Russia (bbabo.net) - The country has taken a course towards the active introduction of hydrogen and electric transport. However, it is not necessary to separate these types of vehicles, emphasizes the General Director of Drive Electro, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor at the V.P. Goryachkina Sey Ivanov.
In fact, hydrogen is an electric vehicle with an electric transmission. For a semantic separation, it would be more correct to say: "hydrogen electric car" and "battery electric car".
In a rechargeable battery, the main source of energy is the rechargeable battery. "Similar ones are used in laptops, tablets, smartphones - this is a wearable source of energy. It does not require a constant connection to an outlet, but such a source of energy needs to be regularly recharged," says Sey Ivanov. charged from the mains, but as a result of the reaction inside fuel cells fueled with hydrogen. Therefore, hydrogen and battery electric vehicles are similar even in terms of CO2 emissions. The main difference between the two systems is the source of energy. "
It turns out that in hydrogen transport, the source of energy generation is already on board, just as in the case of an internal combustion engine. However, in this case, the reaction occurs without a combustion process, and water is used as an exhaust. Hydrogen is divided into several types: it is orange, gray, blue, green. It all depends on the purity of its production. Green hydrogen is the most environmentally friendly because of the way it is produced, so its use is closest to the concept of sustainable transport.
While the countries of the Big Seven (G7) at the summit in Great Britain are discussing the possibility of abandoning cars with internal combustion engines and the transition to the use of environmentally friendly transport, the situation in Russia remains practically unchanged. The share of electric vehicles in the domestic market of our country is small. In 2020, only 687 electric cars were sold in Russia. At the same time, a little about 1.5 million new cars on gasoline were sold. And not a single hydrogen car, the scientist said.
Now the cost of a car running on hydrogen exceeds the price of a battery analog by 60 percent The world is witnessing a rapid growth in the popularity of battery-powered electric cars, which contributes to the development of charging infrastructure, in which huge investments are already being made. "The refueling infrastructure for hydrogen cars is less developed, but the world's first economies do not forget about it. There is also a small serial production of hydrogen cars. Among which, for example, Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo can be noted. However, with the emergence of a competent refueling structure, this type of transport will gain popularity ", - Sey Ivanov is sure.
If in the case of battery electric transport it is already possible to speak of a noticeable reduction in the cost of production, then with hydrogen transport things are different. A study by Petromarket says that now the cost of a passenger car running on hydrogen in Europe exceeds the price of a battery-powered analogue by 60 percent. However, in the future, the expert believes, this difference will decrease largely due to the reduction in the cost of hydrogen production and the improvement of technologies. For example, it is expected that by 2050 the difference in price between electric and hydrogen trucks will be only 12 percent.
"At the current stage of technological development, we can say that electric transport is more suitable for use in cities, and hydrogen is more suitable for transportation over long distances. Increased mileage is the strong point of hydrogen cars. Today, two types of cars can perfectly coexist, dividing" spheres of influence ": for private and Commercial urban electric vehicles have enough electric batteries, and hydrogen cars should appear on long-distance freight transport and intercity buses, "says Sey Ivanov.
However, the battery in an electric vehicle is aging, its average service life is 8 years, then it must be disposed of or sent for reuse in the form of an energy storage device. That is why battery electric transport can be considered an intermediate version of the car of the future, where, for example, hydrogen cars can become the final stage of development. That is, battery electric transport, according to the scientist, is a transitional solution, not a panacea. It can be assumed that personal cars powered by hydrogen will enter mass use when technologies are developed on commercial vehicles (hydrogen trucks and buses, for which there are no obstacles now). In addition, power plants will become cheaper, which will have a beneficial effect on the mass production of conventional electric cars running on hydrogen. In the meantime, battery electric vehicles are perfect for moving in cities and suburbs.But the issue of infrastructure development is quite acute for both types of transport. Here the state plays the "first fiddle". Permanent development directly depends on how quickly the authorities respond to changing market demands and how much they understand the importance of the greening process. For example, hydrogen charging is harder to install. It is required to introduce fuel transportation standards, set up logistics processes, and comply with increased safety requirements. According to Sey Ivanov, it is necessary to involve business, for which the state can create favorable conditions for development, to the direct work on the creation of infrastructure. This is how the technological process works in developed countries, and it will work for us. It is necessary to define norms, standards, GOSTs. Establish incentives for the start period. Indeed, at this stage of development, electric transport technologies are still more expensive than ICE solutions. A business representative involved in the process must be sure that his investments will be economically feasible, and the state that budget costs will be returned in the form of tax revenues.
In the future, electric transport will continue to fall in price rapidly, this cannot be avoided. However, one should not wait for an abstract "tomorrow". After all, the economic benefit from scaling up hydrogen and battery electric vehicles can be obtained already now, especially in the commercial segment.
"At first glance, such different transport turned out to have much more in common. Common technologies, common problems, common development prospects. It seems that there is simply no point in arguing about the advisability of using battery or hydrogen transport. They can complement each other advantageously, leading to a common goal. - greening transport ", - summarizes Sey Ivanov
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