Man Who Shaped China As A Mobility Leader Thinks Hydrogen Fuel-Cells Are The 'Next Big Thing'

China is undoubtedly at the forefront of the ongoing electric vehicle revolution. The country successfully planned and executed numerous strategies to pull this off, to the point that it is the leading producer as well as user of electric vehicles, in the world. A look at the brains behind this will highlight one particular name though - Wan Gang, the country¡¯s Minister of Science and Technology. And if his prediction for the future of mobility is to be believed, fuel-cell vehicles will be the 'next big thing'.

Do not mistake it for a unique thought though. Fuel-cell vehicles have been around for quite a while now. In fact, for many economies, they were the first choice to drift away from the use of internal combustion engines. And why not? They can be refueled just like petrol/diesel vehicles and the end product they release is, well, only water and heat! Meaning they are completely green for the environment and the users don¡¯t have to wait for hours to charge them up. Best of both worlds (IC engines and electric vehicles), right?

Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang. (Image: Reuters)

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The problems

Why not go for hydrogen fuel-cells then, you ask? It is not as simple as it sounds. First, the fuel-cell vehicle technology is costly, meaning pricier vehicles for the users.

Then comes the massive issue of storing Hydrogen, a highly flammable substance. It is not impossible, of course, but it calls for an equally gigantic investment to create the infrastructure for such storage on a nationwide scale.

Citing these reasons, Hydrogen never really picked up heat (not literally) as the preferred fuel for vehicles. Consider the fact that China, a country that already has 2 million all-electric vehicles running on its roads, only has 1,500 fuel-cell vehicles in use.

A hydrogen fuel cell Hyundai Tucson EV getting refilled at a hydrogen pump (Image: Reuters)

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Wan¡¯s vision

Wan is credited with shaping the mobility of China as it stands today. The former Audi executive successfully managed to eliminate the country¡¯s dependence on fossil fuel imports and bring down the overall emissions produced through its transportation means. Now, his vision for fuel-cell vehicles, kind of supplements the use of pure electric vehicles instead of replacing them.

¡°We should look into establishing a hydrogen society,¡± Wan said in an interview with Bloomberg on June 9. Of course, he also has a plan for this. Wan envisions the fuel-cell vehicles dominating the long highway routes, while the pure-electric vehicles ply the inner-city roads. An ideal combination, if pulled off. The long range anxiety of EVs will be eliminated through the use of hydrogen fuel-cells. And the refueling network won¡¯t even have to be within the city.

The targeted segment for this would be the long haul delivery or transport vehicles - trucks and buses. They will easily be able to refuel within minutes and would run completely emission-free. All-electric vehicles, meanwhile, can continue to serve the inner-city commute, where the range is not as big of an issue.

China¡¯s way ahead

If Wan says Hydrogen will be the next fuel in use, it is easy to expect China making it happen. Think of it this way. All of the problems associated with the widespread use of Hydrogen as a fuel can be met through a massive funding and a confidence boost to the industry towards the direction. China has done it before, with the electric vehicles. It is safe to say it is very much capable of doing it again.

The country has started working on it already. As per Wan, China is promoting hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles in a few trial regions in a holistic way, encompassing hydrogen production, storage, transportation and refueling. Basically setting up an entire ecosystem for fuel-cell vehicles.

(Representative Image: Reuters)

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In addition, the government will continue to give out subsidies on the production of fuel-cell vehicles, even as it phases out those given to EV makers. Naturally, auto makers with the technology would aim to gain from these, producing more fuel-cell vehicles in the process.

The part that works for China is that the country has an abundant supply of Hydrogen. Like in the case of Lithium in electric vehicles, it will not have to import any related element in vast quantities.

A look at the public transportation system shows that China is globally the biggest user of electric buses. In the future, a hydrogen based powertrain for such buses that cover long distances will quite easily be beneficial in more than one way. Wan compares the two - mentioning a 500 km range for fuel-cell buses, while only a 200 km range on an average, for those that run on batteries.

The industry¡¯s take

While hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles never really took off in a big way, auto makers are not alien to the technology. Several of the automobile giants have at least one or more such vehicles on offer in their portfolios. Honda, Hyundai, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Toyota, Volkswagen are just some of the players in the race.

They have not built on the fuel-cell product lineup till now but maybe China¡¯s new-found focus was just the kind of motivation that the industry needed to work harder than ever before towards the direction. Subsidies, infrastructure and the market, China currently has everything that these companies could ask for to build on the dream.

Toyota Project Portal hydrogen fuel cell electric semi-truck and a Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (Image: Reuters)

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What does India have to gain?

As of now, India is already caught up with the transition to electric vehicles to cut down on oil imports and enable a greener modes of transport in the country. This means that the resources are quite engaged with the introduction of such an ecosystem. In the midst, it seems pretty difficult to welcome fuel-cell technology.

But even if not immediately, such a plan can actually work wonders for India as and when it picks up pace. If China is able to execute on the vision, the industry is anticipated to see a global uprising of such vehicles. That is when markets like India will have an abundance of choices too, tried and tested ones nonetheless. Gradual efforts towards the infrastructure at the time will easily enable a smooth incorporation of fuel-cell vehicles on the Indian roads.

Do you think hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are the future? Will they be beneficial for India? Let us know in the comments section below.