In recent years, benefiting from rapid technological advancements in electric vehicles and policy support, my country's new energy vehicle industry has experienced explosive growth. As a core component of electric vehicles, the technological level of batteries directly impacts and even constrains the development of the new energy vehicle industry. Currently, with lithium batteries struggling to overcome key challenges such as poor range and long charging times, the development of the new energy vehicle industry seems to have entered a bottleneck period. Hydrogen fuel cells, with their advantages of long range and rapid refueling, hold the promise of breaking through this bottleneck.
A hydrogen fuel cell system is a power generation system that generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, with water being the final emission. Compared to the current mainstream lithium batteries, it is more environmentally friendly. According to Battery China Network, even fast-charging lithium batteries typically take 30-50 minutes to charge, while hydrogen fuel cell systems, which are used as energy storage devices, are themselves power generation devices, requiring only 3-5 minutes to refuel with hydrogen.
Statistics show that 1,500 fuel cell commercial vehicles were sold globally in 2017, with 1,272 of them sold in China. While 1,272 is a very small number compared to China's large market size, it's noteworthy considering that fewer than 30 fuel cell vehicles were sold in China in 2016, indicating a rapid increase in fuel cell commercial vehicle sales in 2017.
It is worth noting that in 2017, global capital market investment in the fuel cell industry exceeded 10 billion yuan, of which Chinese capital accounted for over 9 billion yuan. Companies such as Xiongtou Power, Dayang Electric, Sanshuo, and Zhongtong have all invested in the hydrogen fuel cell sector. This influx of social capital stems from a positive outlook on the hydrogen fuel cell industry's development prospects, and will also provide strong support for its rapid development.
The development of the hydrogen fuel cell industry is quietly underway.
In 2016, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China planned in the "Energy-Saving and New Energy Vehicle Roadmap" that by 2020, there would be 5,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and 100 hydrogen refueling stations in the market; by 2025, there would be 50,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and 350 hydrogen refueling stations; and by 2030, these figures would reach 1 million hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and 1,000 hydrogen refueling stations.
Meanwhile, local governments have also begun to actively develop the fuel cell industry. In September 2017, Shanghai took the lead at the local government level by releasing the "Shanghai Fuel Cell Vehicle Development Plan," which aimed to generate 15 billion yuan in output value for the hydrogen fuel cell industry chain in Shanghai by 2020, with 5-10 hydrogen refueling stations built, two passenger vehicle demonstration zones established, and an operational scale of over 3,000 vehicles. The plan projected an output value of 100 billion yuan and passenger vehicle sales of 20,000 units by 2025. Subsequently, cities including Suzhou, Xi'an, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and Foshan also successively released their hydrogen fuel cell industry development plans.
Not only domestically, but the Japanese government has also made plans to deploy a total of 200,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and have 320 hydrogen refueling stations by 2025; and 800,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and 900 hydrogen refueling stations by 2030. Germany, in its hydrogen energy plan released in 2016, mentioned that it would invest 161 million euros in developing the hydrogen energy industry by the end of 2018, and planned to complete 100 hydrogen refueling stations by 2023. The hydrogen fuel cell industry is gaining importance in most countries.
Construction of basic supporting facilities such as hydrogen refueling stations is progressing steadily.
Hydrogen refueling stations provide fuel for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Inadequate infrastructure will severely hinder the development of the fuel cell vehicle industry. Statistics show that by the end of 2017, there were 327 hydrogen refueling stations globally, mainly located in Asia, Europe, and North America. Before 2015, China had only 3 hydrogen refueling stations; by 2017, 13 were operational. Currently, 20 more are under construction in China, and this number is expected to exceed 100 by 2019.
Fuel cells have significant advantages in the application of commercial vehicles.
Unlike foreign automakers that started their fuel cell vehicle deployments with passenger cars, some domestic fuel cell companies have chosen to begin with commercial vehicles. According to Battery China Network, Shanghai Re-Fire Technology Co., Ltd. deployed 500 fuel cell logistics vehicles in Shanghai in 2017. Lin Qi, chairman of the company, revealed to Battery China Network that the company's decision to enter the commercial fuel cell market through logistics vehicles was primarily based on the following considerations: First, commercial vehicles offer relatively flexible space for fuel cell systems; second, commercial vehicles operate on relatively fixed routes, requiring less density of hydrogen refueling stations; third, the use of fuel cells in urban public transportation and logistics delivery has significant promotional value; and fourth, the company hopes that the development of the fuel cell commercial vehicle market will drive the construction of hydrogen refueling infrastructure, paving the way for the future passenger car market.
Industry experts have stated that the commercial advantages of fuel cell technology for vehicles lie in its insensitivity to vehicle load, relatively high power density by mass and volume, and extremely short refueling time (approximately 3-5 minutes to refuel). This results in significant improvements in driving range and load capacity, with fuel cell systems showing even greater advantages in heavy-duty applications and medium-to-heavy-duty commercial vehicles. In today's rapidly developing e-commerce and logistics industries, especially given the increased demand for logistics in large and mega-cities, coupled with higher environmental requirements, fuel cell logistics vehicles are an excellent option to fill the current gap in long-range, high-load-capacity applications for new energy vehicles.
Challenges in the Industrialization of Fuel Cell Technology
As the most ideal energy-saving technology for the future, fuel cell technology still faces considerable challenges in its industrialization and commercialization. According to experts compiled by Battery China Network, the challenges facing the commercial application of fuel cell vehicles can be categorized as follows:
First, the standard category
Fuel cell vehicles boast superior range, which necessitates carrying more hydrogen. However, the current 70MPa standard for hydrogen storage systems urgently needs improvement. In the logistics sector, end-users are primarily concerned with operating costs, requiring companies to strengthen their technological research and development in hydrogen storage and transportation. Simultaneously, relevant standards for fuel cell vehicles also need to be refined.
Second, resource category
First, there's the construction of hydrogen refueling station facilities. The commercial application of fuel cell vehicles is inseparable from the supporting construction of hydrogen refueling station facilities. Currently, hydrogen refueling stations face enormous pressure in terms of both approval and land use. Second, there's the localization of fuel cell system components. Achieving independent development and domestic production of key components for fuel cell systems is a crucial path to cost reduction, requiring strong support from the supply chain and component manufacturers. Third, there's the market pressure driven by policy. The current new energy vehicle market is subsidy-driven. With the removal or reduction of subsidies, this pressure is unavoidable and requires solutions.
Third, cognitive categories
First, there's the issue of over-interpretation regarding hydrogen safety. For a long time, the public's lack of sufficient understanding of hydrogen energy has led to concerns about the safety of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, a major factor hindering the rapid development of the industry. Second, there's the issue of the social popularization of fuel cell technology. Although fuel cells are also called "batteries," they are different from energy storage batteries; they are actually power generation devices, with their energy stored in a hydrogen storage system. Third, there's the issue of the diversification of global technological routes. Currently, fuel cells are still in their developmental stage, the market has not yet reached scale, and companies lack clarity on their technological routes. Experts believe that in the future, fuel cells need to identify one or two very clear technological routes.
As a rising star in the new energy vehicle industry, fuel cell vehicles still have a long way to go in terms of technological research and development, infrastructure construction, and large-scale commercial application. To address these challenges, the joint efforts of enterprises, governments, and society are needed to promote the development of the fuel cell vehicle industry.
