Barun Roy: The hydrogen solution

ASIA FILE

It can be locally produced, endlessly, from the power of the wind. And it can be used as fuel for vehicles.

Three hydrogen-powered buses went into service in Beijing recently under a pilot project that will determine if this could be a viable urban transport solution for a country like China. Later this year, three similar buses are to be introduced in Shanghai.

The technology is cutting-edge and so totally emission-free that one can even "drink" the exhaust. For China, under pressure from runaway urbanisation, surging oil consumption by motor vehicles, and worsening environmental pollution, nothing could be more desirable.

The experimental Beijing buses will run an 18.2-km distance from the North Gate of the Summer Palace to Wudaoku, the university district. If the trial is successful, new routes are to be added and presented to visitors to the 2008 Olympic Games as an environmental showpiece. China intends to deploy at least 18,000 "clean" vehicles in Beijing by 2008, including 1,000 "electronic" buses to transport athletes and officials to and from Olympic events. That, according to the ministry of science and technology, would mean that 90 per cent of all Beijing's public buses and 70 per cent of all taxis would be environment-friendly.

By the same period, Shanghai is supposed to have at least 1,000 clean electronic vehicles, including 20 to 30 fuel cell ones.

China is disturbed by the fact that a third of its total oil consumption is being guzzled up by motor vehicles nation-wide. This is what's driving their search for cleaner vehicles. Exactly year ago, 15 electrically operated buses, using lead acid cells, were launched in the Chinese capital and were followed soon by another group of buses fitted with lithium ion cells. Cities such as Tianjin, Dalian, Shenyang, Changsha, Chengdu, Lanzhou, Xian, and Xiamen, have started using buses running on compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Last November, Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, introduced 30 CNG buses and hopes to have 1,500 by the end of 2007.

But in the end, for countries over-dependent on buses as a means of public transport and groaning under mounting fuel costs and environmental pollution, hydrogen could come out as the runaway winner. Hydrogen is inexhaustible and is derived from the power of the wind or even by recycling rubbish that people throw away. The fuel is loaded at special service stations in liquid or gas form, stored on board, and piped into fuel cells, which, in turn, drive the engine.

All three American auto manufacturers, in addition to Japan's Toyota and Mazda, Korea's Hyundai, and Germany's Daimler-Benz and BMW, are actively working to perfect the hydrogen technology. Ford Motor is deploying eight hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine buses to shuttle between tourist destinations in Florida. The city government of Berlin has introduced two hydrogen buses to mark the World Cup football tournament and built a full-fledged maintenance hall and service station.

These experiments certainly widen the world-wide search for viable fuel cell technologies, beyond CNG. Hyundai has 32 state-of-the-art fuel cell buses in operation at the World Cup venues in Germany. More than 100 Mercedes-Benz passenger cars, buses, and vans are in operation around the world equipped with fuel cell drives. Scania of Sweden is soon to launch field trials of its ethanol-powered buses in ten locations around the world, including Nanyang in China.

Buses remain an essential transport mode even in countries that are looking to build extensive subway networks. Bangkok has decided to introduce two pilot bus rapid transit (BRT) lines this year and 10 more in future. Jakarta already has three BRT corridors in operation and will have 12 more by 2010. Seoul hopes to have at least 540 km of BRT routes by 2012.

In China, a dozen cities are engaged in developing BRT systems. Shenzhen, in southern China, is planning for five BRT routes covering a total of 130 km by 2010. Beijing launched its BRT two years ago and will have a 100 km network by 2008, the Olympic year, and 360 km by 2010. Shanghai has proposed a 250-km network and will keep BRT in mind when developing future new towns in its metropolitan area.

The search for and use of zero-emission fuel alternatives, therefore, is all the more important. However, it's costly to build the infrastructure that their retailing would involve. In the case of natural gas, for instance, pipelines have to be built over long distances to bring the gas to cities, and this may be one reason why even Japan has no more than 289 stations serving natural gas out of its 50,000 gas stations nation-wide. World-wide, the population of natural gas vehicles is only half a million or so, with only about 9,000 stations to service them.

That's where the hydrogen technology is likely to win out. Hydrogen doesn't need to be transported over long distances. It can be locally produced, endlessly, from the power of the wind.