Content by The Buzz Business
7 Mobility
Is the future hydrogen?
As the world evolves toward a low-carbon economy, major corporations across a range of industries are planning to join forces to foster the use of hydrogen as the missing link in the energy transition.
Fuel cell and storage technologies are getting ready to enable completely carbon-free production of the gas, adding to its environmental appeal as a source of heat and electricity and as a fuel. Electric vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells produce only water as a byproduct, with no carbon emissions from their exhaust pipes. Furthermore, hydrogen vehicles are not constrained by range anxiety or need to change consumer habits, giving them a significant advantage over today’ s generation of other alternatives.
A platinum-hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle
In Davos this week, for the first time global leaders from key energy-related sectors are coming together to launch an initiative to foster global use of hydrogen. Indeed, if the world is to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement and transition to a lowcarbon economy, members of the initiative believe there will have to be a major role for hydrogen.
Always a front-runner in new technologies, the state of California is taking the global lead in supporting alternative-fuel vehicles. Its Zero Emission Vehicle program sets quotas for manufacturers to
PHOTO: ANGLO AMERICAN make cars that do not produce emissions, including fuel cell electric vehicles( FCEVs). At the same time, the state is developing the hydrogen infrastructure required to support the rapid growth of the market.
Meanwhile, in Germany, a public-private joint venture, H2 Mobility, is planning to deploy a nationwide network of 400 hydrogen stations by 2023. In Asia, Japan, South Korea and China have all made it clear that hydrogen will have a major part to play in their transition to low-carbon economies. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics could be a fortuitous game-changer for the future of hydrogen energy. A holistic vision for a cleaner and quieter Tokyo includes extending hydrogen as a major source of power across the city in the next four years.
With zero emission innovation from the industry on the one hand, and the public sector supporting the rollout of hydrogen infrastructure on the other, consumers are beginning to take to the technology. There are now close to 3,000 hydrogen-powered cars on the roads, up from just a couple hundred in 2015, and the hydrogen energy market is set for exponential growth.
The initiative to be unveiled this week gathers companies from the oil and gas, energy, automotive, industrial gas, equipment and primary industry sectors. As a unified voice they are determined to send a message to leaders at the WEF 2017 annual meeting about hydrogen as the fuel for the future.
Mobility Goes Further
very active area for innovation in today’ s car industry A is the development of mobility services for long-suffering city commuters.
Ford has created a new business unit, Ford City Solutions, focused entirely on helping people move more easily through cities.“ We know that every city is unique, with different needs and different transportation challenges,” says Mark Fields, president and CEO of Ford.“ Instead of taking a‘ one size fits all’ approach, we are working with cities directly to help develop solutions that are tailored to each location.”
One of the company’ s most promising offerings is Chariot, an appbased, crowdsourced shuttle service that complements mass
transit for city residents. Ford estimates that urban congestion could be reduced by up to 25 vehicles for every shuttle that is placed into service during peak times. The service has already launched in San Francisco and Austin, Texas, with plans to work with at least four more cities over the course of the coming months.
“ Because Ford Transit vans are perfect for this application, it’ s a great example of how our core business is supporting new, emerging opportunities in mobility services,” Fields says.