Exploring Hyrdogen Fuel Cell Vehicles with Catherine Dunwoody, Part III

In the final segment of my interview with Catherine Dunwoody, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP), we discuss the future role of CaFCP, current myths about fuel cell technologies, and the future for fuel cell technologies.

ROBERT GLUCK:  What do you see as the future role of CaFCP?

CATHERINE DUNWOODY:  CaFCP is its members. The members determine the organization’s activities. As the vehicles and stations move closer to entering the market, the activities change and shift, but don’t go away. We anticipate that CaFCP will continue as a collaborative, consensus-driven organization until FCVs are for sale.

RG:  Your website states this about fuel cells:

"Fuel cell vehicles are family-friendly, full-size vehicles that look good, drive great, have excellent mileage and don’t pollute. When they are for sale, you’ll be able to choose the make and model you want at a price comparable to a conventional vehicle. Fuel cell passenger vehicles and transit buses: get 2-3 times the miles per gallon as a traditional vehicle; emit only water vapor, no pollution or greenhouse gases; make very little noise; fill in just minutes; and are as safe as the vehicles we drive today."

If all these things are true, why aren't we all driving fuel celled vehicles?

CD:  Automakers are still working on the supply chain and manufacturing of the vehicles to make them cost-competitive with hybrid vehicles, but the main reason that you don’t see more FCVs on the road today is because of the lack of fueling stations.

The plan we have now will help ensure that stations and vehicles are rolled out together, along with station technology and regulations for selling hydrogen as a retail fuel.

RG:  What are the current myths about fuel cell technologies?

CD: We often hear people say fuel cells and hydrogen are too hard and too expensive, and that’s not true. For instance, the U.S. Department of Energy shows that fuel cell costs have declined from $275 kW in 2002 to $61 kW in 2009—an almost 80% price reduction in seven years.

We also hear people talk about the energy equation of hydrogen—it takes more energy to produce hydrogen than you get from it. That’s true of every fuel. From well to wheels, hydrogen in a fuel cell vehicle is 2-3 times more efficient than gasoline in a conventional vehicle.

Finally, we hear people say that hydrogen creates more pollution and greenhouse gases than other fuels. Today, most hydrogen is produced from natural gas (as is most of California’s electricity). From well to wheels, hydrogen produced this way and used in an FCV cuts greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from transportation by about half and is virtually free from criteria pollutants. When made from renewable sources, the GHGs are near zero.

RG:  What do you see as the future for fuel cell technologies?

CD:  Fuel cells are entering the mainstream for applications like material handling, back-up power, portable power and stationary power. We see more and more companies adopting these uses first. We also see more transit agencies bringing in fuel cell buses. Those that are already on the road are an excellent example to other transit agencies.

Passenger fuel cell vehicles will enter the market in about 2015 with numbers in the thousands. The automakers plan to quickly grow to tens of thousands in early market communities. As it becomes easier to permit and build stations, and as business owners can see the profit in selling hydrogen fuel, we see the build out of hydrogen stations taking a path similar to building cell phone towers in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

RG:  Is there anything you would like to highlight that I haven't asked you about?

CD:  Coordination is the key to bringing new technology to market, especially when trying to maximize limited investment dollars, human resources and time. By collaborating in CaFCP, our members can better coordinate and execute each year of planning, each dollar of funding and individual efforts. We are well on the path to preparing for commercialization in 2015 and providing customers and the environment all the benefits of this technology.

Image credit: California Fuel Cell Partnership

To learn more about New Transportation go to EBoom's Learning Page.