Hydrogen Archives - Gizmochina

Yamaha Enters the Hydrogen Vehicle Scene with Its Latest Golf Car

Anubhav — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 06:26:21 +0000

Yamaha has recently taken a significant step in the world of alternative energy vehicles by introducing the Drive H2, its first concept vehicle powered by hydrogen. Yamaha’s ongoing efforts are a step towards exploring sustainable fuel options, a journey that started in earnest a couple of years ago.

The car has two hydrogen tanks, with each tank having a 25-litre capacity

The unveiling of the Drive H2 occurred at the 2024 PGA Show in Florida. This vehicle is a modified version of Yamaha’s existing Drive2 Concierge 4 personal golf car, equipped with two hydrogen tanks. Each of these tanks can store up to 25 liters of hydrogen. One tank is positioned at the back of the car, while the other is situated under the driver’s seat.

Yamaha’s path to this innovation began in January 2022 with the announcement of a partnership with Kawasaki to develop hydrogen engines. This was followed by a collaboration with Toyota on a 5-liter V8 hydrogen engine. The commitment of Yamaha to hydrogen as a fuel source was reiterated by their president, Yoshihiro Hidaka, in mid-2023.

The adoption of hydrogen technology in vehicles, however, is not without its challenges. The main obstacle is the need for a supportive infrastructure, similar to the challenges faced by electric vehicles. The availability of hydrogen refueling stations is crucial for the widespread use of such vehicles.

While Yamaha has focused on a golf car for its hydrogen venture, the motorcycle segment is still an area of potential expansion. To date, Kawasaki and Suzuki have been the front runners in developing hydrogen-powered motorcycles. Given Yamaha’s history and the pace at which they are embracing new technologies, further developments in this area could be on the horizon.

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Hydrogen Fuel Cells: Panasonic’s Answer to Sustainable Energy Need in China

Oğuz Çakır — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 12:21:41 +0000

Panasonic is set to launch pure hydrogen fuel cell generators in China starting from April. The aim is to develop global demand for the technology as a 24-hour alternative to solar panels for factories and offices. This move comes as the company looks to establish itself as a leader in the industry, having already started sales of stand-alone fuel cells in Europe and Japan. Here are the details…

Panasonic to sell pure hydrogen fuel cell generators in China

Shigeru Dohno, President of Panasonic Holdings’ China & Northeast Asia unit, announced the move at the company’s battery plant in the city of Wuxi. He emphasized that Panasonic is ahead of the pack in developing this technology and will continue to lead the way in sales. The factory in Wuxi will be used as a showroom for the technology.

Hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. The process emits no carbon dioxide and has several advantages, such as the ability to generate power at all hours and a smaller space requirement than solar panels. However, the high cost of hydrogen fuel remains a challenge, although prices are expected to fall as demand grows.

The Chinese market for hydrogen fuel cell businesses is already quite competitive, with about 100 companies operating in the industry. However, most of them are involved in automotive fuel cells rather than stand-alone types for homes or businesses, as noted by Dohno. Thus, the launch of pure hydrogen fuel cell generators by Panasonic presents a unique opportunity for the company to make an impact in the industry.

Panasonic’s stand-alone fuel cells have already begun sales in Europe, where the company is working with German heating systems maker Viessmann to bring the first systems online in April. Similarly, the fuel cells were launched in Japan in October 2021 and have been installed in a housing development in the Harumi district of Tokyo, among other facilities such as research laboratories.

Despite the high cost of hydrogen fuel, the adoption of fuel cells for power generation is growing globally. The International Energy Agency predicts that hydrogen demand could increase by a factor of 10 by 2050. Furthermore, governments worldwide are investing heavily in hydrogen technology as a clean and reliable source of energy, with the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve sustainability goals.

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World’s Fastest Hydrogen-Powered Train Launched in China

Oğuz Çakır — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 11:46:31 +0000

China has unveiled a new hydrogen/supercapacitor train capable of reaching speeds of 100 mph (160 km/h), making it the fastest hydrogen-powered train to date. The train jointly developed by state-owned industrial giant CRRC (the world’s largest rail vehicle manufacturer) and Chengdu Rail Transit is China’s first hydrogen-powered train passenger train. It offers a range of 373 miles (600 kilometers) and emits nothing but water, making it a zero-emissions train. Here are the details…

One of the main features of this train is its autonomous driving capability, which is enabled by 5G communication technology. The train also has the ability to wake up, start, stop and return to the factory automatically. While Germany is currently the leader in hydrogen trains, with 14 in service, the CRRC trains are able to beat German trains at speeds of around 20 km/h (12 mph). However, German trains currently have a much greater range of around 620 miles (1,000 km).

It is worth noting that while Japan and South Korea have been the most vocal countries promoting green hydrogen as a transportation solution, China is currently leading the way in terms of actual hydrogen refueling station deployment. According to Information Trends statistics, there are only more than 1,000 hydrogen refueling stations In the world, about a third of them are in China.

The move by China is significant because the country, which controls much of the lithium battery supply chain, is now quietly developing hydrogen at top speed. Pushing for an electric revolution seems sensible as lithium crunch threatens to soar prices and thwart it Hydrogen alternatives are early.

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Honda To Start Producing Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles In The US From 2024

Jeet — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 03:53:24 +0000

Honda is pushing to go fully electric in the coming years, and keeping that aim, the company has now announced that it will make and launch a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 2024.

The auto manufacturer has revealed that it will produce the fuel-cell Honda CR-V model at its Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) in Marysville, Ohio, as it plans to go fully electric by 2040 and carbon neutral by 2050.

Fuel cells use hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity for powering the vehicle instead of relying on a battery. It has advantages over battery electric vehicles as the vehicles can be refueled in three to four minutes and travel longer distances before going out of the power supply. But, the technology is not ready for mass adoption, and the public hydrogen stations are concentrated in California in the US.

The upcoming Honda CR-V Hydrogen Fuel-Cell model will come with a plug-in capability for its battery pack to allow it to offer a small amount of electric-only range without having to rely on its hydrogen supply. More details of the car will be revealed sometime closer to its 2024 launch, Honda says. The company didn’t say how many units it plans to build but noted that the factory specializes in small-volume vehicles.

Apart from Honda, Toyota and General Motors have been developing fuel cell technology over the last two decades. Toyota’s Mirai mid-size sedan is heading into its second generation. Honda, which launched its first fuel cell vehicle, the FCX, in 2002 and has invested more than $14 million in California’s hydrogen refueling network.

BMW and Toyota are also teaming up to produce hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the coming years. By 2024, Bosch plans to invest more than $1 billion globally to develop fuel cell technologies, with over $200 million to build fuel cell stacks for commercial trucks at its South Carolina factory.

Hydrogen-powered electric bicycles are here! But are they the future of transportation?

Leo Wong De Quan — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 14:41:38 +0000

With cities around the world trying to save us from the catastrophe that can be caused by global warming, reducing carbon emissions is a must, and studies from around the world have mentioned that private transportation(mainly cars) is one of the many contributors to the increasing greenhouse gas emissions across the globe. Therefore, we can see many countries are now encouraging its citizen to walk, use public transport or cycle to school and work instead of using cars, by improving public transport services and introducing bicycle-friendly infrastructure to their cities instead.

China is no exception to the ongoing trend of reducing its carbon emissions, and it is even the industry leader in the expansion of its high-speed rail network in the past decade in efforts to reduce transportation carbon emissions. And now, the country is introducing an alternative transport to use on the road, hydrogen-powered electric bicycles!

An established Chinese bicycle-sharing platform, YouOn has launched its first in-house hydrogen-powered bicycles to the public on 22 December 2021. Currently, these bicycles are only offered in Changzhou urban city area in the Jiangsu province of China. As of the launch day, there are 1000 of these bicycles offered in the area at a rental price of 2 RMB per 20 minutes.

YouOn bicycle-sharing platform app interface and map for Changzhou area

For the build of the bicycle, it is made of strengthened metal painted with bright pastel blue paint. The hydrogen fuel tank is inside the diagonal body of the bicycle, and the hydrogen power transformer/battery pack is located under the cyclist’s seat. Despite its many components, the bicycle is said to be lightweight as well as safe for cyclists to cycle in the city with no worries.

source: youon group

A spokesperson from YouOn highlighted the features of the company’s new hydrogen-powered electric bicycles: an amazing mileage of 70km on full hydrogen power, reaching up to speeds of 23km/h, and the ability for cyclists to save energy when biking on an uphill journey since the electric power can assist the bicycle going against gravity.

It was known that YouOn has been developing the concept of hydrogen-powered electric bicycles since 2017, and it had the first successful trial run of its first prototype back in October 2019. The main concern during research and development was to solve the hydrogen storage problem via engineering. YouOn had to develop a low-pressurized hydrogen fuel tank that could compress 30MPa to 2MPa to allow more mileage for the bicycle on hydrogen power.

With this latest innovation, the mileage of hydrogen-powered electric bicycles has surpassed those of electric bicycles powered by Lithium-ion batteries. As of current, the manufacturing costs of the bicycles are higher than its Lithium-ion counterpart, but YouOn is expecting to expand the availability of these bicycles with 10,000 more of them on the road by the end of 2022 to promote better awareness of our carbon footprint.

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