In terms of fuel and energy consumption, ancient mankind mainly used wood and other plants as fuel. The 19th century was the age of coal fuels and steam engines, and the 20th century was the age of oil, natural gas and other fuels and internal combustion engines; the 21st century will gradually enter the post In the era of petroleum fuels, the key issue facing the world is that we must consider the diversity of energy sources. Various alternative fuels, low-carbon and other renewable energy sources will gradually replace non-renewable fossil fuels. In the new century, biofuels, new types of secondary rechargeable batteries (mainly lithium-ion batteries), hydrogen fuel cells and electric autos have become the main focus of research and development. Automotive energy and power systems will undergo great changes. Figure 1 shows the technical route for the development of automotive power systems.
It has been 166 years since the British Sir William Grove (1811-1896) discovered the principle of fuel cells in 1839. However, it has only been nearly a decade for this device to be used in automobiles. As a solution for the sustainable development of future transportation. If all the core technologies involved in hydrogen fuel cells can be overcome. Hydrogen fuel cells will become one of the main power sources for autos in the 21st century. After the mid-1990s, the PNGV program in the United States Under the influence of, fuel cell auto technology has attracted the attention of countries all over the world. Not only has the number of patent applications involving fuel cells and fuel cell autos increased rapidly in the world (see Figure 2), but also civil organizations and government agencies in industrialized countries have increased The investment in the research and development of fuel cells and their autos has triggered the competition between the United States and Japan in the development of new technologies for fuel cell autos. Regardless of the government and the private sector, Japan, the United States and the United States have invested the most in fuel cells. Europe. In the “Tenth Five-Year Plan” 863 electric auto major project, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China has taken fuel cell electric autos, hybrid electric autos and pure electric autos as the main direction of automotive technology innovation. As a key technology, the integrated control system organizes enterprises, universities and scientific research institutions to jointly tackle key problems.
With the support of the Chinese government, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the demonstration project for the commercialization of fuel cell buses in China is jointly organized and led by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Beijing Municipal Government and the Shanghai Municipal Government. Start. Use global bidding to purchase 12 fuel cell buses for a five-year demonstration operation, accumulating a large number of hydrogen refueling facilities, operation guarantees, auto maintenance, fuel cell availability, failures and failure modes, etc. The test data and experience have verified the technical feasibility of fuel cell buses, and have played a role in further improving the design, reducing costs, obtaining the core technology of fuel cell buses, and ultimately promoting the industrialization of fuel cell buses in China. However, there is still a long way to go to realize the transformation process of replacing traditional petroleum-fueled autos with hydrogen-fueled electric autos. We have to face not only technical challenges, but also financial and cost challenges. Although the prospect of replacing petroleum fuel with hydrogen fuel is attractive, the task is very arduous.
Advanced lithium-ion batteries are the key to many advanced auto technologies (including BEV, HEV, Pulg-InHEV and FCHEV). According to the testimony at the Resource Committee, the global investment in lithium-ion battery technology research and development is increasing, and it is estimated to exceed one billion US dollars per year, which is several times the total investment in all other battery research and development. It is estimated that there are hundreds of materials, Scientists and researchers from chemical and battery companies, government agencies and laboratories are developing and researching technologies involving all aspects of lithium-ion batteries.