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Why Toyota and GM Are Pushing Fuel-Cell Cars to Market
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/516711/why-toyota-and-gm-are-pushing-fuel-cell-cars-to-market/[font face=Serif][font size=5]Why Toyota and GM Are Pushing Fuel-Cell Cars to Market[/font]
[font size=4]Falling costs are making fuel-cell vehicles look like a plausible alternative to conventional cars.[/font]
By Kevin Bullis on July 5, 2013
[font size=3]Hydrogen-powered vehicles have been out of the spotlight for years, but they’re about to make a surprising comeback. Toyota says it will unveil a hydrogen fuel-cell-powered sedan later this year that will go on sale in 2015; several other automakers, meanwhile, have announced partnerships to commercialize the technology (see “Ford, Daimler, and Nissan Commit to Fuel Cells”), including GM and Honda, which announced such a collaboration this week.
While many challenges remain for hydrogen vehicles, in recent years researchers have made big improvements in the oft-maligned technology, including greatly lowering its cost. As a result, fuel-cell vehicles look poised to play a significant role in meeting ambitious vehicle emissions regulations, particularly in places such as California.
…
A careful look at the emissions of competing technologies such as electric vehicle and conventional cars shows that fuel-cell cars have significant environmental benefits, even when the hydrogen is made from natural gas. In May, the U.S. Department of Energy released its most recent analysis of the expected total carbon dioxide emissions from fuel-cell vehicles in 2035, including the emissions associated with making hydrogen from natural gas, compressing it, and transporting it. The analysis shows that the cars will emit less than half as much carbon dioxide as conventional gasoline-powered vehicles do now. They would also release less carbon dioxide than electric vehicles when electric vehicles are charged in parts of the U.S. that rely heavily on coal power. However, electric vehicles look better in places like California—which uses little coal—and in a hypothetical future when they’re charged exclusively with sources such as wind and solar power.
Fuel-cell vehicles could also be a boon to renewable energy by helping to address their intermittency. One option being considered in Germany is to use excess wind power generated at night, when demand is low, to electrolyze water, making hydrogen (see “Hydrogen Could Be Key to Germany's Energy Plans”). Sperling says using hydrogen as a way to store excess renewable energy makes sense. He also notes that there are other promising routes to low-carbon hydrogen production in development, such as engineering plants to produce hydrogen from sunlight directly, although those are in early stages of development.
…[/font][/font]
[font size=4]Falling costs are making fuel-cell vehicles look like a plausible alternative to conventional cars.[/font]
By Kevin Bullis on July 5, 2013
[font size=3]Hydrogen-powered vehicles have been out of the spotlight for years, but they’re about to make a surprising comeback. Toyota says it will unveil a hydrogen fuel-cell-powered sedan later this year that will go on sale in 2015; several other automakers, meanwhile, have announced partnerships to commercialize the technology (see “Ford, Daimler, and Nissan Commit to Fuel Cells”), including GM and Honda, which announced such a collaboration this week.
While many challenges remain for hydrogen vehicles, in recent years researchers have made big improvements in the oft-maligned technology, including greatly lowering its cost. As a result, fuel-cell vehicles look poised to play a significant role in meeting ambitious vehicle emissions regulations, particularly in places such as California.
…
A careful look at the emissions of competing technologies such as electric vehicle and conventional cars shows that fuel-cell cars have significant environmental benefits, even when the hydrogen is made from natural gas. In May, the U.S. Department of Energy released its most recent analysis of the expected total carbon dioxide emissions from fuel-cell vehicles in 2035, including the emissions associated with making hydrogen from natural gas, compressing it, and transporting it. The analysis shows that the cars will emit less than half as much carbon dioxide as conventional gasoline-powered vehicles do now. They would also release less carbon dioxide than electric vehicles when electric vehicles are charged in parts of the U.S. that rely heavily on coal power. However, electric vehicles look better in places like California—which uses little coal—and in a hypothetical future when they’re charged exclusively with sources such as wind and solar power.
Fuel-cell vehicles could also be a boon to renewable energy by helping to address their intermittency. One option being considered in Germany is to use excess wind power generated at night, when demand is low, to electrolyze water, making hydrogen (see “Hydrogen Could Be Key to Germany's Energy Plans”). Sperling says using hydrogen as a way to store excess renewable energy makes sense. He also notes that there are other promising routes to low-carbon hydrogen production in development, such as engineering plants to produce hydrogen from sunlight directly, although those are in early stages of development.
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