Just how much of an impact will fuel cell vehicles make on the market in the next 10 years? A new report from Pike Research has examined the issue.

It suggests that fuel cell vehicles will be commercially launched in most regions by 2014 and that cumulative sales of light duty fuel cell cars and trucks will pass the 2.8million vehicle mark globally by 2020.

The report suggests that research into fuel cell vehicles will reach $4billion this year and will climb to $5.3billion globally by 2016. Spending is expected to grow rapidly between 2015 and 2016 with automakers committing to introducing vehicles to the marketplace.

Pike Research also suggests that annually light vehicle fuel cell sales will total 669,597 by 2020 with Western Europe likely to lead the charge of sales with a 37 per cent share of the world market. The Asia Pacific region will be close behind, accounting for 36 per cent of sales; while North American sales will make up around 25 per cent of the total. Despite North America having a smaller share of the market overall, the US is still expected to be the largest single country market for fuel cell vehicles with China and Germany close behind.

The research also outlines five car manufacturers that are expected to lead the way for fuel cell vehicle sales – Daimler, Honda, General Motors, Hyundai and Toyota. Currently, it is these manufacturers that have the largest fleets of fuel cell vehicles.

According to Dave Hurst of Pike Research, fuel cell vehicles should receive “substantial support from the largest automakers” and now the pressure is on both governments and gas companies to ensure hydrogen fuelling stations are in place to support the emerging market.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University and MIT believe they have developed a new solid-state polymer electrolyte for use in electrochemical devices including fuel cells and batteries.

The major potential advantage of such a system is that it would produce electrolytes that can firmly bond to the fuel cell electrodes on either side. This membrane could be formed directly on the electrode which would create a uniform and highly controlled membrane-electrode assembly. By comparison, in conventional fuel cells the three parts are made separately and the bonds can result in inefficiency.

According to Avni Argun, a post-doctoral researcher at MIT, working with Paula Hammond, the Bayer Professor of chemical engineering, tightly bonded interfaces boost both efficiency and reliability. They will also reduce the amount of platinum needed in the electrodes, which in turn cuts their costs.

The paper was published in the ACS journal Chemistry of Materials with a layer by layer method used to create homogenous blends of MEEP, a poly-acrylic acid with controlled film growth and excellent hydrolytic stability. According to Argun this is the first incorporation of phosphazene based polymer into multi-layer structured film and these films are strong candidates for use in fuel cells and batteries.

As part of South Wales’ new status as a Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA), the M4 is set to be transformed into a ‘hydrogen highway’.

That is according to the BBC, following the announcement today by Lord Hunt that South Wales is set to become a hub of development for hydrogen technologies.

The Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change visited the University of Glamorgan this morning to announce the investment into local projects for developing hydrogen refuelling technology as well as natural gas/biogas facilities.

One of the biggest obstacles to the wider adoption of hydrogen fuelled vehicles is a lack of refuelling infrastructure. The new investment in South Wales will see the development of the UK’s longest hydrogen refuelling corridors expected to span from refuelling points in Wales through Swindon and London and extending into the Midlands.

Wales already has two multi-fuel filling facilities in south Wales, at Baglan and Treforest.

While some sceptics remain critical of hydrogen as a fuel for transport- at the moment it is expensive to produce and difficult to store- others including environmental group, Friends of the Earth welcome the news.

Gordon James, director of Friends of the Earth Cymru told the broadcaster: "This is excellent news. It will help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions for the transport sector which is responsible for about 12 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions in Wales.

"It will also help develop the green economy in Wales. It shows that Wales is prepared to take the lead in this area, which is something we can proud of,” he added.

Hydrogen as a fuel also needs to be produced from another energy source. At the moment, hydrogen is released by steaming natural gas, meaning that it has a fossil-fuel source. Mr James believes that a vital part of this project will be to ensure that the hydrogen is produced from a renewable energy source instead.

In total, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is to invest £7.2 million into the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technology within the area.

The Government has announced two new Low Carbon Economic Areas (LCEA), as part of Britain’s push to become a leading force in the development of green technologies.

Yesterday it was announced the West Midlands would be designated as an area specifically focused around leading the automotive industry towards producing low carbon vehicles. The announcement came as Business Secretary Lord Mandelson visited the University of Warwick and unveiled a new £19 million fund for research and development of new greener vehicles.

Visiting the International Manufacturing Centre at the university  to launch the LCEA, Lord Mandelson said: “I want to see the Midlands help the UK to lead the global automotive industry in the transition from conventional to low carbon vehicle technologies. The LCEA will send a clear signal to the global market about the Midlands’ strengths in advanced automotive engineering.

“The move towards a low carbon economy presents huge opportunities. This new funding will help secure the Midlands’ 10,000 existing car industry jobs, by helping transform them into the green car jobs of the future.”   

Today, Lord Hunt the Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change announced that South Wales was to play a similar role as an LCEA, only its role will focus on becoming a  leading centre in the development of hydrogen energy.

Visiting the University of Glamorgan, Lord Hunt announced a £7.2 million funding for the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technology of which the university will take a share.

As part of this, the University of Glamorgan announced that it is investing £6.3m of its own funds to develop new processes, products and services as part of the CymruH2Wales project. It will create 23 new research staff over the next three years and a further 63 permanent jobs in hydrogen energy.

Lord Hunt said: “Cleaning up our energy supply and the fuel we use for transport will give the UK the opportunity to develop the low carbon industries of the future.  Fuel cells and hydrogen can play a key role in cutting CO2 emissions and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. 

“Through this boost for hydrogen, innovative businesses like Johnson Matthey are well placed to benefit from the move to low carbon. I congratulate them on their funding award and thank them for this contribution to tackling climate change.”

There was a further boost for the University of Glamorgan when Lord Hunt revealed that it was a winner of a share of £500,000 from the latest round of the Department for Transport’s grants to encourage refuelling or recharging stations for alternative fuels. The University will use its funding to build a new multi-fuel filling station at its Pontypridd campus and further develop its existing facility at its Hydrogen Centre in Baglan.

In total the UK now has six LCEAs, which also include the South West as a centre for wave and tidal energy, the North East as a centre for ultra low carbon vehicles, the North West and Yorkshire in its focus on developing a UK civil nuclear supply chain and Greater Manchester on creating a greener built environment.

The North American International Auto Show has marked the debut of a host of exciting new green car concepts, but few were as eagerly anticipated as Honda’s new CR-Z hybrid, dubbed the world’s first hybrid sports car. Yet despite its commitment to advancing electromotive technologies, Honda CEO and President Takanobu Ito was keen to promote the long-term benefits of a different technology (see article).

“We continue to believe that a fuel cell electric vehicle is the ultimate solution to reduce CO2 emissions,” he said. “The development cost must come down and there must be a major expansion of the hydrogen fuelling infrastructure. But make no mistake, as a vehicle, the Honda FCX Clarity is ready now. Further, Honda is unique in making long-term investments to develop the refuelling infrastructure for alternative fuel vehicles.”

So can fuel cell vehicles really break into the mainstream?

Big name manufacturers backing fuel cells

Despite fuel cell vehicles suffering a number of funding setbacks last year that we examined in our article “Why we shouldn’t give up on fuel cells”, it now seems that major car manufacturers are once again willing to put their faith in hydrogen powered vehicles.

Nissan has delivered its first hydrogen X-Trail to a soft drinks company in California (see article). The vehicle, which is based on the X-Trail SUV, is fitted with a 90kW compact fuel cell stack, a compact lithium-ion battery and a high pressure hydrogen storage system. Versions of the car are said to be capable of 90mph and a cruising range of 300miles.

Toyota too has expanded its fuel cell demonstration program in the US placing vehicles with government agencies, universities and private companies in California and New York with the intention of adding more regional partners as more hydrogen stations are added. According to Irv Miller, Toyota Motor Sales group vice president of environmental and public affairs, the plan is to come to market in 2015 “or earlier” and he believes Toyota “will not be alone” in the fuel cell marketplace.

And if you thought it was just the Japanese that are latching on to the technology then think again – PSA Peugeot Citroen presented a demonstrator with the FiSyPAC hydrogen fuel cell range extender system at a show in Lyon, France, in December having successfully quadrupled the fuel cell’s lifespan and increased its efficiency by 20 per cent since work on the project began in 2006 (see article).

Why stumbling blocks remain

Despite a renewed commitment to the technology from major manufacturers, there are still a number of hurdles to overcome before hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can prosper – a point that was highlighted by Revolve Technologies’ technical director Paul Turner last week (see article).

During its efforts to convert Ford Transit vehicles to run on hydrogen fuel, the company has encountered not only technological problems but legislative ones too. With no laws yet governing the use of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, the Transits are technically unapproved for the UK’s roads and the company is now working closely with the Department of Transport to establish legislation relating to the storage, handling and dispensing of the fuel.

There remains a greater need too, for more hydrogen fuelling infrastructure. Though fuelling stations have emerged, such as through the California Hydrogen Highway program; the hydrogen highway between Mantova, Italy and Munich, Germany; and even the first hydrogen station in the UK at the University of Birmingham; progress remains comparatively slow. The bulk of Government funding, in the US and UK in particular, appears focused on promoting electric vehicles and building recharging points with hydrogen technology taking a back seat.

Our verdict

It would appear that hydrogen fuel cell technology is at something of a crossroads. Once seen as the natural successor to internal combustion engines, the technology fell by the wayside as funding was pumped into electric vehicles with criticisms focusing on the high costs of fuel cells and the lack of infrastructure.

However, as research and development programmes have continued there appears to be renewed faith in the technology from the leading manufacturers. With it now possible to produce hydrogen from water using renewable energy it could even be argued that fuel cell cars are a more environmentally friendly prospect than electric vehicles which still rely on fossil fuels for the bulk of their electricity production.

The key then as to whether the technology sinks or swims is whether there is serious backing from governments in the developed and developing worlds through funding and incentive programmes. We are on the brink of an electric car breakthrough thanks largely to government support: now the question remains as to whether hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be afforded the same opportunities.

Faye Sunderland

While stating that it understands electric vehicle technology as well as anyone, and unveiling its new CR-Z hybrid sports car, Honda still believes that fuel cells are the future.

Honda Motor President and CEO Takanobu Ito, speaking at the Detroit Motor Show, outlined how the company has taken up the challenge to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by advancing various electromotive technologies. He referenced the development of the EV Plus electric vehicle in the 1990s and leasing to individual customers in the California area.

However, he also stated that a fuel cell electric vehicle is “the ultimate solution to reducing CO2 emissions”. He said that the development cost must come down and there must be a major expansion of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, but, he said, the Honda FCX Clarity is “ready now” and Honda is making long-term investments to develop infrastructure for alternative fuel cell vehicles.

He revealed that this month the company will begin operation of a next-generation solar hydrogen station at its Los Angeles Research and Development Centre – one that has the potential to fuel the ultimate eco-car.

He stated however, that in the near term, the most important approach is to expand the use of hybrid electric vehicles and the company will apply hybrid systems that are “compact, lightweight and affordable to a wider range of products in the near future”.

Mercedes-Benz has confirmed production of the B-Class Fuel CELL vehicle.

The hydrogen-run car is initially to produce 200 models which will be delivered to customers in Europe and the US from spring 2010 according to The Independent.

On display at the Copenhagen summit this week, the B-Class F-Cell is expected to have a range up to 248 miles and a top speed of around 100 mph. The car is run through an electric drive system powered by a fuel cell. A hydrogen fuel tank supplies the fuel cell which generates the electrical power on board. The only emissions are pure water.

According to the national newspaper, the vehicle will also be able to start at temperatures as low as -25°C, traditionally an area of concern with fuel-cells, which as hydrogen vapors are at risk of solidifying below freezing point. The B-Class overcomes this by taking electrical energy from an on-board battery as it warms up in cold temperatures.

Mercedes-Benz will be the second only mainstream carmaker to make a full production fuel cell car, after Honda first made the FCX Clarity, which is currently available for sale or lease in small numbers in the US and Japan.

Hydrogen fuel cell cars have been slow to reach the market, as carmakers are still in the process of developing and refining the technology to run vehicles on the fuel, while a lack of refuelling infrastructure has also hampered its introduction to the roads.

Hydrogen fuel cells may not be garnering the same level of attention as electric cars in recent times, but they still have a bright future if the latest innovation from PSA Peugeot Citroen is any indication.

The company is presenting a demonstrator equipped with the FiSyPAC (Fiabilisation systeme pile a combustile) hydrogen fuel cell range extender system at a show in Lyon that is designed to showcase hydrogen as a fuel source.

The FiSyPAC project was initiated in 2006 with finance from the French National Research Agency. The demonstrator comes with a 17kW GENEPAC fuel cell stack, a storage tank holding 4.2kg of hydrogen at 700bar and a 13kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The fully electric vehicle, which is based on a Peugeot 307 coupe, has a driving range of 311 miles with 47miles in charge depleting mode. Fuel consumption is 165Wh/km in charge depleting mode and 1.05kg/100km in range extending hybrid mode.

Since its initiation the project has focused on designing high performance, high efficiency components with significant advancements made thanks to collaboration with French research laboratories. Among the innovations is a controller that measures the state of the voltage of each individual cell of a fuel cell. Controlling these electric functions assumes an accurate knowledge of the state of health of the generator – if some of the cells are defective the entire performance of the fuel cell may be degraded.

PSA Peugeot Citroen has managed to quadruple the fuel cell’s lifespan while increasing efficiency by nearly 20 per cent. However, these advances do come with a number of road blocks such as the cost of the fuel cell system and lithium-ion batteries. As such, PSA doesn’t expect to begin mass marketing until the 2020-2025 timeframe.

The knowledge PSA is picking up is expected to be applied to a number of projects including the Peugeot Ion and Citroen C-Zero electric vehicles that will be introduced in late 2010 and the Peugeot 3008 and Citroen DS5 diesel hybrids scheduled to be introduced in 2011.

Fans of fuel cell technology can rejoice – despite being in the shadow of electric cars over the last 12 months, there is still life in this new technology.

Nissan North America is now leasing its X-TRAIL Fuel Cell Vehicle to the Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Company.  Previously, Nissan, which actually began developing fuel cell vehicles back in 1996, had only used the technology in demonstration fleets – this represents the first commercial Nissan fuel cell vehicle lease in North America.

The lease will last for one year, with an option for two additional years, with the X-TRAIL FCV to be used for sales calls and public events.

As for the vehicle itself, it is based on the X-TRAIL SUV, which is available in Mexico, Japan and Europe. It is fitted with a Nissan-developed 90kW compact fuel cell stack, as well as a compact lithium-ion battery and high-pressure hydrogen storage cylinder. Its performance is reportedly close to that of a similarly sized internal combustion engine with versions of this generation capable of more than 95mph. 

Nissan has also announced that it is testing a next-generation fuel cell stack. The new fuel cell unit is 25 per cent smaller than the previous model and offers 1.4 times the power output.

As the Los Angeles Motor Show inches ever closer, more announcements are being made about exciting new vehicles with a distinctly green theme that will debut at the event.

Among them are two new vehicles from Mercedes Benz – the diesel-powered E350 BlueTEC and the hydrogen fuel cell powered F-Cell, both of which will be making their North American debuts at the event.

The E350 BlueTEC is powered by a 3.0litre V6 diesel engine with 210hp and 542Nm of torque. It achieves around 30 per cent better fuel economy than a comparable petrol engine and includes an AdBlue SCR system. It will be available from spring 2010.

The Mercedes Benz F-Cell meanwhile, has a range of around 240 miles and offers an equivalent fuel mileage of 86.6 city-highway combined miles per gallon when running on compressed hydrogen. It is expected that 200 of the vehicles will be delivered to customers around the US and Europe as part of a lease programme.

Another debutant from Mercedes, at the event, will be the ML450 Hybrid – which will be making its first appearance on the West Coast. It uses a 3.5litre V6 petrol engine, along with a two-mode hybrid system, and produces more than 46 per cent better fuel economy that a comparable V8 ML550 model.