Analysis on the development status of fuel cell vehicles in various countries

Fuel cell vehicles are the main development direction of new energy vehicles, and major car companies around the world have also laid out important development strategies. In Germany, Mercedes-Benz and Audi launched their respective hydrogen fuel cell concept cars in 2016, with driving ranges of 500km and 600km respectively; among them, the GLC fuel-cell jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and Ford was launched in 2017, and was initially launched in Japan and California. In the United States, GM and Honda have cooperated to establish a factory in Michigan to launch the next-generation propulsion system for fuel cell vehicles. In Europe, 13 companies have jointly established the Hydrogen Council and stated that they will jointly invest more than US$1 billion each year to help accelerate the development of fuel cell technology. Hyundai Group of South Korea also announced its next-generation fuel cell plan, and will launch models equipped with fourth-generation fuel cell technology in 2018.

The HydroGen4 fuel cell vehicle developed by Opel Motors, a subsidiary of General Motors in the United States, as early as 2008, its power source is composed of PEMFC and nickel-hydrogen batteries. The fuel cell system consists of 440 sets of fuel cells. The nickel-hydrogen battery can be used for braking energy recovery. It is equipped with 3 carbon fiber hydrogen storage bottles with a total hydrogen storage of 4.2kg and a driving range of 320km. In addition, the use of platinum per catalyst for its new generation of HydroGen4 fuel cell vehicles has been reduced to 30g. In view of the current high price of platinum, the manufacturing cost of FCEV has been further reduced. Figure 1 shows the internal structure of the Opel HydroGen4 fuel cell vehicle.

In Europe, relevant departments of the European Union are actively promoting the demonstration operation of the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Bus (PEMFC BUS) in each city, which has enabled the rapid development of this technology. The new B-class fuel cell vehicle launched by the German Benz Company in 2011 uses a small integrated proton exchange membrane fuel cell and is equipped with an auxiliary energy lithium-ion battery pack. It only takes 3 minutes to fill with fuel each time, and it can continue driving 400km, and the cycle life of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell exceeds 10,000h. In addition, Mercedes-Benz will also launch the world’s first plug-in fuel cell vehicle-Mercedes GLC F-CELL. The new car will use plug-in fuel cell technology, and the on-board lithium-ion battery pack enables the new car to continue driving up to 48.2km in pure electric mode.

In addition, the new car is also equipped with two hydrogen storage tanks wrapped in carbon fiber composite materials, a single tank can hold more than 4kg of hydrogen fuel, and each time it takes only 3 minutes to fill the fuel tank. In addition, under the combined effect of lithium-ion battery packs and hydrogen fuel, the maximum driving range of the new car is expected to exceed 500km. Figure 2 shows the Mercedes GLC F-CELL plug-in fuel cell vehicle.

From a global perspective, the research level of fuel cell vehicles in Japan and South Korea is at the leading level in the world. Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai Motor Corporation in particular have gradually surpassed the United States and European countries in terms of durability, life and cost of fuel cell vehicles.

Toyota of Japan has always been at the forefront of the world in the development of fuel cell vehicles. The Mirai fuel cell vehicle it developed was successfully launched in Japan at the end of 2014. As shown in Figure 3, it uses a traditional three-compartment model, an electric motor, is equipped with two 70MPa high-pressure fuel stacks, the maximum power is 99.96kW, and can be filled with hydrogen in 3 minutes, and it can continue driving 502km, and the acceleration time from 100 kilometers is 10s.

From a global perspective, the research level of fuel cell vehicles in Japan and South Korea is at the leading level in the world. Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai Motor Corporation in particular have gradually surpassed the United States and European countries in terms of durability, life and cost of fuel cell vehicles.

Toyota of Japan has always been at the forefront of the world in the development of fuel cell vehicles. The Mirai fuel cell vehicle it developed was successfully launched in Japan at the end of 2014. As shown in Figure 3, it uses a traditional three-compartment model, an electric motor, is equipped with two 70MPa high-pressure fuel stacks, the maximum power is 99.96kW, and can be filled with hydrogen in 3 minutes, and it can continue driving 502km, and the acceleration time from 100 kilometers is 10s.

Honda Motor had already exhibited the first FCX fuel cell car at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1999, and it was sold for lease in California and Japan in 2002. It is the world’s first officially certified fuel cell vehicle. With the continuous development of fuel cell technology, Honda released a new generation of fuel cell vehicles-CLARITY FUEL CELL in March 2016, as shown in Figure 4.

Its maximum driving range is 750km, and it uses two hydrogen storage tanks, which are arranged under and behind the rear seats. The hydrogen storage tank has a total capacity of 141L, can store 5.0kg of high-pressure hydrogen, and has a filling pressure of 70MPa. It only takes 6 minutes to fill the hydrogen storage tank with hydrogen at 35MPa pressure and 3 minutes to fill it with hydrogen at 70MPa pressure. In addition, it uses a motor power of 130kW and a maximum torque of 300N·m.

Honda Motor had already exhibited the first FCX fuel cell car at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1999, and it was sold for lease in California and Japan in 2002. It is the world’s first officially certified fuel cell vehicle. With the continuous development of fuel cell technology, Honda released a new generation of fuel cell vehicles-CLARITY FUEL CELL in March 2016, as shown in Figure 4.

Its maximum driving range is 750km, and it uses two hydrogen storage tanks, which are arranged under and behind the rear seats. The hydrogen storage tank has a total capacity of 141L, can store 5.0kg of high-pressure hydrogen, and has a filling pressure of 70MPa. It only takes 6 minutes to fill the hydrogen storage tank with hydrogen at 35MPa pressure and 3 minutes to fill it with hydrogen at 70MPa pressure. In addition, it uses a motor power of 130kW and a maximum torque of 300N·m.