New Delhi: Automakers are experimenting with a mixture of half a dozen gas applied sciences of their power baskets. They’re slowly graduating from the standard fuels, petrol and diesel, to pure fuel, blended fuels like flex fuels and biofuels and to zero emission battery electrical automobiles (BEVs) and hydrogen-powered automobiles (HPVs).
Whereas hydrogen has been a subject of dialogue within the car trade because the previous decade, it’s turning into an energetic a part of the ecosystem to maneuver in the direction of decarbonisation. Now, HPVs may be additional divided into hydrogen gas cell electrical automobiles (FCEVs) and hydrogen inner combustion engines (H2 ICE). FCEVs generate electrical energy from hydrogen in a tool referred to as gas cell that’s used to energy the electrical motor, whereas H2 ICE burns hydrogen in an inner combustion engine.
In response to Srihari Mulgund, Companion- New Age Mobility, EY Parthenon, H2 ICE would require minimal incremental modifications to the standard powertrain and automobile structure, which makes it a logical choice, particularly for cost-conscious markets similar to India, Southeast Asia, Africa, and so forth. It may additionally doubtlessly open up new alternatives similar to retrofitting of the present on-road ICE business automobile fleet, lengthy distance intercity buses, and so forth.
Girish Wagh, Govt Director, Tata Motors, stated, “Because it seems at the moment, heavy-duty long-haul functions can’t be addressed by BEVs for business automobiles (CVs). For gas cell electrical, a really excessive degree of purity within the hydrogen is required, and hydrogen ICE can work at a decrease degree of purity. Secondly, hydrogen ICE permits utilizing the present out there infrastructure that has been in place for many years. Therefore, in a approach, it may additionally hold that worth chain for longer.”
Speaking on comparable traces, N Saravanan, Chief Know-how Officer (CTO), Ashok Leyland, stated, “Hydrogen ICE is smart from the medium-term perspective. It looks like a sensible answer not only for us, however from the angle of the ecosystem as it’s zero carbon with the one pollutant being nitrogen, which can also be approach lower than the quantities seen within the typical ICE fuels. ”
FCEVs are anticipated to be a most popular choice for mild load, lengthy haul functions. “A well-tuned gas cell can run at above 60% effectivity, which suggests working value might be decrease than ICE engines, which run at 40%-45% effectivity,” stated Pradeep Kumar, VP (Product Engineering), DICV.
“The effectivity for hydrogen ICE is just like typical ICE. Which means that for heavy load, mining, off street functions, ICE will make sense as a result of it’s going to function at optimum effectivity. In these conditions, the effectivity of gas cells can go even beneath ICE, leading to an enormous distinction in working value,” he stated.
Nonetheless, FCEVs are a totally new know-how and anticipated to be pretty costly than H2 ICE owing to spending on R&D, infrastructure, growth and testing strategies. H2 ICE automobiles had been formally showcased on the Auto Expo 2023 for the primary time in India.
Raghavendra Vaidya, MD & CEO, Daimler Truck Innovation Centre India, stated, “Within the subsequent decade, we are going to work out which know-how turns into mainstream, however we firmly consider hydrogen might be part of the journey.”
Anticipated setbacks
In the intervening time, trade specialists consider that there are many unknowns on the know-how entrance, even globally. Regardless of whether or not the automakers go for hydrogen ICE or gas cells, what must be discovered is the right way to produce inexperienced hydrogen.
Similar to FCEVs, H2 ICE would require big investments for storage tanks as Hydrogen is a extremely flammable fuel. Carbon fibre could possibly be a most popular alternative of fabric for these tanks. Moreover, whereas gas cells are zero emission, hydrogen ICE remains to be polluting, regardless that the air pollution ranges will not be greater than 5% in comparison with a traditional diesel automobile engine. Owing to this, Hydrogen ICE is probably not particularly counted within the class of inexperienced gas, which can hinder OEMs from authorities incentives in sure nations.
Mulgund of EY believes that H2 ICE generally is a bridging know-how to stay cost-competitive until the gas cell know-how is commercialized whereas propelling the event of the hydrogen infrastructure.
Pradeep Kumar of DICV stated, “Coverage, value and know-how will in the end determine which might be a better option of gas. In the intervening time, we’re within the messy center the place all of the applied sciences are evolving. When the inexperienced period lastly comes, it looks like EVs or hydrogen won’t be a transition to at least one one other, however coexist.”
For example, the time taken to fill the hydrogen tanks is much less as in comparison with charging a full battery pack. Nonetheless, transporting and storing the hydrogen is a problem.
Raghavendra Vaidya additionally stated that making a provide chain and ecosystem, together with reaching the worth parity for shoppers is a problem.
The federal government in India can also be targeted on the Nationwide Hydrogen Mission, which provides them a route and provides confidence to OEMs’ plan of transitioning in the direction of the rising know-how. Nonetheless, the hydrogen provide chain together with its manufacturing, transmission, distribution, making it out there at retail are nonetheless within the works.
