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“The core component technology of hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles is currently in the hands of foreign companies, but this is not a key issue. As long as the output comes up, it can be resolved.

At present, the most critical issue in the development of hydrogen fuel vehicles is hydrogen refueling stations. Vehicles can be made, but where do they go to refuel after they are made? “A researcher from a car company recently talked about hydrogen fuel vehicles and asked the reporter of the “Daily Business News” this question.

Up to now, with the exception of SAIC Maxus, Beiqi Foton, etc. who have invested in hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles, most car companies still focus on the development of new energy vehicles on pure electric vehicles, and will not change this direction in a short time. .

According to data released by the my country Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in the first half of 2018, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in my country were 413,000 and 412,000, respectively, up 94.9% and 111.5% over the same period last year. Among them, pure electric and plug-in hybrid are the main rising force.

According to the statistics of Professor Wang Hewu of Tsinghua University, currently, the cumulative number of hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles in operation in my country is about 1,000, with 12 hydrogen refueling facilities in operation and nearly 10 hydrogen refueling facilities under construction. This is in sharp contrast to the booming situation in the pure electric vehicle market.

In fact, on a global scale, hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles have not ushered in an explosive rise. According to the “2018 Global Hydrogen Fuel-powered Lithium Battery Vehicle Market” report released by the market research company InformationTrends, from the commercialization of hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles in 2013 to the end of 2017, a total of 6,475 hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles have been sold worldwide.

However, it is worth noting that multinational car companies such as Hyundai, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz have all put the development of hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles on the agenda. Beijing, Zhengzhou and Shanghai have also introduced local subsidy policies for hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles. As one of the solutions to clean energy, can hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles, which have not had a commercial breakthrough before, take advantage of the momentum? In the future travel field, what role will hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles and pure electric vehicles play in the market? The industry is paying more and more attention to hydrogen fuel vehicles.

Do market development first or build hydrogen refueling station first?

For a long time, the development of hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles has been limited by two major problems: the slow development of core component technology and the lagging in infrastructure construction of hydrogen refueling stations.

The core components of hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles include electrocatalysts for fuel-powered lithium batteries, proton exchange membranes, and carbon paper. Recently, Wan Gang, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said that the current industrial chain of hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles is relatively weak and its engineering capabilities are insufficient.

Zhang Yongming, a distinguished professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University, also believes that the key problem of fuel-powered lithium batteries is that they have not done well in their parts. “With the proton exchange membrane, the future system and engine of the fuel-powered lithium battery will be available.”

It is understood that the team led by Professor Zhang Yongming is currently focusing on the fuel-powered lithium battery stack component-perfluorinated proton exchange membrane.

“The work of proton membranes started in 2003, and it has been 15 years now, and it has been done systematically. This product has passed the assessment of Mercedes-Benz, and the perfluorinated proton exchange membrane is the world’s first-class level. We now have a 5 10,000 square meters of production line. Of course, the global proton membrane technology is also constantly improving, we must do our best to stay ahead.” Zhang Yongming told the “Daily Business News” reporter recently.

The lack of infrastructure at hydrogen refueling stations has become a concern for some car companies. Rong Hui, deputy dean of the BAIC Group’s New Technology Research Institute, told the “Daily Economic News” reporter, “We currently do not have an expansion plan for the hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicle technical team. Users can’t add hydrogen to a car. If there is a hydrogen refueling station, we can immediately make a hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery car.”

It is understood that as of now, BAIC Group and BAIC Foton have a total of nearly 50 hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicle R&D teams. They are mainly responsible for the vehicle matching work, that is, the hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery system is matched to the vehicle.

However, Benoit Potier, Chairman and CEO of Air Liquide Group and Co-Chairman of the International Hydrogen Energy Commission, showed another possibility, “There is not enough infrastructure, and there are not enough hydrogen refueling stations. It is necessary to carry out infrastructure first. Should we start with the development of the market? We believe that some fleets should be tested, especially taxis, or some large vehicles.”

“Hydrogen refueling stations are very important. This matter cannot be waited. Without hydrogen refueling stations, it cannot be popularized. It must be done faster. The national level must organize this major industrial change. Some cities and provinces have already begun to do this. From the perspective of the Ministry of Science and Technology, in the field of transportation and energy, hydrogen energy has been taken as a development, support and breakthrough direction.” Zhang Yongming told the reporter of “Daily Economic News”.

The future competes with pure electric vehicles

In my country, hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles are mainly used in commercial vehicles, and passenger vehicles have not yet been applied on a large scale. In the future, what kind of pattern will hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles and pure electric vehicles form? Zhang Yongming believes that pure electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles will have their own market segments in the future. For example, under the premise of meeting the charging conditions, it will be more convenient for a pure electric vehicle to be in a low-power vehicle within 10 kilowatts.

“The cost of a hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicle should be lower than that of a lithium-ion battery vehicle in the future, because there is not much in the fuel-powered lithium battery. In addition, in terms of operating costs, it will be one-quarter to three-thirds cheaper than a fuel vehicle. One level. In the next five years, my country’s hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles will be at the forefront of the world, and the momentum will be very fierce. As long as national policies and promotion efforts can keep up, it will be the second high-speed rail legend.” Zhang Yongming said .

Xu Haidong, assistant secretary-general of the my country Association of Automobile Manufacturers, believes that “the technical content of hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles is higher than that of electric vehicles. When low-speed electric vehicles are developed, there is not much technical content, and everyone is rushing. But hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles Industrialization is not so easy. National policies and funds should support R&D and focus on achieving technological breakthroughs in core components, which can prevent large-scale industrial risks and master core technologies.”

Xu Haidong further suggested that the key technologies of hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles can be handed over to research institutions and car companies for promotion at the same time. “We also have corresponding state-owned companies. We can work together, divide some tasks, and do corresponding research, which will be better for the development of the entire industry. Regarding the commercialization of hydrogen refueling stations and hydrogen storage, the industry can learn from electric vehicles. The ‘100 cities, thousands of vehicles’ approach is to concentrate the layout in a certain area. In addition, it is also possible to consider arranging hydrogen refueling stations on a certain logistics route, which is conducive to the use of logistics vehicles.”

“In the second half of this year, the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference will hold a bi-weekly symposium on promoting the healthy development of new energy vehicles. In July, we will organize related research.” The implementation of lithium battery vehicles in a series of plans such as technological innovation, industrial development, and energy revolution shall be scientifically evaluated to clarify the development path and direction to promote the healthy development of fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles.