (conspiracy theories).

These different views put down, the face of Toyota and Honda fuel cell car small batch of commercial production reality, we present the first need to think seriously about why China and Japan is selected in the development of pure electric vehicles of different technical route? Or lithium ion batteries and fuel cells exactly what kind of power system is more suitable all-electric cars? Whether lithium ion battery (Li - ion battery, LIB) or proton exchange membrane fuel cell (Proton exchange membrane fuel cell, PEMFC), is a very professional advanced high-tech areas, involving multidisciplinary integrated.

Analysis of the two kinds of power system before, we must first know LIB and the essential characteristics of PEMFC, so as to understand these two kinds of chemical power source their application fields. Fundamentally speaking, secondary battery is an energy storage device, through the reversible electric energy storage and release of electrochemical reactions. Measure the secondary battery of the basic ability to store electrical energy is the energy density (Wh/Kg and Wh/L).

The fuel cell is a kind of electric energy production device, it through catalytic reaction was released converts the chemical energy in fuels into electrical energy. Although the fuel cell is also called "cell" (translation), but its basic working mode and internal combustion engine some similar, with conventional secondary battery has a difference in nature. The basic indicators of fuel cell power production capacity is the power density (W/Kg and W/L).

These two works on the nature of different electrochemical power supply system, will directly determine their different positioning on the application layer.

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