ECO-POWER
DRIVING THE DEVELOPMENT OF TURNKEY FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY
Hydrogen has the potential to
power the shift to zero-emission mobility. But how can smaller vehicle manufacturers help to unlock a greener future? Ashley Kells, programme director at Intelligent Energy, explains how the company’s patented IE-DRIVE fuel cell technology is ready to transform the global passenger car market
T
o ensure zero-emission mobility becomes a global reality, the automotive industry is
searching for a viable propulsion solution that will decarbonise our roads. With vehicle legislation and Euro 7 emissions standards continuing to make the headlines, the search has moved up a gear – and hydrogen is in the spotlight. Intelligent Energy predicts the global hydrogen
fuel cell market for passenger cars and vans will be worth around £569 billion by 2040. This tells us that although the uptake of sustainable mobility has been slow, it will soon gather momentum as petrol and diesel-powered vehicles are phased out, and the limitations of battery power are fully digested. The specification and performance of our new IE-DRIVE hydrogen fuel cell system for the passenger car market proves we are at the point where new possibilities for hydrogen-powered vehicles can now be realised. Generating competitive power from fuel cells
has traditionally been a challenge for innovators. But, as a single stack solution that returns 157kW, IE-DRIVE is more powerful than other passenger car alternatives. And with a 30% smaller heat exchanger, the ‘engine-shaped’ unit is also smaller than other solutions, creating under- bonnet packaging benefits for car manufacturers.
HESITANCY AROUND HYDROGEN Fuel cells can play a key role in the mission to decarbonise mobility, given their ability to address some of the challenges associated with battery electric vehicles – namely a dependency on limited natural resources, limited electric grid capacity, long battery charging time and limited vehicle range. But there has been hesitancy around the adoption of hydrogen. Like many emerging fuel vectors, education is key to increasing adoption. It’s normal to have a degree of apprehension about things that are not familiar, but we believe understanding
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is key to realising the potential of hydrogen. Alongside this, the sector requires more support from the government and the value chain to grow. Today, the global infrastructure isn’t in place to support the full-scale adoption of hydrogen within mobility. There are more than 1000 hydrogen refuelling stations across the world, but to pursue the Net Zero initiative, this needs to increase exponentially. And we firmly believe it will. The European
Council only last year announced its Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Law (AFIR) will provide more public charging and refuelling stations in cities and on motorways across Europe. That’s a good step forward.
A COMMERCIALLY-VIABLE SOLUTION Cost will also have a part to play in supporting the adoption of hydrogen fuel cell technology in the automotive sector. As hydrogen is expensive to produce, it’s more of a challenge to reduce material costs over time when compared to fossil fuels and batteries. But IE-DRIVE addresses limiting costs through
its patented direct water injection technology. This allows a 30% smaller heat exchanger to be used which, without the need for a humidifier and related parts, reduces component count and the bill of materials. We predict IE-DRIVE will be cost competitive with
hybrid alternatives from manufacturers like Range Rover or Porsche by the end of the decade; and then become cheaper as, unlike batteries, a large proportion of cost of a fuel cell is associated with manufacturing and processing, which reduces with increased volume and automation.
THE NEXT SUSTAINABLE CHAPTER Fuel cells have the power to unlock many benefits once wide-scale adoption is achieved. The roll-out
ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS - Summer 2024
of this innovative technology can contribute to the democratisation of power as dependency on fossil fuels decreases and countries will potentially benefit from greater energy independence and security. With hydrogen fuel cells suitable for use across a range of applications – including automotive, aerospace, telecoms, manual handling equipment, construction, micro-grid and unmanned aerial vehicles – there are also significant economic benefits to be had as well. For the automotive industry specifically, fuel
cell-powered vehicles will undoubtedly help to shift the dial for sustainable mobility. And in the case of IE-DRIVE, this is an under-bonnet solution that gives smaller vehicle manufacturers – who don’t have their own hydrogen fuel cell development programme or access to third party suppliers that are associated with large automotive groups – the access that they need to a powerful, turnkey and commercially-viable system. With 25% of all passenger cars expected to
have hydrogen fuel cell powertrains, this clean technology represents the future. It can accelerate the transition towards zero-emission mobility as the decarbonising propulsion solution the automotive industry has, until now, been searching for.
Intelligent Energy
www.intelligent-energy.com
www.essmag.co.uk
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