On March 11th, Tesla CEO Musk said on Twitter that hydrogen fuel cells are an "IQ tax" and that it is a stupid and absurd choice to use in cars.
This is not the first time that Musk has angered about hydrogen fuel cell technology. As early as 2016, he made remarks criticizing hydrogen fuel cell technology. He believed that the mileage of hydrogen fuel cell is very unstable and it is not a feasible solution for future automobile energy. Program.
As the name implies, a hydrogen fuel vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen as an energy source. The chemical energy generated by the hydrogen reaction is converted into mechanical energy to propel the vehicle. General fuel vehicles usually use liquid diesel or gasoline to obtain kinetic energy. Our common electric cars obtain kinetic energy in the form of charging.
In the context of increasing environmental protection calls, there is no doubt about the elimination of fuel vehicles. As early as 19 years, mainstream auto companies have successively announced the estimated timetable for the delisting of fuel vehicles in China.
But in the battle between hydrogen fuel vehicles and electric vehicles, electric vehicles turned out to be one step ahead!
In the eyes of many people, the combustion of hydrogen will only produce water, not harmful substances. The hydrogen element is one of the most abundant elements on earth, and there is no shortage. More importantly, it is convenient and efficient. A few minutes of refueling can achieve a battery life of more than 600 kilometers, unlike an electric car that takes as little as half an hour to several hours in front of the charging pile. Therefore, there has always been a view that hydrogen energy vehicles are better than electric vehicles, and hydrogen energy vehicles can represent the future.
But this kind of beautiful vision is difficult to realize. Why is this happening?
First, the issue of energy efficiency. From the time when hydrogen was injected into the car and converted into kinetic energy, the energy utilization rate was only 57%. Under the same conditions, the energy efficiency of electric vehicles can reach 80%. There is a huge difference in energy utilization.
Second, production costs. Electric vehicles have simple technical principles, low research and development costs, and a mature industrial chain. The technical development costs and industrial chain costs required for hydrogen energy are high. In particular, the precious metal platinum used in the process of hydrogen fuel cell power generation is relatively scarce, and the production cost will be relatively high.
The third point is supporting facilities. Compared with the charging piles that have blossomed everywhere in front of us, the popularization of hydrogen refueling stations can be described as difficult. It is reported that the cost of building an ordinary charging station is about 1 million yuan, while the construction of a hydrogen fuel station will cost at least 10 million. Among them, the construction cost is mainly concentrated on laying gas pipelines and safety guarantees.
The real fatal blow to hydrogen energy vehicles is that the current hydrogen energy is almost not environmentally friendly.
Although hydrogen combustion does not emit carbon dioxide and other waste, only pure water. However, the process of preparing hydrogen still brings pollution and energy waste.
At present, 99% of hydrogen is produced through steam methane reforming (SMR) or coal gasification technology. In this production technology, for every 1kg of hydrogen produced, 11kg of CO2 is associated with it.
Therefore, if there is no revolutionary breakthrough in the technology of hydrogen production, hydrogen energy cannot be said to be a clean energy.
Of course, we cannot arbitrarily say that hydrogen energy has come to an end.
In 2020, the proportion of coal-fired power in my country has dropped to 49% for the first time, but it is still the absolute main power of electric energy. The nature of rechargeable vehicles is still coal-fired vehicles, and the vision of environmental protection has not been achieved. Moreover, the problems of charging time, battery life, charging facilities, and price problems caused by imperfect battery technology have caused people to maintain a wait-and-see attitude towards electric vehicles. The competition for new energy vehicles is not over yet.
The future of hydrogen energy lies in breakthroughs in hydrogen production technology, while the future of rechargeable cars lies in breakthroughs in battery technology.
Who is the real future of new energy vehicles? We will wait and see.
