FUEL CELL ELECTRIC VEHICLE (FCEV)

1. Background

• Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are powered by hydrogen. They are more efficient than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles and produce no tailpipe emission they only emit water vapour and warm air.
• FCEVs and the hydrogen infrastructure to fuel them are in the early stages of implementation.
• The need to combat temperature change and stall ecological degradation has created itself felt with pressing significance. 
• With leading nations across the planet actively attempting to succeed in the net-zero emissions goal within the next few decades, the search to hunt energy sources has become a lot of earnest than ever before. Bharat too has set an associate bold target of reducing the emissions intensity of its economy by forty-five per cent by 2030.
• In such a state of affairs, gas fuel might be a cost-effective, effective and semipermanent various to fossil fuels like fuel or diesel. whereas gas cell technology is one section, that many automakers around the world area unit operating for quite a while, in India, gas cell technology remains within the antenatal stage.
• Countries just like the US, Germany, South Korea, China and Japan have already deployed a fleet of hydrogen-fuelled business vehicles. The French government too aims to use gas cell technology in transportation. However, the event of gas cell technology in Bharat isn't enough, despite the country being one of the main automobile markets in the world.

2. About Cell Technology

• Fuel cell technology depends on the energy of gas to get electricity cleanly and effectively. in contrast to primary fuels like coal and crude, or renewable energy sources like wind or solar energy, gas is an associate energy carrier. this suggests that gas is needed to be created victimisation primary sources of energy, like gas, water, biomass, etc. Once procured, gas may be accustomed to providing electricity across sectors, together with industrial and business buildings, transportation, and semipermanent grid-based energy storage in reversible systems.

• Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) area unit steam-powered by gas. Like all electrical vehicles, FCEVs use electricity to power an electric motor. However, rather than victimisation electricity through batteries that draw power from the grid to operate, FCEVs generate electricity by employing a cell stack steam-powered by gas, that is held on on-board.

3. Benefits of cell electrical vehicles:

• FCEVs area unit among the cleanest modes of transportation as they unharness no harmful pipage emissions, and solely emit water vapour and heat air. With future technical enhancements, there'll be a forecasted improvement in overall WTW (well-to-wheel) potency for FCEVs that is pegged at around 30–35 per cent nowadays.
• FCEVs may be instrumental in achieving energy security and fulfilling de-carbonisation goals. whereas it's crucial to recollect battery electrical vehicles (BEVs) and FCEVs don't seem to be competitive however complementary technologies, hydrogen-operated EVs provide some necessary edges over lithium-powered BEVs.
• In the context of sure duty cycles and applications, they possess higher energy density (more energy per unit mass), need shorter fuelling durations, and have long-range applications that don't seem to be viable with BEVs due to the constraints of Li-ion batteries. With associated inherent renewability part and no emissions, FCEVs also are environmentally friendly.
• In explicit, transitioning to gas cell heavy-duty vehicles will have a major impact on reducing greenhouse emissions. within the close to future, gas fuel cells are key in achieving higher vary applications (exceeding five hundred km) due to quicker refuelling and better density.

4. Challenges for the adoption of cell electrical vehicles in India:

• However, despite gas being a promising various fuel resolution, there area unit many challenges for Bharat to adopt this technology, a minimum of in close to future.

• Lack of infrastructure: Infrastructure remains a significant hindrance previous to the expansion of gas cell technology steam-powered vehicles. In India, the gas cell dispensing fuel stations area unit solely a couple of, that approach less than adequate encourage the automakers and vehicle consumers to adopt gas cell technology steam-powered vehicles.
• Higher safety concern: Safety could be a major concern around gas cell technology. gas fuel is very ignitable, even more than fossil fuels like fuel or diesel. it's not necessary to store the fuel in gas type solely, however alternative hydrogen-generating sources like methane series, propane, alcohols, or maybe regular fuel can also produce aerosolised gas within the vehicle itself. However, all of those are associated with various flammability problems and also the gas itself is very ignitable similarly, which brings the protection concern.

The possibility of electrical shock is another safety concern around gas cell technology. this technique electro-chemically combines gas with gas, and each of that area units is ignitable and generates voltage to power the vehicle and emits water rather than deadly pipage gases. Some gas cell motors run on voltages prodigious 350 volts.

Because something larger than fifty volts will stop an individual's heart, there are unit nice risks of electrical shock from a gas cell powertrain.

• Not strong system: in contrast to the gas or oil powertrains, the gas cell powertrains don't seem to be strong, due to their delicate and complex system. These powertrain technologies demand sensitive surroundings and atmosphere, as high or low temperatures may end up in the failure of the system. In a country like Bharat, wherever it's too hot and wet at places throughout summer and extreme cold within the northern part of the country throughout summer, the probability of breakdown for these powertrains area unit pretty high.
• Quite costly: gas cell powertrains area unit approach abundant expensive than typical burning engine technologies. These powertrains use extraordinarily rare-earth element metal like Pt, which ends within the production of gas fuel cells a great deal dearer than drilling transporting and purification of fossil fuels. whereas it's expected that in future, gas fuel cells can pay for themselves in terms of the quantity of cash they'll save, however, the vessel's direct prices drive the investors away.

5. Initiatives by Government to promote electric vehicles

• The remodelled Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME II) scheme.
• Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) for the supplier side.
• PLI scheme for Auto and Automotive Components for manufacturers of electric vehicles.
• "Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles—Guidelines and Standards," describing the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders at the Central and State level for the expeditious deployment of public EV charging infrastructure across the country, has been issued recently.
• India is among a handful of countries that support the global EV30@30 campaign, which aims for at least 30% of new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.
• India’s advocacy of five elements for climate change — “Panchamrit” — at the COP26 in Glasgow is a commitment to the same.
• Various ideas were espoused by India at the Glasgow summit, such as renewable energy catering to 50% of India’s energy needs, reducing carbon emission by 1 billion tonnes by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2070.

6. About Hydrogen

Type of Hydrogen

• Grey Hydrogen

• It constitutes India's bulk production and is extracted from hydrocarbons (fossil fuels, natural gas).
• It gives CO2 as by product

• Blue Hydrogen

• It is also sourced from fossil fuels.
• However, emissions/ by-products (CO, CO2) are captured and stored.
• Thus, it is better than grey hydrogen

• Green Hydrogen

• It is generated from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
• The electricity splits water into hydrogen and Oxygen.
• It gives water and water vapour as by-products.
• Thus, it is the best and cleanest type

7. Initiatives by Government to promote Hydrogen fuel based technology

• India is already keen on developing a hydrogen economy owing to its favourable geographical conditions and presence of abundant natural elements.
• India has proposed a National Hydrogen Mission (NHM) that will draw up a roadmap for using hydrogen as an energy source.
• India is a part of the 'Hydrogen Valley Platform' that looks to create an integrated hydrogen ecosystem covering production, storage, distribution and end-use.
• More recently, in 2016, MNRE published a report laying out a comprehensive plan for increasing R&D activity.

8. Need of the Hour

• Hydrogen technology remains at an aborning stage within the country, and their area unit restricted infrastructure and scale of gas dispensing units offered. This makes the acquisition and total price of possession for FCEVs higher. Further, most gas production ways deployed nowadays accept fossil fuels.
• However, government incentives and localisation of core aggregates area units seem to cut back prices and improve the economic science of FCEV. A surge in the demand for this technology is predicted within the last half of the present decade.
• The new introduced National gas Energy Mission Programme by the Prime Minister aims to bring open access to renewable energy and increase the assembly of inexperienced gas (that doesn't accept fossil fuels to be produced).
• With these positive steps, one will expect a decisive move towards a property way forward for quality, with gas cell technology taking part in a predominant role across segments, publicly transport, business vehicles, and rider vehicles.