“Hydrogen” goes straight up The new energy vehicle industry may usher in the “hydrogen” era

Recently, there have been a lot of discussions about hydrogen energy. The 2019 United Nations Development Programme Hydrogen Industry Conference, the Hydrogen Age-2019 Hydrogen Energy Utilization and New Energy Vehicle The Industry Technology Development Summit Forum, the Fourth International Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Vehicle Conference, and even Shanxi have all pledged to shift their role from “coal capital” to “hydrogen capital”...

It is not difficult to see through these hot spots that the application of hydrogen energy will usher in an explosive period in the next few years, and the automotive industry will undoubtedly be the "main battlefield".

Auto companies are deploying hydrogen energy; Toyota leads the “future.”

As we all know, the government work report of this year's "two sessions" has added the expression "promoting the construction of facilities such as charging and hydrogenation." This is also the first time that hydrogen energy has been written into the government work report. Hydrogen vehicles have become the focus of the market.

In fact, the popularity of hydrogen energy vehicles is not accidental. It may be more appropriate to describe it as “not living up to its name.”

In August 2008, Foton Ouhui hydrogen fuel cell Buses served the Beijing Olympic Games; in October 2010, Yutong demonstrated the first generation of fuel cell buses at the Hanover International Commercial Vehicle Show in Germany; in April 2014, Shanghai Roewe exhibited 950 hydrogen fuel cells. In June of the same year, Dongfeng established a hydrogen energy vehicle modification and R&D production demonstration base in Panxian. In November 2017, Great Wall Motors announced the establishment of an internal R&D team for key technologies for electric vehicles and fuel cells. In May 2019, Geely released the F12 hydrogen fuel cell bus in Beijing; in August 2019, Changan Automobile launched the CS75 fuel cell version at the Expo.

In the journey of deploying hydrogen energy, several global auto giants have never been absent.

FAW-Volkswagen Audi unveiled a hydrogen fuel cell concept car, the h-tron quattro, in 2016. The chairman also stated that Audi will place greater emphasis on hydrogen fuel cells in the future and allocate more resources—including funding, personnel, and confidence—to this area. BMW has also announced that it will cooperate with Toyota in the field of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and plans to launch the BMW X5 hydrogen fuel cell model in the future, with mass production in 2025. During CES Asia 2019, Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL was officially unveiled in China. As Mercedes-Benz's first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, its maximum cruising range reached 437 kilometers.

Of course, the companies that produce hydrogen-fueled cars are far more than that. We don't need to list them one by one, but one car company has to say that it is Toyota.

At the 2nd China International Import Expo, which opened on November 5, Toyota's booth centered on FC fuel cell technology and brought Mirai and Mirai Concept models, as well as fuel cell stacks and high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks mounted on Mirai. Developed FC truck, FC trailer, FC forklift. In addition, Toyota also introduced relevant empirical experiments in various aspects from the production, transportation, storage, and use of hydrogen, and demonstrated the important experience and achievements of Toyota in the development of the hydrogen energy industry chain.

In fact, as early as 1992, Toyota had already invested in the research and development of hydrogen energy. In 1996, Toyota launched the first fuel cell concept car, FCHV-1. In December 2014, Toyota Mirai was officially launched in Japan, and the commercialization of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles was achieved. Compared to lithium batteries, which can charge for up to several hours, hydrogen fuel only needs to fill the hydrogen storage tank in the car, which will not take more than 5 minutes. In addition, official reports indicate that the fully-charged Toyota Mirai has a battery range of over 500 km, which has greatly alleviated people's concerns about the range of electric vehicles.

At the just-concluded Japanese auto show, Toyota released the Mirai Concept, the final model of the second-generation "Mirai", which will be launched at the end of 2020. It will mark the new stage of hydrogen-fueled vehicles. Improvements in the performance of fuel cell systems and hydrogen storage capacity will increase the range of the new Mirai by 30%. In addition, the new-generation Mirai has been redesigned based on the Toyota TNGA architecture, combining agility and driving performance with a sleek and elegant design.

It should be noted that “Mirai” means future in Japanese, and it includes the meaning of “for the car, the earth, and the future of future generations.” So we can see that in addition to Mirai, Toyota has also widely used hydrogen fuel cell technology in various products and fields such as large buses, trucks, trailers, forklifts, and domestic hydrogen fuel cells.

In promoting hydrogen-fueled vehicles, Toyota has spared no effort, and sponsoring the Olympics is definitely a clever strategy of "four or two pounds". At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Toyota plans to provide 100 hydrogen fuel cell buses to pick up and drop off tourists between venues and 500 Mirai cars to transport officials between Tokyo Olympic venues. This is undoubtedly also a training exercise for Toyota in serving the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

There is reason to believe that by sponsoring the world's most famous, largest and most influential sports event, Toyota has brought not only Mirai, but also more hydrogen-fueled vehicles into people's horizons.

Hydrogen energy boasts excellent genetic potential, and there’s great promise in developing hydrogen-fueled vehicles.

A hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is a car equipped with a fuel cell stack that enables a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, which then powers an electric motor.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of chemistry knows that the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen produces only water, with no other harmful substances. On another note, hydrogen energy can be produced not only directly from industrial byproduct hydrogen but also through various other sources, including renewable energy, sewage sludge, and livestock manure. In fact, “curtailed electricity”—electricity that is deliberately curtailed due to factors such as power surplus or constraints on transmission lines—represents a significant source for hydrogen production. In 2018 alone, China generated approximately 102.3 billion kilowatt-hours of curtailed electricity; a rough estimate suggests this could yield 2 million tons of hydrogen—enough to fuel 3 million hydrogen-powered vehicles for one year.

Currently, Toyota Tsusho, part of the Toyota Group, is dedicated to the research and development as well as demonstration operations of hydrogen production technologies—including solar and wind power electrolysis for hydrogen generation and hydrogen production from sewage sludge. We believe that more positive news is on the way.

Precisely because hydrogen energy is an excellent clean and renewable energy source capable of achieving highly efficient mutual conversion with electricity, it is regarded by industry experts as one of the most promising energy sources.

Of course, some people have raised concerns about the safety of hydrogen-fueled vehicles. In fact, hydrogen fuel cells are actually safer than lithium batteries. Take the Mirai as an example: its hydrogen storage tank, which holds compressed hydrogen gas, is made from a variety of advanced special materials—including carbon fiber—and has successfully passed a rear-end collision test at speeds up to 80 km/h. Although the vehicle itself sustained significant damage, the hydrogen storage tank remained completely undamaged. Furthermore, Toyota has designed a special cylinder valve for the hydrogen tank, made from a material that dissolves easily. Under certain conditions, such as when the vehicle catches fire, this valve will detect the temperature rise and automatically open, forcibly releasing the hydrogen gas. This effectively prevents the hydrogen tank from overheating, which could otherwise cause the internal pressure to rise beyond the tank’s safe operating limits and lead to an explosion. Third, even if the hydrogen gas emitted by a hydrogen-fueled vehicle were to come into contact with an open flame, the gas would be vented toward the rear side of the vehicle. The gas port valves on the hydrogen tank are designed with a check-valve mechanism, ensuring that flames cannot flow backward into the cylinder. As a result, any residual fuel remaining in the cylinder remains relatively safe.

Also leveraging the powerful inherent advantages of hydrogen energy, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles—represented by the Mirai—exhibit the following key benefits:

Environmental protection. The power principle behind hydrogen-powered vehicles is that the hydrogen stored in the vehicle reacts with air to generate kinetic energy, and this reaction between hydrogen and oxygen produces water. In other words, hydrogen-powered vehicles don't emit exhaust gases—they emit nothing but a cup of water, achieving truly “zero emissions.” Moreover, thanks to their air-purifying function, these vehicles can remove particulate matter (PM) from the air we breathe, making the air they release even cleaner and achieving a “negative emission” effect.

Convenient. Hydrogen-powered vehicles are equipped with two hydrogen storage tanks, and it takes only three minutes to fully refuel, enabling a range of around 600 kilometers. Moreover, the second-generation Mirai will extend this range by an additional 30%.

Save money. At current hydrogen prices in Japan, filling up a car would cost 4,600 yen—equivalent to about 280 RMB—which is cheaper than the price of gasoline. If hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen refueling stations become more widespread, hydrogen prices could become even lower.

It’s frost-resistant. The first hydrogen-powered vehicle rolled off the assembly line at Toyota in 2014 and immediately began pilot operations in North America as well as in extremely cold cities at the northernmost tip of Hokkaido, where temperatures can drop as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius. Despite the frigid conditions, the vehicle showed no fear of the cold and traveled smoothly without any hindrance.

Innovation: As a mobile power source, hydrogen-fueled vehicles come equipped with a power port in their trunk. When a power outage occurs, this port allows the vehicle’s onboard power supply to be connected to a household power grid, ensuring that an entire family can meet its electricity needs for up to a week.

Open patents foster collaboration; Toyota strongly promotes the widespread adoption of environmentally friendly vehicles.

To promote the environmental benefits of widespread adoption of eco-friendly vehicles, Toyota made a decision in April of this year: to provide free-of-charge approximately 23,740 patents related to automotive electrification technologies, including about 2,590 patents for electric motors, roughly 2,020 patents for PCUs (power control units), around 1,320 patents for engines and transmission drive axles, about 7,550 patents for system control, as well as patents related to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles—specifically, roughly 2,840 patents for FC fuel cells, about 680 patents for high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks, and approximately 4,540 patents for system control.

In fact, this isn't Toyota's first time opening up its patents. Back in January 2015, on the eve of that year’s “International Consumer Electronics Show,” Toyota announced that it was making the rights to use its hydrogen fuel cell technology patents available to the public. The number of patents opened up totaled 5,680, including 1,970 technologies related to Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Mirai.

When it comes to contributing to the widespread adoption of new-energy vehicles, Toyota clearly hopes to make an even greater contribution.

Therefore, in 2019, Toyota once again fully launched a model of technological cooperation with Chinese cities, enterprises, and relevant institutions.

In April 2019, Toyota, as a Chinese parts supplier, collaborated for the first time with Beiqi Foton and Beijing E-Hua Tong to supply FC components to Foton buses. Also in April, Toyota and Tsinghua University established the “Tsinghua University-Toyota Joint Research Institute,” focusing on research in areas such as hydrogen energy. In July, Toyota began collaborating with FAW Group, Shanghai Re-Fire, and Suzhou King Long to supply FC components to buses manufactured by FAW and Suzhou King Long. In September, Toyota announced a strategic partnership with FAW Group and GAC Group in the field of electrification.

This collaborative model is nothing new for Toyota. According to available data, in 2018, to accelerate the rapid development of hydrogen fuel cells in Japan, Toyota joined forces with 11 companies—including Nissan and Honda—to establish the “Japan Hydrogen Station Network Company,” further enhancing the systematic development of hydrogen refueling stations. This time, however, Toyota has turned its attention to what it considers the “most important market”—China.

In fact, developing hydrogen energy and fuel cell vehicles has become a global consensus. However, as China is currently promoting a transformation of its energy structure, the development and application of hydrogen energy have become particularly valuable and commendable.

Encouragingly, China’s hydrogen energy and fuel cell industry has already begun to take shape on a sizable scale. At the 4th International Conference on Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Vehicles, an expert from the United Nations Development Programme stated, “Today, China’s hydrogen energy and fuel cell industry has established a structure encompassing four major industrial clusters, with more than 33 listed companies and 40 automobile manufacturers.”

Clearly, Toyota’s strategy aligns perfectly with China’s industrial planning, and Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell technology—developed over many years—will also drive the growth of the entire industry.

Although our country still faces bottlenecks in hydrogen energy development—such as the urgent need to break through key material and core technology standards—who could deny that we’ve already entered a golden age of favorable timing, geographical advantages, and popular support? The “hydrogen” era for the new-energy vehicle industry may indeed be just around the corner.

— Excerpted from Phoenix News Business