China promoting hydrogen fuel cell buses
April 16, 2019 Category China News Round-up, Weekly
As China is promoting electric vehicles (EVs), it is also emphasizing the development of hydrogen fuel cell buses and vehicles. The city of Zhangjiakou in Hebei province introduced 74 hydrogen fuel cell buses in July last year. According to one driver, the buses are easier to operate, and there is no need to change gear manually when frequently stopping and starting at bus stations. Passengers also feel more comfortable since there is no smell of exhaust. The hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, powered by electricity generated by compressed hydrogen fed into fuel cells, is clean with zero-emissions. “Hydrogen is a clean fuel that, when consumed in a fuel cell, produces only water, electricity and heat,” said Sunita Satyapal, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fuel Cell Technologies Office.
Each hydrogen fuel cell bus reduces the use of gasoline by 17.96 metric tons each year, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 55.5 tons. As a joint host of the 2022 Winter Olympics and China’s first national-level renewable energy demonstration area, Zhangjiakou is betting big on the clean vehicles. By 2021, Zhangjiakou will put into use about 3,000 such vehicles and 31 hydrogen refueling stations, while the annual hydrogen output will reach 21,000 tons, according to the development plan. A whole industrial chain will be formed by then, including hydrogen production and storage, refueling stations, and the manufacturing of hydrogen fuel cells and vehicles. Apart from Zhangjiakou, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are also being promoted in several cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Foshan in Guangdong province. Last year, a total of 1,527 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles were sold in China, a year-on-year increase of 20%, according to Wang Fengying, Chairman of Great Wall Motor. The Chinese government has set a goal to have 5,000 such vehicles on its roads by 2020, 50,000 by 2025 and 1 million by 2030, Wang said.
“A big challenge for promoting hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is the lack of refueling stations, which have high construction cost and are slow to show profit,” Wang Fengying said. Zhangjiakou HyPower New Energy Technology Co, a hydrogen energy technologies developer and related service provider in Zhangjiakou, invested about CNY10 million on the city’s first hydrogen refueling station for its 74 hydrogen fuel cell buses. China has around 20 hydrogen fuel stations in operation so far, ranking behind other countries and regions. By the end of 2017, about 328 hydrogen fuel stations were in operation around the globe, including 139 in Europe, 118 in Asia and 68 in North America, the China Daily reports.
Domestic automobile companies are actively laying out their hydrogen fuel cell plans, expecting it to become a vital sector in the long term. Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, announced plans last year to build a hydrogen energy industrial park in the city to provide a home for more than 100 automakers producing vehicles using hydrogen fuel cells and related businesses.
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