The Push from Rapidly Developing Countries

The transition might not start with cars. Scooters are an inexpensive substitute for cars in many countries. Several companies believe fuel cell scooters can be a viable option in these countries. Gasoline-powered scooters have been banned from cities such as Beijing and Shanghai because of the amount of pollution they spew. These bikes and scooters are very popular in Beijing, where the scooters sell for less than 300. In response to such bans, a market in electric bicycles and scooters has developed. While these bikes do not travel at the speeds of scooters, they are considerably cheaper. China Daily (2006) reports that China plans on producing 30 million electric bikes per year by 2010 and notes that electric bike production in China accounts for about 90% of the world s total. While these bikes are not powered by fuel cells, they do offer speedy transportation at a fraction of the cost of automobiles. 

Several companies are developing fuel cell scooters. One company, Vetrix, located in the United States and Europe, already is promoting 

In China, the Vetrix scooter likely will face some tough competition from several indigenous electric bikes and scooters. A serious issue, however, is the already-overloaded Chinese power grid. The Chinese literally cannot build new power plants fast enough to handle increasing demand for electricity. Drennen (2005) estimates the Chinese will require additional capacity requirements of 320 to 750 GW by 2025. This implies the need for 16-38 new 1000 MW electricity-generating facilities every year - without factoring in any additional demand from the transport sector. Fuel cells could help to fill this market need. 

Since China is well-endowed with coal resources, coal likely would be the hydrogen source. This poses an interesting challenge. Greater coal usage would lead to increased emissions of carbon dioxide. At the same time, coal use would reduce competition for foreign sources of oil and probably lead to less regional air pollution because FCVs (cars or scooters) operate more cleanly than gas-powered alternatives. 

Asia Pacific Fuel Cell Technologies (APFCT) has developed a series of prototype zero emissions scooters (ZEV) for the Taiwanese and, potentially, other markets. According to the Taiwanese company, the most recent prototype, the ZEV IV.5, has a maximum speed of 52 km/hr, a driving range of about 60 km at a driving speed of 30km/hr, and runs on pure hydrogen (APFCT 2006). Based on the compan)r s estimates. 

---