THE CENTRAL QUESTION ...
What are the differences, the advantages and the architectures that must be understood to understand BEVs and fuel cell electric vehicles?
COURSE ABSTRACT
Fuel cell technology and vehicles are presented. The pros and cons of fuel cells as an alternative to grid-based electrical energy is considered. Technology, vehicles, fueling, and environmental impact are addressed. To obtain a copy of the EVU study guide for this and other available EVU courses, please complete the form on this page.
Course level: Advanced
2. 2
Fuel Cell
Electric Vehicles,
part 3
EV-310c
This course is presented as part of
Evannex University—a free, open
learning environment that presents
concise, video-based mini-courses for
those who have interest in electric
vehicles (EVs) …
3. demand vehicles with low
mileage."
Some claim that in the short term,
FCEVs are “compliance cars”—designed
to meet CA minimum sales
requirements and nothing more
Under CA ZEV regulations,
manufacturers get credits for plug-in
vehicles.
They can use those credits to offset the
sales of less efficient ICE vehicles,
thereby gaining unfettered access to
the CA car market
3
4. The Debate—II
Others argue that the “well to wheel”
environmental cost for FCEVs is substantially
greater than BEVs
Energy expended on H2 production and
refining
Energy expended on H2 transportation
Energy expended on H2 storage
considerably fewer extraction, refining,
transportation and production costs
associated with grid-based power
4
5. The Debate-III
Safety is an issue
if hydrogen leaks from its tank
and meets with air
a spark ignites an explosion
To ensure safety, significant
regulation of fueling stations and
vehicles must be implemented
5
6. Questions
GreenCarReports.com provides:
10 questions for FCEV manufacturers
comparisons with BEVs
infrastructure and energy issues
projected sales
Government (the CA Fuel Cell Partnership) and
Manufacturer (Toyota, Honda and Hyundai)
responses
See:
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/10948
99_10-questions-on-hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-to-
ask-toyota-honda-hyundai
6
7. Sample Question—EV Comparison
The main advantage of hydrogen vehicles is that they can refuel for 300 miles
in less than 10 minutes … If an affordable battery-electric car in 2020 offers
250 miles of range and can recharge to 80 percent in, say, 12 to 15 minutes--
then how much of an advantage will hydrogen fuel-cell cars retain?
“Saying that you can't compare today's fuel-cell cars to hypothetical future
electric cars is fair, certainly. But none of the four respondents actually
answered the question we posed: If future DC fast-charging brings "refueling
time" for battery-electric cars closer to that of hydrogen vehicles, is there still
an advantage?” Green Car Reports
“Fuel-cell makers thus seem to be saying, to one degree or another, that we
may see a split among zero-emission vehicles: battery-electrics in the smaller
segments, hydrogen power for the larger light trucks that American buyers
like so much.” Green Car Reports
7
8. Sample Question—Infrastructure and Energy
The wells-to-wheels footprint of a hydrogen-fueled vehicle appears to be
generally worse than that of an electric car … That appears to imply that among
the broad range of zero-emission vehicles, hydrogen vehicles have a higher
carbon footprint than electric cars. How do you overcome this?
“Hydrogen vehicles can be as low-carbon as battery-electric vehicles under some
circumstances. And it appears that the few thousand that will appear on the
roads of Southern California within two or three years may well hit that mark, as
they will in some other locations--including Germany.” Green Car Reports
“To make that the case, however, requires that the hydrogen fuel be produced
using a far higher proportion of renewable energy than is used in the average grid
mix anywhere in the U.S.” Green Car Reports
8
Source: GreenCarReports.com
9. Sample Question - Sales
Will your hydrogen fuel-cell car be delivered in
numbers any greater than the minimum required by
the California Air Resources Board's ZEV rules … ?
By 2020, BEVs and PHEVs will be 1 percent of the
world market
When will FCEVs be a significant player?
9
Source: GreenCarReports.com
10. The Future
The success of FCEV will be determined by the
investment made in R&D by manufacturers and in fueling
infrastructure by third parties
It many very well be that FCEV may become an important
option for large vehicles—e.g., light trucks, SUVs
The environmental costs of production, refining,
transportation and storage must be reduced.
10
11. 11
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Editor's Notes
Major automotive manufacturers—Toyota, Honda, Hyundai—have doubled down on FCEVs.
The question — what is their motivation?
Proponents of FCEVs claim that the tech is simply better than battery electric vehicles.
Opponents argue that the level of complexity,
and the requisite demand for a new fueling infrastructure, offset current FCEV advantages in range and charging time.
More than a few vocal opponents suggest that:
>> in the short term, FCEVs are “compliance cars”—designed to meet CA minimum sales requirements and nothing more.
The CA car market is huge and every automotive manufacturer want unfettered access to that market.
>> Under CA zero emission vehicle regulations, manufacturers get credits for plug-in vehicles.
>> They can use those credits to offset the sales of less efficient ICE vehicles, thereby ensuring full access to the CA market.
Stated simply, if you sell enough zero emission and plug-in vehicles to meet regulatory requirements, even if you lose money on each,
you can then sell many more low mpg vehicles like SUVs and pick-up trucks, which are in high demand and are very profitable.
Is this claim legitimate? Hard to say with assurance, but
One indicator is that FCEVs will be rolled out only in western states in the short term.
>> BEV proponents argue that the “well-to-wheel” environmental costs for FCEVs are substantially greater than the costs for BEVs.
These costs include:
>> Energy expended on H2 production and refining
>> Energy expended on H2 transportation from the production facility to the fueling station
>> Energy expended on H2 storage
In general, there are
>> considerably fewer extraction, refining, transportation and production costs associated with grid-based power,
making its environmental costs lower than the current costs for delivering hydrogen to the end-user.
Still another criticism of FCEVs is
>> Safety
>> if hydrogen leaks from its tank and meets with air
>> a spark ignites an explosion
>> To ensure safety, significant regulation of fueling stations and vehicles must be implemented
As a consequence of the on-going debate,
and as a method for generating additional information for those who want to understand the debate in depth,
>> GreenCarReports.com developed:
>> 10 questions for FCEV manufacturers, addressing
>> comparisons with BEVs
>> infrastructure and energy issues
>> projected sales of FCEVs
>> the website published responses from the CA Fuel Cell Partnership and Toyota, Honda and Hyundai
For the complete discussion—which is well worth reading if you have interest in FCEVs—efer to the link shown on your screen.
We’ll briefly present a few sample questions and provide GreenCarReports take on the answers.
Here’s a sample question from the EV comparison section:
>> “The main advantage of hydrogen vehicles is that they can refuel for 300 miles in less than 10 minutes …
If an affordable battery-electric car in 2020 offers 250 miles of range and can recharge to 80 percent in, say, 12 to 15 minutes—
then how much of an advantage will hydrogen fuel-cell cars retain?”
Green Car Reports summarizes the automotive manufacturers responses with the following comment:
>> “Saying that you can't compare today's fuel-cell cars to hypothetical future electric cars is fair, certainly.
But none of the four respondents actually answered the question we posed:
If future DC fast-charging brings "refueling time" for battery-electric cars closer to that of hydrogen vehicles, is there still an advantage?”
In analyzing the responses more fully, GreenCar Reports states:
>> “ Fuel-cell makers thus seem to be saying, to one degree or another, that we may see a split among zero-emission vehicles: battery-electrics in the smaller segments, hydrogen power for the larger light trucks that American buyers like so much.”
This sample question from the category infrastructure and energy …
>> The well-to-wheels footprint of a hydrogen-fueled vehicle appears to be generally worse than that of an electric car …
That appears to imply that among the broad range of zero-emission vehicles,
hydrogen vehicles have a higher carbon footprint than electric cars. How do you overcome this?
Green Car Reports summarized the automotive manufacturers responses with the following comment:
>> “Hydrogen vehicles can be as low-carbon as battery-electric vehicles under some circumstances.
And it appears that the few thousand that will appear on the roads of Southern California within two or three years may well hit that mark, as they will in some other locations--including Germany.”
>>“To make that the case, however, requires that the hydrogen fuel be produced using a far higher proportion of renewable energy than is used in the average grid mix anywhere in the U.S.” Green Car Reports
The manufacturers were then asked about sales going forward … a sample question …
>> Will your hydrogen fuel-cell car be delivered in numbers any greater than the minimum required by the California Air Resources Board's ZEV rules … ?
The implication of the question is to determine if FCEV are compliance cars only.
>> GreenCarReports goes on to note that by 2020, BEVs and PHEVs are expected to be about 1 percent of global auto production--or about 1 million vehicles per year.
>> The follow-on question for the manufacturers is—when will FCEVs be a significant part of that electric vehicle mix.
The manufacturer responses do not appear to answer that question directly.
>> The success of FCEV will, like many things,
be determined by the investment made in R&D by manufacturers and in fueling infrastructure by third parties
>> It many very well be that FCEVs may become an important option for large vehicles—e.g., light trucks, SUVs, but n to a significant player for smaller vehicles
>> The environmental costs of production, refining, transportation and storage must be reduced,
if FCEVs are to become a viable alternative to BEVs and PHEVs.