Hydrogen fuel cells and lithium batteries, which will become the future of the car's hot spot?

Now, we all assume that the future that can replace traditional internal combustion engines is definitely pure electric vehicles. As things stand now, pure electric vehicles have been commercialized. And with the support of governments around the world, the sales of pure electric vehicles are gradually increasing, and related charging stations and other infrastructure are also steadily advancing. Coupled with the fact that many countries, especially in Europe, have already set a timetable for banning the sale of fuel vehicles, it seems that only pure electric vehicles are the future trend of automobiles.

But many people do not know that there is an alternative to new energy sources, the hydrogen fuel cell(FCV), but so far, its existence is extremely low. At present, only a few countries and car manufacturers represented by Japan, Europe, and South Korea have invested R&D funds in hydrogen fuel cell(FCV) vehicles.

So, if pure electric vehicles are the future trend of automotive power, why are manufacturers still developing hydrogen fuel cells? What are the advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen fuel cells(FCVs) compared to the current popularity of lithium battery vehicles? What typical hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are on the market?

Advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen fuel cells compared to lithium batteries

With regard to hydrogen fuel cells, the interpretation in Baidu Encyclopedia is complex. If you're not a professional, you don't understand. So just a quick summary. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have the following advantages:

1. Hydrogenation is like refueling. It usually takes only 3 to 5 minutes. Charging electric cars is a slow process. Even if Tesla introduced a Super charging station, it usually takes more than an hour.

2. Hydrogen fuel cells are mainly composed of hydrogen. We know that the chemical formula of water is hydrogen dioxygen. Hydrogen fuel cells will not cause pollution to the environment after the end of their service life. Lithium-ion batteries contain a lot of heavy metals. If they are not recovered properly, they will cause greater pollution to the environment.

3. Hydrogen fuel cells have high energy storage density, light weight, and long range. It usually exceeds 500 kilometers, while pure electric vehicles are based on the size of the battery capacity. At present, most pure electric vehicles have a range of about 300 kilometers, and a few models can reach 400-500 kilometers.

The disadvantage of hydrogen fuel cells is also straightforward, that is, high costs. Both the cost of charging and the cost of catalysts for batteries are high, which is why hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have not been commercialized rapidly.

Current status of Toyota hydrogen fuel cell vehicles

The car that can currently represent Japan's highest hydrogen fuel cell technology is Toyota Mirai, which means "future" in Japanese. Toyota, which has achieved certain results in hybrid cars, also hopes that the new energy sector will make achievements. While other manufacturers bet on pure electric vehicles, Toyota focused on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Hydrogen fuel cells and lithium batteries, who is the future of the car master?

Toyota Mirai has two 70MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks equipped with an electric motor with a power of 154 HP(90 kW) and a maximum torque of 335 Newt meters, with a maximum range of 483 kilometers.

Toyota, a leading company in hydrogen fuel cell automotive technology, has unveiled its own more than 5,000 proprietary technologies related to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. And welcome other manufacturers to join forces to promote hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Toyota has clearly realized that it is clearly not enough if only it develops its own, and that the market for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can only be expanded and strengthened if other major manufacturers participate at the same time.

Current status of hydrogen fuel cells in three major European manufacturers

European manufacturers such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes are also making great efforts to develop hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. I remember that BMW was the first to launch a hydrogen fuel cell concept car based on the BMW 7 series in 2007, the fcv prototype based on the i8 and 5 GT models in 2015, and the launch of the mass production version by 2020.

Audi Motor launched the A7h-tronquatro concept car at the Los Angeles Motor Show in November 2014; Mercedes-Benz, which has already launched a B-series based FCV, said in June that it would launch the new FCV version of the GLC in 2017, with a range of 500 kilometers.

These European luxury brands have always been committed to the latest automotive technology, and hydrogen fuel cell cars are originally expensive to manufacture, and they are also in line with their higher brand positioning. Unlike these European manufacturers, South Korea has a different attitude towards hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Hydrogen fuel cells and lithium batteries, who is the future of the car master?

The development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in South Korea

South Korea is a force to be reckoned with in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The reason is that the Korean government has introduced many encouragement policies. Not only does it provide up to one-third of the maximum car purchase subsidy for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, but it also plans to increase the number of hydrogenation stations in the country from more than 10 to 520 by 2030, and basically achieve full coverage of major cities in South Korea. In addition, LG Chemical, a famous battery manufacturer in South Korea, and Hyundai Automobile, a famous car company, have strong R&D capabilities and international competitiveness in the field of hydrogen fuel cells.

South Korea plans to sell 10,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2020. But by the end of the year, the South Korean market had managed only a quarter of the targets set at the start of the year, with only about 130 vehicles sold.

Not long ago, Hyundai introduced a new generation of hydrogen fuel cell car FCEV, with a single-charge mileage of 580 kilometers and an ideal condition of 800 kilometers. Hyundai is the world's first manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. It has now developed four generations. Compared with the technology used by modern ix35 fuel cell vehicles, the power efficiency has increased by 60 %. At the same time, the power density of fuel cell reactors in new cars increased by 30 %.

In fact, we also have plans for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. China plans to sell 5,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2020, build 100 charging stations, sell 50,000 by 2025, build 300 charging stations, and sell 1 million by 2030. 1,000 charging stations. Today, some city buses already use hydrogen fuel cells. But because China is too big, promotion and infrastructure will take more time.

Summary:

In the competition between hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and lithium battery vehicles, lithium battery pure electric vehicles currently have an advantage. The biggest disadvantage of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is the high manufacturing costs. At present, the price of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles has dropped from more than 100,000 US dollars to 60,000 to 70,000 US dollars; But Tesla and General Motors have dropped the price of high-performance electric cars to $30000, or even lower.

The future of the car is driven by electric motors, but the future of the car is whether it is a plug-in pure electric vehicle or a hydrogen fuel cell car. It is not yet conclusive. Therefore, we see the world's mainstream manufacturers are actively preparing for the era of pure electric vehicles; On the other side, Toyota has also continuously invited everyone to join the team of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and even directly disclosed the core technology of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Therefore, it is not yet possible to reach a conclusion as to who will win or lose in the future.

The page contains the contents of the machine translation.