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| Behind the wheel of a hydrogen-powered car | Behind the wheel of a hydrogen-powered car |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| It's a question I couldn't avoid as I drove across central England in a borrowed car powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. | It's a question I couldn't avoid as I drove across central England in a borrowed car powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. |
| The Hyundai ix35 was fast, eerily quiet - they've installed a little electronic jingle so you can tell when you've switched it on - and there was a reassuring 230 miles (370 km) left on the clock. | The Hyundai ix35 was fast, eerily quiet - they've installed a little electronic jingle so you can tell when you've switched it on - and there was a reassuring 230 miles (370 km) left on the clock. |
| And best of all, I drove with the smug knowledge that when a vehicle is powered by hydrogen, the only exhaust product is water. | And best of all, I drove with the smug knowledge that when a vehicle is powered by hydrogen, the only exhaust product is water. |
| Quite a difference from my own 13-year-old, one-litre petrol engine: noisy, slow and undeniably dirty. | Quite a difference from my own 13-year-old, one-litre petrol engine: noisy, slow and undeniably dirty. |
| So why, I wondered, is this clean, green technology lagging far behind the hybrid and all-electric sectors? | So why, I wondered, is this clean, green technology lagging far behind the hybrid and all-electric sectors? |
| The relatively small hydrogen market is dominated by the Asian giants: Toyota, Honda and Hyundai. | The relatively small hydrogen market is dominated by the Asian giants: Toyota, Honda and Hyundai. |
| In early October in Tokyo amid great razzmatazz, Toyota unveiled its latest fuel cell Mirai saloon, which it hopes to launch in late 2020. | In early October in Tokyo amid great razzmatazz, Toyota unveiled its latest fuel cell Mirai saloon, which it hopes to launch in late 2020. |
| European brands including BMW and Audi are also fine-tuning their own hydrogen vehicles. | European brands including BMW and Audi are also fine-tuning their own hydrogen vehicles. |
| But this is a sector in which the upstart start-up can claim a modest place too. | But this is a sector in which the upstart start-up can claim a modest place too. |
| Outside Llandrindod Wells, a small market town in central Wales, Riversimple aims to lease, not sell, its futuristic hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to a strictly local market. | Outside Llandrindod Wells, a small market town in central Wales, Riversimple aims to lease, not sell, its futuristic hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to a strictly local market. |
| They have just two cars on the road so far, with Numbers 3 and 4 under construction in Riversimple's meticulously clean production facility. | They have just two cars on the road so far, with Numbers 3 and 4 under construction in Riversimple's meticulously clean production facility. |
| "The car's called the Rasa - as in tabula rasa, or clean slate," says the company's founder and chief executive, Hugo Spowers. | "The car's called the Rasa - as in tabula rasa, or clean slate," says the company's founder and chief executive, Hugo Spowers. |
| "We're using fuel cells off the shelf: ours was made for fork-lifts for Walmart warehouses." | "We're using fuel cells off the shelf: ours was made for fork-lifts for Walmart warehouses." |
| The Rasa will do a tidy 60mph (100km/h) and has a range of around 300 miles (480km) on a single 1.5 kg hydrogen tank. | The Rasa will do a tidy 60mph (100km/h) and has a range of around 300 miles (480km) on a single 1.5 kg hydrogen tank. |
| "In purely calorific terms," Spowers concludes, "our car is doing the equivalent of 250 miles to the gallon." | "In purely calorific terms," Spowers concludes, "our car is doing the equivalent of 250 miles to the gallon." |
| That sounds impressive - so how do hydrogen powered cars work? | That sounds impressive - so how do hydrogen powered cars work? |
| At the heart of the car is a fuel cell, where hydrogen and oxygen are combined to generate an electric current, and the only by-product is water. There are no moving parts, so they are more efficient and reliable than a conventional combustion engine. | At the heart of the car is a fuel cell, where hydrogen and oxygen are combined to generate an electric current, and the only by-product is water. There are no moving parts, so they are more efficient and reliable than a conventional combustion engine. |
| While the cars themselves do not generate any gases that contribute to global warming, the process of making hydrogen requires energy - often from fossil fuel sources. So hydrogen's green credentials are under question. | While the cars themselves do not generate any gases that contribute to global warming, the process of making hydrogen requires energy - often from fossil fuel sources. So hydrogen's green credentials are under question. |
| And then there is the question of safety. Hydrogen is a notoriously explosive gas. | And then there is the question of safety. Hydrogen is a notoriously explosive gas. |
| That's why manufacturers disclose plenty of reassuring detail on their websites. | That's why manufacturers disclose plenty of reassuring detail on their websites. |
| The Toyota Mirai, for example, boasts triple-layer hydrogen tanks capable, the company says, of absorbing five times as much crash energy as a steel petrol tank. | The Toyota Mirai, for example, boasts triple-layer hydrogen tanks capable, the company says, of absorbing five times as much crash energy as a steel petrol tank. |
| The twin hydrogen tanks in the Honda Clarity are similarly robust featuring layers of aluminium and carbon fibre and designed to resist both extreme pressure and extreme heat. | The twin hydrogen tanks in the Honda Clarity are similarly robust featuring layers of aluminium and carbon fibre and designed to resist both extreme pressure and extreme heat. |
| Still, not everyone is convinced. | Still, not everyone is convinced. |
| EuroTunnel does not allow "vehicles powered by any flammable gasses", including hydrogen, to use the link between the UK and France. | EuroTunnel does not allow "vehicles powered by any flammable gasses", including hydrogen, to use the link between the UK and France. |
| The Riversimple business model - a three-year fixed price lease aimed at short-distance local drivers - is designed to negate the biggest problem affecting hydrogen cars: range anxiety. | The Riversimple business model - a three-year fixed price lease aimed at short-distance local drivers - is designed to negate the biggest problem affecting hydrogen cars: range anxiety. |
| With just 17 pumps across Britain, refuelling is a challenge, so the industry is stuck. | With just 17 pumps across Britain, refuelling is a challenge, so the industry is stuck. |
| The public won't commit if they can't guarantee a refill wherever they need to drive, but hydrogen production companies are reluctant to install expensive pumps unless there's likely to be a consistent take-up. | The public won't commit if they can't guarantee a refill wherever they need to drive, but hydrogen production companies are reluctant to install expensive pumps unless there's likely to be a consistent take-up. |
| More Technology of Business | More Technology of Business |
| According to Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, secretary-general of the pro-hydrogen group H2Europe, a country like Germany has around 75 hydrogen fuelling stations - but there aren't enough drivers. | According to Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, secretary-general of the pro-hydrogen group H2Europe, a country like Germany has around 75 hydrogen fuelling stations - but there aren't enough drivers. |
| He blames car markers for being slow to produce hydrogen-powered cars. He points out that BMW isn't launching one until 2022 and Audi in 2025. "This is definitely quite late," he says. | |
| Mr Chatzimarkakis wants to prioritise a pan-European network of 20 to 30 pumps aligned along a "north-south corridor" to enable hydrogen-powered vehicles - especially larger freight-bearing lorries - to travel freely where business needs dictate. | Mr Chatzimarkakis wants to prioritise a pan-European network of 20 to 30 pumps aligned along a "north-south corridor" to enable hydrogen-powered vehicles - especially larger freight-bearing lorries - to travel freely where business needs dictate. |
| The Hydrogen4ClimateAction conference in Brussels in mid-October led to investment pledges by European governments of more than €50bn (£43bn; $56bn) in hydrogen research and infrastructure. | The Hydrogen4ClimateAction conference in Brussels in mid-October led to investment pledges by European governments of more than €50bn (£43bn; $56bn) in hydrogen research and infrastructure. |
| "We at H2Europe are match-makers because this is a co-operative job - it cannot be done by industry alone; it cannot be done by politics alone," Mr Chatzimarkakis says. | "We at H2Europe are match-makers because this is a co-operative job - it cannot be done by industry alone; it cannot be done by politics alone," Mr Chatzimarkakis says. |
| That collaboration is evident in California, which is experiencing the flip-side of the car/pump imbalance: there are queues at filling stations. | That collaboration is evident in California, which is experiencing the flip-side of the car/pump imbalance: there are queues at filling stations. |
| If you visit the website of the Alternative Fuels Data Center, part of the US Department of Energy, and click on "fuelling station locations", you'll get 42 results - all in California. | If you visit the website of the Alternative Fuels Data Center, part of the US Department of Energy, and click on "fuelling station locations", you'll get 42 results - all in California. |
| "We are laser-focused on building out an infrastructure to refill zero-emission vehicles," says Patricia Monahan, science and engineering specialist on the California Energy Commission (CEC). | "We are laser-focused on building out an infrastructure to refill zero-emission vehicles," says Patricia Monahan, science and engineering specialist on the California Energy Commission (CEC). |
| As importantly, California is committed to incentives for both producers and consumers in the fuel cell sector, she says. | As importantly, California is committed to incentives for both producers and consumers in the fuel cell sector, she says. |
| Anyone buying a new hydrogen car will get an incentive of $2,500, with similar subsidies from both the CEC and the state's Air Resources Board aimed at persuading heavy-duty vehicle companies to look into zero-emission alternatives. | Anyone buying a new hydrogen car will get an incentive of $2,500, with similar subsidies from both the CEC and the state's Air Resources Board aimed at persuading heavy-duty vehicle companies to look into zero-emission alternatives. |
| "We are really testing out for the world," Ms Monahan says, "how to develop an infrastructure to refuel these vehicles, and policies to incentivise their production." | "We are really testing out for the world," Ms Monahan says, "how to develop an infrastructure to refuel these vehicles, and policies to incentivise their production." |
| In fact, even California may be behind the curve. | In fact, even California may be behind the curve. |
| According to Andy Walker, technical marketing director at Johnson Matthey Fuel Cell in the UK - itself a sector pioneer since 2003 - several Asian nations are making dramatic commitments to hydrogen. | According to Andy Walker, technical marketing director at Johnson Matthey Fuel Cell in the UK - itself a sector pioneer since 2003 - several Asian nations are making dramatic commitments to hydrogen. |
| "The Chinese government has a target of more than a million fuel cell vehicles on Chinese roads by 2020, serviced by over a thousand hydrogen refuelling stations," he says. | "The Chinese government has a target of more than a million fuel cell vehicles on Chinese roads by 2020, serviced by over a thousand hydrogen refuelling stations," he says. |
| To that end, Beijing has reduced subsidies to the battery sector and, in 2018 alone, invested $12.5bn on fuel cell technology and related subsidies. | To that end, Beijing has reduced subsidies to the battery sector and, in 2018 alone, invested $12.5bn on fuel cell technology and related subsidies. |
| South Korea aims to go even further, with a target of 1.5 million fuel cell vehicles. | South Korea aims to go even further, with a target of 1.5 million fuel cell vehicles. |
| And while Japan's commitment is relatively modest - a mere 800,000 new hydrogen vehicles - we can expect to see a big showcase of hydrogen technology at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. | And while Japan's commitment is relatively modest - a mere 800,000 new hydrogen vehicles - we can expect to see a big showcase of hydrogen technology at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. |
| If these ambitions are even half-way realised, the rest of the world will be playing catch-up. | If these ambitions are even half-way realised, the rest of the world will be playing catch-up. |