Anhui China: First Hydrogen-fueled Vehicle Born
The first hydrogen-powered sightseeing vehicle was jointed invented by Hefei Kezhen Development Company and University of Zhejiang in Anhui province. The vehicle has 12 seats with power of 5 kilowatt. A 40 liter hydrogen can fuel the car to operate a distance of 180 kilometers.
It’s learned that Hefei Kezhen Company planed to produce this type of sedan in two years, which had applied for five patents. Compared with gas and electricity-fueled vehicle, the hydrogen car sees a higher energy efficiency, and more importantly, after fueled, it emits only water which makes it zero-pollution.
Cheng Chao, Financial Director with the company, demonstrated the new type vehicle to reporters for its smooth ride and strong dynamic. Cheng introduced that the energy conversion rate for this car was 60 percent while that of oil-powered car was only 30 percent.
One difficulty, it seemed now, preventing hydrogen sedans from popularizing was high production cost. A 1 kilowatt battery of 20-centimetre long and 5-centimetre wide costed 10,000 yuan, while a sedan had to be fueled by battery with the power of 35 to 50 kilowatts.
As to this problem, Chen said that research had been made to solve the cost barrier and future cost for the battery could be as low as 10 percent of its price now. Then the hydrogen-fueled sedan would be a suitable option for ordinary people.
The hydrogen battery could be used for as long as 8 years. The city of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province has made an order of 12 hydrogen vehicles which will be put into operation in West Lake scenery spot.
(By Zha Xuan)
