Toyota Tells Dealers: Stop Mirai Deliveries!

More than any other car maker, Toyota has been a strong advocate for fuel cell powered cars. What is an FCEV? It’s an electric car that does not use a battery as its main source of power. Instead it has a fuel cell that converts liquid hydrogen into electricity, which is then used to turn an electric motor. The Mirai has a tiny 1 kWh battery to help out when demand for electricity is greater than the fuel cell can provide. The beauty of the whole hydrogen scenario is that emissions consist of nothing more than water vapor and heat. You can’t get any greener than that, can you?

Toyota has invested billions to develop its first fuel cell car, the Mirai. Toyota expects to deliver a total of 300 of the cars between the United States and Europe in 2016. Compared to the global automobile market of nearly 50 million vehicles, that is an infinitesimal amount, no more than a fly speck, really. But Toyota is convinced hydrogen power is the future. With considerable urging from the Japanese government, it has bet virtually the company’s entire  future company on hydrogen power.

But Nagoya, we have a problem! According to Inside EVs, Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota North America, has instructed the dealers who handle the cars, including its highest volume dealer located in Santa Monica, California, to stop delivering cars to new customers. Why? There just aren’t enough hydrogen refueling stations available to for the 72 Mirai sedans that are already on the road . The ones that do exist don’t work very well, either. Toyota advertising for the Mirai carries the slogan “Let’s Go Places.” But right now, there are precious few places a Mirai driver can actually go.

“It is not a stop-sale, we have just asked (the dealers) not to make deliveries until we have a station open,” Lentz told the press at the Detroit auto show. “There are fewer stations than we would have preferred right now.” The California Energy Commission had projected there would be 53 hydrogen stations open in the state by the end of 2015. Instead, there were only five and one of those is out of service most of the time. The others had various issues that have kept them from actually pumping hydrogen. As a result, Toyota had to hastily install temporary refueling stations to meet the demand from Mirai drivers.

Even those were only able to fill the hydrogen tanks on board the cars half way and drivers had to make an appointment to get their hydrogen. That left drivers with only 150 miles of range before they had to go through the whole agonizing process again. None of this zipping in for a quick fill up like Toyota promised.

“I’m pretty confident by the end of the year we’re going to get to 48. It’s just growing pains,” Lentz says. What he doesn’t say is who will foot the bill for those stations. A hydrogen refueling station costs between $1 and $3 million to construct. Clearly, Toyota expects the taxpayers of California to pony up the money needed to build more.

What Toyota is left with is a hydrogen fueled car that is as homely as a mailman’s behind, as my old Irish grandmother would say. It can only go about 150 miles on a half tank of fuel and requires the driver to show up when scheduled. Oh, it’s also slower than a battery electric car and has the handling prowess of a 1948 Hudson. What’s not to like?

If the taxpayers of California have any sense, they will tell Toyota to build its own damn refueling stations, just like Tesla is building its own SuperCharger network. Maybe 50 years from now, the world will run on hydrogen power, but right now, this is the wrong technology, at the wrong time, and the wrong price.

300,000 Kilometers In A Mercedes Fuel Cell Vehicle

Toyota, Honda and Hyundai are not the only car makers working on fuel cell vehicles. Mercedes-Benz has a fleet of 300 B Class-based fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) that have traveled 5.6 million miles since 2010. Recently, one of those cars drove more than 186,000 miles in normal driving conditions, proving that FCEVs offer long term reliability in the real world.

That accomplishment earned Mercedes a Fuel Cell Innovation Award from a jury composed of economists, scientists and political leaders who said “The test is a step in the direction of series-ready application of the fuel cell drive train.” Mercedes is working closely with Ford and Nissan to develop a common fuel cell drivetrain that will be available in showrooms by 2017.

But before that can happen, the hydrogen infrastructure to refuel FCEVs will need to make enormous strides forward. Nobody is going to buy an FCEV if it can’t be refueled conveniently. Recently, the process was given a boost after standards for hydrogen refueling equipment were established.

Mercedes is aware of the challenge and is aggressively pursuing the build-out of hydrogen transportation and refueling systems. Says Prof. Herbert Kohler, chief environmental officer of Daimler AG.“We have clearly demonstrated that the fuel cell electric drive is ready for the road. The last hurdles we will overcome in intensive cross-industry and cross-border teamwork.”

So, is the hydrogen economy ready for prime time? Right now, most  hydrogen is derived from natural gas. Thanks to the rise in fracking here in America and around the world, natural gas is readily available. But if the purpose of FCEVs is to help the environment and if FCEVs rely on fracking for fuel, is the hydrogen economy a step forward or a step back for our beleaguered global eco-system?

370 Mile Electric Cars By 2020 Says VW

Volkswagen will have electric cars with up to 370 miles of range on the market by 2020 says VW’s head of powertrain development, Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neusser. He also says plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs) will only help bridge the gap until electric cars are able to meet the everyday driving needs of the general public and then fade away.

What will make greater driving range possible? Neusser says his company is hard at work finding ways to increase the energy density of its batteries from 25 Ah (ampere hours) today to 37 Ah by 2017. That improvement will allow range to go from 110 miles to 180 miles. The next step is to boost energy density all the way up to 60 Ah, making range up to 370 miles possible. According to Australia’s Motoring, Neusser says “with research will come a completely new electro-chemical chemistry inside the batteries, and this will come at the beginning of the next decade.”

Dr. Neusser sounds very sure of himself and electric cars with 350+ miles of range within the next 5 years is exciting news. I might even be persuaded to trade in my trusty Civic for one. But there are a few hurdles yet to clear before the world embraces electric cars. Infrastructure is one, and costs the other. The Volkswagen e-Golf is the first electric VW for sale in America, and it comes in at a hefty $36,265 but only has an estimated range of between 70 and 90 miles per charge. The infrastructure to recharge these new high power batteries is completely lacking at the present time.

Long range is wonderful to think about, but if the cars that feature such capability cost more than a lightly used Rolls Royce, people like me are going to stick to their used Honda Civics. In the end, it always comes down to money – the difference between what we want and what we can afford. That said, Volkswagen is the peoples’ car after all, and battery prices are expected to continue their downward descent as more investment goes into the technology.

Over on the other side of the world, the Japanese have made a major commitment to fuel cell technology. They are as dismissive of Dr. Neusser’s electric cars as he is of their FCEV’s. Honda has just announced a major new collaboration with SolarCity, the solar panel company co-founded by Elon Musk of Tesla fame. One of the result of that partnership may be a supply of hydrogen from solar power for all the FCEV’s Honda expects to sell.

So if you are a car enthusiasts, buckle your seat belt. We are living in interesting times. About all anyone can say for sure of is that the cars our children and grandchildren drive will be a whole lot different than what’s sitting outside in your driveway right now.

Source: Volkswagen

Hyundai tells Tucson fuel cell story, calls it 'next generation electric vehicle'

Hyundai is going to be in a very celebratory mood next spring. That's when Hyundai will start making its hydrogen fuel-cell electric Tucson crossover available to Golden State citizens next year, and the automaker isn't backing away from hyperbole about its green vehicle ambitions.

"We've had a strategy to be the global eco-leader for years" Hyundai Motor America's John Krafcik

The company has posted a two-plus-minute video all about its Tucson announcement at the Los Angeles Auto Show last month, with a number of executives promoting the FCEV as the Next Big Thing. Naturally, John Krafcik, then still Hyundai Motor America president and chief executive officer, went for broke, saying that Hyundai has "had a strategy to be the global eco-leader for years," and that folks will be "able to drive the future next spring."

The 2015 Tucson Fuel Cell will be available in California next spring for a 36-month lease. Customers who put $2,999 down can lease the car for $499 a month, and that includes unlimited free hydrogen refueling for the vehicles, which have an estimated 300-mile range on a full (H2) tank. There are nine hydrogen refueling stations in California, and four Hyundai dealerships will add them.

Meanwhile, Hyundai will introduce a new concept fuel-cell car, the Intrado, at next year's Geneva Motor Show. The company says the fuel-cell powertrain will be smaller and lighter than the Tucson's, though is saying little else about the vehicle. Check out Hyundai's video below.

Source: Autoblog Green

Hyundai fuel cell chief says EV makers jumped the gun

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs) spew water vapor. FCEV enthusiasts are likely hoping that the head of fuel-cell research at Hyundai isn't just spewing hot air.

Hyundai's Lim Tae-won said electric-vehicle makers like Nissan started mass-producing models such as theLeaf too early and are hurting mass acceptance of EVs because there isn't a sufficient vehicle charging infrastructure in place to support broad sales. Specifically, Reuters reports, he said:

"It was a hasty approach. The battery electric cars may have helped raise brand value for a couple of years, but ended up slowing down the take-off in the market."

The Hyundai executive also said that hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) will become price competitive with battery-electric vehicles sometime between 2020 and 2025, and that FCEVs will become preferred to battery-electric vehicles for the reasons we've all heard before: FCEVs can go about as far as a conventional fossil-fueled vehicle on a full tank – roughly four times a most fully charged EVs. FCEVs also don't emit greenhouse gas emissions.

At the Paris Motor Show earlier this week, Hyundai said that it will make the first mass-produced FCEV. This will be the ix35 (it's the Tucson in the U.S.) fuel-cell crossover and will be available to the public for lease by the end of the year. Through 2015, Hyundai says it will make about 1,000 ix35 FCEVs, which have a full-tank range of about 365 miles.

Earlier this week, Hyundai said it would lease 15 ix35 FCEVs to the city of Copenhagen, which is looking to become "carbon free" by 2025.



Source: Autoblog Green

Hyundai will make 'limited' number of fuel-cell vehicles this year, 'thousands' by 2014

Hyundai has confirmed that it will make a "limited" number of hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV) this year for testing purposes, with a goal of making as many as 10,000 FCEVs annually by 2015.

The South Korean automaker is testing an FCEV based on the Tucson crossover which will be part of test fleets around the world during the next couple of years. Hyundai wasn't specific about how many units of the Tucson ix Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle it will make this year.

The company is "willing to provide a sufficient number of FCEVs where hydrogen infrastructure is available during 2012-2015," Hyundai said in a statement sent to AutoblogGreen. "All we can say is that we have said we will make a limited supply in 2012, and anticipate thousands will be available globally through 2014."

Torque News reported that Hyundai would make as many as 1,000 FCEVs this year, and that the car would be priced at $88,550 before incentives and any tax credits. Hyundai is looking to cut that price to $50,000 by 2015, Torque News said.

Hyundai is among a number of automakers – Toyota, General Motors and Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler among the others – that have targeted 2015 for FCEV mass production. With such plans in place, Pike Research estimated late last year that a million FCEVs will be cumulatively sold by the end of the decade, down from Pike Research's previous estimate of about 2.8 million vehicles.



Source: Autoblog Green

WTW analysis with four economies of sustainable automotive transportation finds CNG vehicles scoring highest

Joshua Gifford and Robert C. Brown at Iowa State University propose the evaluation of four economies in well-to-wheels (WTW) analysis of automotive transportation—primary energy consumption, GHG emissions, water usage, and cost of vehicle operation—in a paper published in the journal Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining.

Life cycle analysis for automotive transportation, commonly known as well-to-wheels (WTW) analysis, has traditionally focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and primary energy consumption. Clearly, economizing on the use of primary energy sources and the amount of GHG emissions associated with automotive transportation are important sustainability metrics. Other important metrics are water usage and cost of vehicle operation.

No scenario is likely to simultaneously minimize all four metrics, suggesting the identification of a single figure of merit that encompasses all four economies of transportation fuels. We employed a normalization scheme that allowed calculation of a single composite score for each scenario called the CWEG (Cost-Water-Energy-GHG) score. Automotive transportation scenarios evaluated in this paper include a variety of fossil and renewable primary energy sources; several energy carriers as transportation fuels; and three distinct vehicle platforms including internal combustion engines, battery electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles.

The pair found that compressed natural gas scored highest, with CWEG scores of 71–74 out of a possible score of 100, well above the next highest score, which was 45 for conventional diesel hybrid electric vehicles. Fuel cell vehicles running on hydrogen generated using power from the US electric grid had the lowest CWEG scores, ranging from 13 to 15.

Source: Green Car Congress

Hyundai unveils next-gen FCEV sedan concept Blue2 at Seoul Motor Show

South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Company unveiled the Blue² concept vehicle, the company’s first sedan-style hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), at the Seoul Motor Show. The automaker also introduced its first gasoline-hybrid vehicle, the Sonata Hybrid, to its home market.

The Blue2 FCEV concept. Click to enlarge.

The Blue² (code-named HND-6) is a mid-size FCEV which Hyundai says shows a blueprint for future sedans. Aiming at gaining early leadership of the FCEV market, Blue² is powered by a fuel cell electric system that delivers a stack power of 90 kW (1.65 kW/L) and fuel economy of 34.9 km/L.

Blue² is also equipped with low-resistance tires and alloy wheels which are designed to improve aerodynamic performance, while the car’s interior design encompasses a futuristic look by using eco-friendly new materials.

Hyundai’s concept keywords for the exterior design are “Intersected Flow”.

Source: Green Car Congress