Why do China, Japan and South Korea strongly support hydrogen fuel cell vehicles?

China, Japan and South Korea have all set ambitious targets to invest billions of dollars in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles over the next decade.

But for now, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are being overshadowed by electric cars, which are becoming a mainstream choice as Tesla's luxury cars have successfully entered the market.

Against this backdrop, critics say fuel cell vehicles may always remain a niche technology, while supporters argue that hydrogen is the cleanest energy source available for cars and that they will gain acceptance over time as infrastructure develops.

With annual sales of about 28 million vehicles, China is the world's largest auto market. By 2030, China hopes to have more than 1 million fuel cell vehicles in operation. However, there are currently only about 1,500, most of which are buses.

Japan, which has an annual auto market of around 5 million vehicles, wants to boost sales of fuel cell vehicles to 800,000 by 2020 from 3,400 now.

South Korea, whose market is only a third the size of Japan’s, has set a goal of having 850,000 fuel cell vehicles on the road by 2030. But fewer than 900 fuel cell vehicles were sold by the end of 2018.

Why choose hydrogen fuel cell vehicles?

Some supporters point out that hydrogen is a very clean energy source, with only water and heat as byproducts. In addition, hydrogen has a wide range of sources and can be obtained from methane, coal, water, and even garbage. Therefore, resource-scarce Japan regards hydrogen as a major way to improve energy security.

They also argue that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have a range and refueling time comparable to gasoline vehicles, whereas electric vehicles take hours to fully charge and have a range of only a few hundred kilometers.

Some backers in China and Japan see fuel cell vehicles as a complement to electric cars, not a replacement. Hydrogen is generally seen as a better choice for heavier vehicles with longer ranges, so its main application area so far has been city buses. 

Currently, only a few automakers have been able to commercialize fuel cell passenger vehicles.

Toyota Motor launched its Mirai sedan in late 2014, but has sold fewer than 10,000 units worldwide. Hyundai Motor launched its Nexo crossover in March last year, but has sold only about 2,900 units worldwide. Its previous fuel cell vehicle, the Tucson, sold even fewer, about 900 units.

Honda Motor's Clarity Fuel Cell is mainly provided as a leasing service in the market, and Daimler's GLC F-CELL has also been delivered to a small number of corporate and public sector customers.

In contrast, demand for hydrogen fuel cell buses has gradually increased. Toyota and Hyundai have both launched related products and started selling fuel cell components to bus manufacturers, especially in the Chinese market.

Several Chinese manufacturers have developed their own hydrogen-fueled buses, such as China's largest automaker SAIC and Geely Automobile.

Why haven't fuel cell cars caught on yet?

The lack of hydrogen refueling stations is widely considered to be the biggest obstacle because of their high construction costs. At the same time, there are not enough fuel cell vehicles in the market to support these hydrogen refueling stations to be profitable. Even California, which has the highest level of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle application in the world, has only dozens of hydrogen refueling stations. According to data updated on August 29, 2019 by the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP), there are only 40 hydrogen refueling stations available in California.

Consumer concerns about the risk of hydrogen fuel exploding are also a big hurdle. Residents in Japan and South Korea have protested against the construction of hydrogen stations. This year, a hydrogen tank explosion in South Korea killed two people, and then there was an explosion at a hydrogen filling station in Norway.

The final challenge is cost. In order to reduce the cost of owning a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to the level of a gasoline vehicle, the government needs to provide huge subsidies. After deducting the 2.25 million yen subsidy, the price of the Toyota Mirai is just over 5 million yen, which is still about 50% higher than the Camry.

Automakers believe that as hydrogen fuel cell vehicle sales increase, economies of scale will be achieved and subsidies will no longer be needed. (This article is translated from Reuters, author Kevin Buckland, picture from CaFCP)