New Delhi: Automakers are experimenting with a mixture of half a dozen gasoline applied sciences of their vitality baskets. They’re slowly graduating from the traditional 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 vehicle trade because the previous decade, it’s changing into an energetic a part of the ecosystem to maneuver in direction of decarbonisation. Now, HPVs might be additional divided into hydrogen gasoline cell electrical automobiles (FCEVs) and hydrogen inside combustion engines (H2 ICE). FCEVs generate electrical energy from hydrogen in a tool referred to as gasoline cell that’s used to energy the electrical motor, whereas H2 ICE burns hydrogen in an inside combustion engine.
In keeping with Srihari Mulgund, Accomplice- New Age Mobility, EY Parthenon, H2 ICE would require minimal incremental modifications to the traditional powertrain and car structure, which makes it a logical choice, particularly for cost-conscious markets similar to India, Southeast Asia, Africa, and so forth. It may well additionally probably open up new alternatives similar to retrofitting of the present on-road ICE business car fleet, lengthy distance intercity buses, and so forth.
Girish Wagh, Govt Director, Tata Motors, mentioned, “Because it seems at this time, heavy-duty long-haul functions can’t be addressed by BEVs for business automobiles (CVs). For gasoline cell electrical, a really excessive stage of purity within the hydrogen is required, and hydrogen ICE can work at a decrease stage of purity. Secondly, hydrogen ICE permits utilizing the present obtainable infrastructure that has been in place for many years. Therefore, in a method, it could actually additionally preserve that worth chain for longer.”
Speaking on comparable traces, N Saravanan, Chief Expertise Officer (CTO), Ashok Leyland, mentioned, “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 be method lower than the quantities seen within the standard ICE fuels. ”
FCEVs are anticipated to be a most popular choice for gentle load, lengthy haul functions. “A well-tuned gasoline cell can run at above 60% effectivity, which implies working value can be decrease than ICE engines, which run at 40%-45% effectivity,” mentioned Pradeep Kumar, VP (Product Engineering), DICV.
“The effectivity for hydrogen ICE is just like standard ICE. Which means for heavy load, mining, off street functions, ICE will make sense as a result of it should function at optimum effectivity. In these conditions, the effectivity of gasoline cells can go even beneath ICE, leading to an enormous distinction in working value,” he mentioned.
Nonetheless, FCEVs are a totally new know-how and anticipated to be pretty costly than H2 ICE owing to spending on R&D, infrastructure, improvement and testing strategies. H2 ICE automobiles have been formally showcased on the Auto Expo 2023 for the primary time in India.
Raghavendra Vaidya, MD & CEO, Daimler Truck Innovation Centre India, mentioned, “Within the subsequent decade, we’ll work out which know-how turns into mainstream, however we firmly imagine hydrogen can be part of the journey.”
Anticipated setbacks
In the intervening time, trade specialists imagine that there are many unknowns on the know-how entrance, even globally. No matter whether or not the automakers go for hydrogen ICE or gasoline cells, what must be discovered is methods 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 gasoline cells are zero emission, hydrogen ICE remains to be polluting, despite the fact that the air pollution ranges aren’t greater than 5% in comparison with a traditional diesel car engine. Owing to this, Hydrogen ICE is probably not particularly counted within the class of inexperienced gasoline, which can hinder OEMs from authorities incentives in sure nations.
Mulgund of EY believes that H2 ICE is usually a bridging know-how to stay cost-competitive until the gasoline cell know-how is commercialized whereas propelling the event of the hydrogen infrastructure.
Pradeep Kumar of DICV mentioned, “Coverage, value and know-how will finally determine which can be a better option of gasoline. 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 is not going to be a transition to 1 one other, however coexist.”
As an 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 mentioned that making a provide chain and ecosystem, together with reaching the worth parity for shoppers is a problem.
The federal government in India can be targeted on the Nationwide Hydrogen Mission, which provides them a path and provides confidence to OEMs’ plan of transitioning in direction of the rising know-how. Nonetheless, the hydrogen provide chain together with its manufacturing, transmission, distribution, making it obtainable at retail are nonetheless within the works.