October 2020

OCTOBER 2020 AFTERMARKET 27 www.aftermarketonline.net dumping harvested energy back into the system (regenerative braking). Yes. There’s the clue. In a pure electric system, we have to add a pure electric vehicle in its entirety (low voltage system, high voltage system, power controller, DC-AC converters, on-board recharging, electric traction motor and the energy storage system). That means we have two powertrains. An on-board electricity generator powered by hydrogen, and a pure electric powertrain. Oh, and while fuel cell stack prices have fallen below € 10,000, that’s still way, way more than either plugging a vehicle into a larger, more efficient power generation system (and yes, that’s a story for another time) and even more than an internal combustion engine used as an emergency power generator. Then there’s business interests. Manufacturers of bottled gas are naturally very supportive of the hydrogen power movement, as are many oil companies. True, initially only Total supported this, but most companies now recognise in the new lobbyist infested world of eco- warriors, selling hydrocarbon fuels needs some ‘eco’ messaging. The upshot is oil companies (considering profits) and especially government (considering the ludicrous 80%+ tax revenue per litre) do not want to switch off the oil- based economy just yet, and as usual for the public sector, there is no strategy nor plan for any potential transition should the prevailing economic objections to hydrogen (or any other great idea) change. That immediately gets in the way of ‘what comes first’: Fuel supply system or vehicles which can use the ‘new fuel’. The prototype of this situation is rolling out now – electric vehicles have relatively poor access to public charging points, and recharging them in an urban environment can be hazardous for residents. In the UK there are handful of hydrogen refuelling stations, and for the most part the main source of the energy is from bottled gas. Not quite seamless. While the refuelling station lines and nozzles for hydrogen are bulkier, heavier and bigger than the equivalent petrol, diesel or natural gas LPG systems, there have been zero accidents due to hydrogen leaks during refuelling. Yes, there are tiny numbers of vehicles and some users – such as those operating buses or trucks – could be considered to be even more considerate than the general public could be. There is another major benefit – recharging the energy source takes as long as we are used to, a matter of minutes rather than hours, being kind to the battery, or 30 minutes plus, if we want to sustain long-term damage to the battery. The future Is the future hydrogen? Nope. Not for personal transportation, and COVID-19 has just buried the plans for some manufacturers to introduce hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles. And yet, there is one need right now. Semi-trailers which are refrigerated are a cornerstone of food transportation as well as medication, and have the ability to be run from the tractor unit, from the national grid or a small, badly made diesel engine. For anyone who can remember being at a Channel Port or EuroStar waiting to board, the sound of these little diesel engines is very clear. It is not always possible to hook up a refrigerated trailer to a fixed electricity source, so a quiet system is required – the fuel cell! This is already underway. There’s more though. In the unsolved hard-wired world of pure electric vehicles, the process of energy transfer is firmly in the 1800s. If we casually assume this problem will be solved at the same pace as the energy density improvement of batteries, and we venture away from the leafy suburbs of North London, much drama awaits. Further, if one lives ‘in the provinces’ running a pure electric vehicle is not straightforward due to availability of energy top-up points. Enter the hydrogen fuel cell. Suddenly apart from cost of the base electric vehicle, the cost of the additional fuel cell stack system, the energy/environmental impact of making the pure gas… we have a solution. Rather than drinking the pure water that comes out of the tail pipe, perhaps we really should just drink the finest socialist Champagne. Still, who knows what the future holds? www.aftermarketonline.net