FUEL CELL FUTURE
Carmakers bank on electric car alternative with big advantages,
DETROIT— Hydrogen fuel cell cars could one day challenge electric cars in the race for pollution-free roads — but only if more stations are built to fuel them.
Honda, Toyota and Hyundai have leased a few hundred fuel cell vehicles over the past three years, and expect to lease well over 1,000 this year. But for now, those leases are limited to California, which is home to most of the 34 public hydrogen fuelling stations in the U.S.
Undaunted, automakers are investing heavily in the technology. General Motors recently supplied the U.S. army with a fuel cell pickup, and GM and Honda are collaborating on a fuel cell system due out by 2020. Hyundai will introduce a longerrange fuel cell SUV next year.
“We’ve clearly left the science-project stage and the technology is viable,” said Charles Freese, who heads GM’s fuel cell business.
Like pure-electric cars, fuel cell cars run quietly and emission-free. But they have some big advantages: Fuel cell cars can be refuelled as quickly as gasoline-powered cars. By contrast, it takes nine hours to fully recharge an all-electric Chevrolet Bolt using a 240-volt home charger. Fuel cell cars can travel further between fill-ups.
But getting those fill-ups presents the biggest obstacle. Fuelling stations cost up to $2 million to build, so companies have been reluctant to build them unless more fuel cell cars are on the road. But automakers don’t want to build cars that consumers can’t fuel.
The U.S. Department of Energy lists just 34 public hydrogen fuelling stations in the country; all but three are in California. By comparison, the U.S. has 15,703 public electric charging stations, which can be installed for a fraction of the cost of hydrogen stations. There are also millions of garages where owners can plug their cars in overnight.
“We’ve clearly left the science-project stage and the technology is viable.” CHARLES FREESE HEAD OF GM’S FUEL CELL BUSINESS
That’s why automakers will keep hedging their bets and offer electric vehicles alongside hydrogen ones.
Honda began leasing the 2017 Clarity fuel cell sedan earlier this year; about 100 are already on the road. At this week’s New York Auto Show, the company also introduced electric and plug-in hybrid versions of the Clarity.
The plug-in hybrid can go 67 kilometres in electric mode before a small gas engine kicks in, Honda says. The all-electric Clarity can go 179 kilometres on a charge. Both go on sale later this year.
“We think going forward the powertrain market is going to be very diverse,” said Steve Center, vicepresident of the environmental busi- ness development office at American Honda.
Fuel cell cars create electricity to power the battery and motor by mixing hydrogen and oxygen in the specially treated plates that combine to form the fuel cell stack.
The technology isn’t new. GM introduced the first fuel cell vehicle, the Electrovan, in1966. It seated only two; the back housed large steel tanks of hydrogen and oxygen. It went about 240 kilometres between refuelings, and its hydrogen tank ex- ploded on at least one occasion.
Advances in hydrogen storage, fuel cell stacks and batteries have allowed engineers to shrink those components to fit neatly inside a sedan.
The number of fuelling stations could grow quickly if automakers partner with governments and energy companies, as they have done in California. Earlier this year, 13 companies — including Shell and BMW — formed a council to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen as a transportation fuel.