November 2019 -

Hydrogen and fuel cell trucks seeing a breakthrough, BMW report shows global EV share by brand

This past year has seen something of a renaissance for hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles, with much of the interest being directed at hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles.

Nikola Motors, Toyota, and Hyundai are dedicating intensive capital and resources to designing and building hydrogen-powered commercial trucks. Daimler Trucks, Kenworth, and truck engine maker Cummins are also entering the fuel cell space.

These vehicles qualify for zero emission vehicle mandates and have a few appealing performance qualities. They offer similar qualities as electric vehicles in performance and torque, but much longer range. Time needed for refueling is comparable to gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. The cost of producing hydrogen and manufacturing fuel cell vehicles continues to be high, though it has come down in recent years.

Japan, by far, has the largest fueling infrastructure in the world, with Germany following in second place. While in limited production numbers, Toyota and Honda have their fuel cell cars in several countries, followed by Hyundai and Daimler.

So let’s look at some of the numbers…….

Hydrogen Refueling Stations by Country:
Japan — 109
Germany — 70
United States — 44
South Korea — 28
China — 15
England — 12
Denmark and France — 11
Norway — 9
Canada — 7
Austria — 6
Scotland and Sweden — 5
Spain and Switzerland — 4
Australia, Belgium, Iceland, India, and the Netherlands — 3
Finland and India — 2
Brazil, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Wales — 1

Sources: Hydrogen Analysis Resource Center and Alternative Fuels Data Center

Fuel Cell Passenger Cars and Buses by Region:
North America:
Toyota Mirai, Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, and Hyundai Nexo (which replaced the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell). New Flyer manufactures many of the fuel cell buses acquired by transit agencies in the US, with many of these buses equipped with Ballard fuel cells.
Europe:
Daimler GLC F-CELL, Daimler B-Class F-Cell, Toyota Mirai, Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, and Symbol fuel cell range-extended vans.
Asia:
Toyota Mirai, Hyundai Nexo, Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, and Daimler GLC F-CELL. Both Toyota and Hyundai offer fuel cell buses. Several Chinese manufacturers have developed their own buses, including state-owned SAIC Motor and Geely Auto Group, which also owns the Volvo Cars and Lotus brands.

Sources: US Dept. of Energy, Hydrogen Europe, and Reuters

Nikola has become the star of fuel cell vehicles, regularly making dramatic announcements. These include a breakthrough in battery technology that could double the range of electric vehicles without adding any weight; and a monthly lease payment that would require customers to agree to a million-mile lease at the cost of 95 cents mile, or $950,000 over a typical seven-year lease to remove some of the risk of buying a fuel cell truck. The hydrogen-powered truck maker also has plans in the works for setting up about 700 hydrogen fueling stations. Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch has started testing Nikola semi-tractor trucks in its fleet.

Along with making the top-selling fuel cell car in the work (the Mirai), Toyota is also committed to fuel cell trucks. The company has been testing a hydrogen fuel cell yard truck that moving shipping containers within the Port of Los Angeles. Toyota also entered a project with truck maker Kenworth to build 10 zero-emission Class 8 trucks. They’ll be supported by the California Air Resources Board’s Zero and Near-Zero Emissions Freight Facilities grant, and these trucks will be used at the harbor complex for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Hyundai plans to build a production capacity of 500,000 fuel cell systems for passenger and commercial vehicles by 2030 at a cost of about $6.4 billion. The automaker recently unveiled the concept of its planned HDC-6 Neptune hydrogen fuel cell truck. Hyundai sees opportunities in the US, but the Asian market would also be hot — with serious commitments given to fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen stations by the governments of South Korea, Japan, and China.

Hydrogen fuel cell buses are seeing more demand. They’ve been particularly well tested in California by transit agencies, and China is seeing a lot of them being deployed.

Ballard Power Systems, based in British Columbia, develops and produces fuel-cell products and solutions that are part of these fuel cell buses. The company is elated to see its shares soar after 40 years of struggles in the industry.

The company has seen a dramatic change over the past year, according to Randy MacEwen, CEO of Ballard. Some of that has been coming through customers In Europe, where operating a fuel cell-powered electric bus is now cost competitive with a traditional fuel version, he says. Use of the fuel cell technology is diversifying into ships, trains, and forklifts.

Hydrogen has been taking off in various applications in recent years. As for history, NASA began using liquid hydrogen in the 1950s as a rocket fuel, and the agency was one of the first to use hydrogen fuel cells to power the electrical systems on spacecraft.

Beyond transportation fuel, about 55 percent of the hydrogen produced around the world is used for ammonia synthesis (especially for fertilizers), 25 percent in refineries for intermediate oil products, and about 10 percent for methanol production that’s used in the manufacturing of several types of polymers.

Building an infrastructure for hydrogen and new developments of fuel cells is finally becoming profitable for companies like Ballard Powers and several others. Manufacturers are looking forward to seeing buyer interest increase. EVs provide much of the completion, but it’s unlikely it will ever take hydrogen out of the race.

And in other news:

BMW report shows global numbers: BMW just added global market share by brand for electric vehicle passenger car sales for the first time in its charts. Tapping into IHS Markit’s new vehicle registration database, the study reports that Tesla has 18 percent, BYD (in China) has 11 percent, BMW 6 percent, Beijing Auto 5 percent, Volkswagen 4 percent, Nissan 4 percent, Hyundai 4 percent, Roewe 3 percent. Kia 3, Renault 3, and Geely-Emgrand 3 percent. Other automakers make up the remaining 36 percent of global share. Roewe is a vehicle marque created by the Chinese automaker SAIC Motor, and BYD, Beijing Auto, and Geely-Emgrand also represent Chinese makers — bringing their share to 22 percent overall. Vehicles included in the count are “Electric, Electric w. REX, Electric w/o REX, PHEV Diesel and PHEV Petrol.”
Cybertruck vs. F-150: Ford says a new video being streamed out by Tesla is unfair, and CEO Elon Musk has agreed to a re-match. The new sci-fi, futuristic Cybertruck is competing in a tug-of-war with the Ford pickup, and looks to be easily pulling it away. Launched Thursday night in LA at the tail-end of the media days for the LA Auto Show, Musk says that his company has already taken 200,000 orders for the electric pickup.
Other highlights from LA Auto Show and AutoMobility LA: The 2020 Toyota Corolla won Green Car of the Year for its overall fuel efficiency in both the regular and the hybrid versions. A second award was given to the Honda CR-V Hybrid as Green SUV of the Year. The new hybrid version the CR-V will go on sale in spring 2020. At AutoMobility LA — Hackathon winner and second place; Startup winner; and Karma Automotive’s unveiling of its SC2 concept car with its hinge winged doors.

US more energy independent now, Ford Mustang Mach-E electric SUV a star at LA Auto Show

“America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world.”
President George W. Bush during State of the Union speech, Jan. 31, 2006

I had a fascinating conversation with an economist at a social gathering last week. We discussed the impact of oil imports and exports on the global economy — especially its impact on US energy independence and climate change policies. The US has entered a new place in the world’s oil supply, now exporting more oil than importing it — and less vulnerable to occasionally turbulent global oil prices than was the case years ago.

This economist finds it quite ironic that two other countries have reputations for supporting sustainability and other forward-thinking policies, but are also leading global oil exporters. The US will have to face this scrutiny as well, he said.

One of them is Norway, a leading backer of the UN’s Paris agreement on climate change, and the most impressive nation in the world for per capita electric vehicle sales; along with generous government incentives for EV purchases and charging infrastructure.

Norway was the 13th largest global oil exporter last year, at 1,254,920 barrels per day.
It was named the 20th most oil dependent country in the world during 2016 in another study, with 3.84 percent of its GDP coming from oil revenue, and fuel exports making up 53 percent of its merchandise exports that year. About 45 oil wells were drilled in 2018, up from about 30 in 2017.

Canada, the second nation mentioned by the economist during our conversation, is recognized for having the best healthcare system in the world and for being proactive on climate change through its government’s policies. However, it was the fourth largest oil exporter in the world last year.

Canada exported 3.5 million barrels of oil per day to the US in 2018, 96 percent of all Canadian crude oil exports, according to Natural Resources Canada. Canada supplied 43 percent of US oil imports last year; followed by Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Iraq.

The US was the eighth largest oil exporter last year. Saudi Arabia and Russia were No. 1 and No. 2. Saudi Arabia has much larger export volume than any other country in the world.

2018 Largest Oil Exporters — Barrels Per Day

1. Saudi Arabia — 8,300,000
2. Russia — 5,225,000
3. Iraq — 3,800,000
4. US — 3,770,000
5. Canada — 3,596,690
6. UAR — 2,296,473
7. Kuwait — 2,050,030
8. Nigeria — 1,979,451
9. Qatar — 1,477,213
10. Angola — 1,420,588

Sources: CIA World Factbook and US Energy Information Administration

The US is not an oil-dependent country on the import vs. export ratio as of 2019, but the addiction to petroleum continues. On the bright side, the US is less dependent on OPEC, the league of oil producing nations that caused energy and economic chaos in the US twice in the 1970s (along with the Iranian revolution in 1979) — and that continues to be a major power player in the global oil market.

The US is now exporting crude oil to more nations than it’s importing from, the Energy Information Administration said in a new analysis in late October. During the first half of the year, US crude oil exports average 2.9 million barrels per day, according to the EIA, a number that’s gone even higher in the second half of 2019. In the first seven months of this year, the US imported oil from a maximum of 27 nations during a given month; that had gone as high as 37 nations a decade earlier.

A surge in domestic production has made the US a crude oil export powerhouse, a goal that had been the basis of the Bush administration’s energy policies in the previous decade that first created the Energy Policy Act of 2005; and with some of it carried over to the Obama administration. Bush’s famous State of the Union quote on oil addiction has been used as both an irony (raising the question: How serious was the Bush administration on weaning the US off petroleum?), and supporting moves to stabilize US energy through reducing oil imports from countries like Iraq and Kuwait where America had sent troops to; and other countries, especially OPEC members, with hostile attitudes and actions toward the US.

The Energy Policy Act promoted US nuclear reactor construction through incentives and subsidies — which has since been discredited and sidelined following Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. The Act also provided loan guarantees to entities that develop or use innovative technologies that avoid the by-production of greenhouse gases.

The Act also launched the Renewable Fuel Standard that requires transportation fuel sold in the US to include a minimum volume of renewable fuels. The RFS was expanded and extended in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. These federal laws were where standards came from governing the amount of biofuel that must be mixed with gasoline sold in the US. It soon because the source of a battle between oil companies and refineries versus corn farmers and ethanol producers.

Crude oil is produced in 32 US states and in US coastal waters, according to EIA. In 2018, about 68 percent of total U.S. crude oil production came from five states. Texas is the leader with 40.5 percent of domestic oil coming from that state. North Dakota was the second largest at 11.5 percent, followed by New Mexico at 6.3 percent, Oklahoma at 5 percent, and Alaska at 4.5 percent of domestic crude oil last year.

It’s one of the reasons gasoline is much cheaper in Texas than other states that have to ship and pipeline over their oil and might have state regulations that raise the price at the pump. For example, gasoline recently has been more than $4 a gallon at some California gas stations. In Texas, it’s been a little bit over $2 a gallon.

The US has seen its supply of oil and natural gas surge over the past dozen years through domestic wells and with natural gas coming much more from shale gas fields. Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) has been the key driver of change in domestic fuel — where oil and gas are extracted from tiny pores in rock formations coming from shale, sandstone, and limestone. Fracking breaks up the rock in formations creating pathways drawing out oil and gas from the rock layers. It involves forcing water, chemicals, sand, or other materials under high pressure into the wells. Steam, water, or carbon dioxide (CO2) can also be injected into a rock layer to help oil flow more easily into production wells.

Fracking has been the source of public protests and litigation from environmental groups, pushing the federal government to enforce regulations. It won’t be going away anytime soon with advocates insisting its become safer and an economical use of clean energy. Critics say fracking brings devastating consequences to drinking water supplies, air pollution, releasing more greenhouse gases, and triggering earthquakes.

More recently, new applications of fracking technology and horizontal drilling have led to the development of new sources of shale gas that have offset declines in production from conventional gas reservoirs, and has led to major increases in reserves of US natural gas. Oil supply has been helped by the Trump administration weakening environmental regulations for offshore and land oil drilling.

What does it mean for transportation fuel in the US going into next year?

The EIA expects regular gasoline retail prices to average $2.65 per gallon in November and fall to $2.50 per gallon in December. The agency forecasts that the annual average price in 2020 will be $2.62 per gallon. EIA expects that Brent and West Texas Intermediate oil prices will see gradual changes next year — up to $65 per barrel compared to $61 this year for Brent; WTI prices are expected to be about $4 per barrel lower than Brent in late 2019 and throughout 2020.

The US Dept. of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center sees price stability for these fuels since 2014 — compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane, electricity, ethanol (E85), and biodiesel (B20 and B99-100). Gasoline and diesel have seen more fluctuation in the past five years, but have stayed within a $2 to $3 per gallon national average (with diesel slightly over $3 lately).

Electric vehicle sales are down now in the US, and fuel-efficient smaller cars and crossovers have been down in sales compared to trucks and SUVs since oil prices plummeted downward in 2014.

Spiking oil prices in 2008, and periods of turbulent pricing in 2010 through 2012, helped automakers sell smaller vehicles, EVs, hybrids, and smaller crossovers. All of that changed in 2014 when oil prices plummeted downward — and gasoline and diesel pricing also dropped — helping pickups and SUVs take the lead in new vehicle sales.

Being less dependent on oil imports has helped US gasoline and diesel prices remain stable and less prone to price spikes than a decade ago — less affected by decisions made by OPEC and disruptive events in key supplier markets. It also raises the bar on making the case for consumers and fleets to purchase new vehicles powered by electricity, hydrogen, propane autogas, natural gas, and renewable fuels.

And in other news……..
Ford is rolling out the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E electric crossover SUV at this week’s LA Show press days. It will have two different battery sizes, with one of them having the capacity to go up to 300 miles per charge. Buyers can also choose from rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and different power outputs. Ford thinks the Mach-E will make a big splash, its first ever all-out competition against Tesla and the majors, tapping into the performance history and style of the Mustang. EVs are expected to play the leading role at this year’s LA Auto Show product launches, with the Audi E-Tron Sportback and, post-show, Tesla’s Cybertruck. Overall, new SUVs/crossovers will be the leading vehicle classification on display.

California announced yesterday that it will halt all purchases of new vehicles for state government fleets from General Motors, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, and other automakers backing the Trump administration in a battle to strip the state of authority to regulate tailpipe emissions. It’s been a good market for OEMs on the fleet side; between 2016 to 2018, the state said it purchased $58.6 million in vehicles from GM, $55.8 million from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, $10.6 million from Toyota, and $9 million from Nissan.

Volkswagen’s Electrify America announced today an agreement with Lyft to provide the ride-hailing company’s Express Drive program renters of electric vehicles with convenient and included charging on its DC fast charging network. Express Drive is Lyft’s short-term car rental program that gives people wanting to drive on its platform access to an electric vehicle through its rental providers.

Test projects may be tipping point for mobility, Uber and colleagues battling California labor law

Here’s the final commentary in a series on predictions that 2030 will be the watershed year to watch for when vehicles, transportation, and the entire auto industry itself will look quite different than it does today.

This topic has been further explored in a Green Auto Market analytical report. Click here to see the market report available for purchase and download.

And in other news……..

Uber and other mobile apps fighting California’s new labor law: California’s leading mobile app companies — Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Postmates, and Instacart — will be fighting the state’s new law, AB 5, that was approved and signed by the governor in September. AB 5 will essentially be making drivers employees after it becomes enacted on January 1. The Silicon Valley mobility companies are backing what’s called the Protect App-Based Drivers & Services Act, which will become a ballot initiative for the November 2020 election once enough Californians sign a request to have it placed on that ballot. Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash have each contributed $30 million to get the initiative approved by voters; Postmates and Instacart are each contributing $10 million. If enacted, their law would cancel AB 5; it’s being written to ensure drivers and couriers can continue to be independent contractors with flexible work hours. Drivers have been marching in support of the new initiative, which will have incentives built in such as guaranteeing they receive at least 120 percent of minimum wage while on the job. It would reverse the new rules that AB 5 has created for the state. Legal battles are likely to take place in the state’s courts, with class-action lawsuits for workers and suits filed by the mobile app companies attempting to thwart AB 5. For now, Uber and the other Silicon Valley startups are being quiet about how their drivers will be treated after January 1 — if the companies will follow AB 5, or if it will be ignored as they scramble to organize their lobbying and legal battles.

Ford v Ferrari: For car buffs and racing fans, “Ford v Ferrari” will be a real treat. Released in theaters this coming Friday, the movie dramatizes the 1966 Le Mans 24-hour endurance race, where legendary designer Carroll Shelby’s Ford GT40 was able to knock out reigning champion Ferrari. Mat Damon plays Shelby and Christian Bale plays maverick driver Ken Miles. The filmmakers borrowed cars shown in the film from California-based Shelby Legendary Cars and its parent company, Superformance.

Uber and Lyft riders not happy with LAX: Airline passengers coming in to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) have to wait longer now to get into their Uber and Lyft rides. Uber and Lyft passengers can no longer wait for the car to arrive curbside at terminals; they have to get on what’s called the LAX-it shuttle and be taken to an offsite station to meet their drivers. The airport continues constructing a major changeover, with a new people mover being set up to carry passengers across the expanding terminals. LAX ground transportation guidelines have been changing for a few years now, and passengers have become more agitated with the wait time and gridlock at the airport with continued construction and roadblocks. Airport administrators hope that setting up the new ride-hailing station will reduce traffic overall for drivers dropping off, and picking up, family and friends on the LAX terminal loop. Getting a ride from Uber and Lyft had been a convenient, cost effective transportation option in the past few years. That’s all changing now, with much of that efficiency being taken away. Air travelers and those driving them have been avoiding LAX whenever possible as traffic has gotten worse. Solutions for travelers include going to another nearby airport whenever possible. However, many cross country and international flights have to go in and out of LAX — and not the Orange County, Long Beach, or Ontario Airports. So changes at LAX greatly affect regular travels living and working in the LA and OC area. For taxi, chauffeured transportation, and shuttle operators, LAX’s changes affecting Uber and Lyft are just deserts for stringent and costly regulations imposed on them for several decades by airports and cities. Uber and Lyft are facing more regulations and fees in London, and the companies can expect government entities around the world to extend more of their own rules and fees as ride hailing continues expanding rapidly in these markets.

BYD Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. announced last week that they have signed an agreement to establish a joint company to research and develop battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The new R&D company, which will work on designing and developing BEVs (including platforms) and related parts, is anticipated to be established in China in 2020, with BYD and Toyota to evenly share 50 percent of the total capital needed. Additionally, BYD and Toyota plan to staff the new company by transferring engineers and the jobs currently involved in related R&D from their respective companies.

When will roads be filled with automated vehicles? Plus, official launch of Fisker Ocean

Here’s part four of a series on predictions that 2030 will be the watershed year to watch for when vehicles, transportation, and the entire auto industry itself will look quite different than it does today.

This topic has been further explored in a Green Auto Market analytical report. Click here to see the market report available for purchase and download.

And in other news:

Fisker launch announced: Fisker Inc. has launched it long-awaited all electric luxury SUV, which the company has named the Fisker Ocean. The company said it will be the “world’s most sustainable vehicle,” built on recycled, vegan and more innovative materials. Fisker said it will be breaking the usual automaker product launch process by revealing a fully running production intent prototype sitting on the actual, completely engineered platform on Jan. 4, 2020. Early reservations will start with the launch of the mobile app later this month, when pricing will be announced. The battery electric vehicle will have 250 to 300 miles per charge, depending on driving conditions, that will come from an approximately 80 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. To learn more, visit www.FiskerInc.com.
BMW and Ford providing charging networks: The BMW Group will install over 4,100 charging points for electrified vehicles at its German locations by 2021. The new charging infrastructure enables BMW Group employees to charge their cars conveniently at their workplaces. About half of the charging points will also be open to the public. That follows a recent announcement from Ford that it will be offering its all-electric vehicle customers North America’s largest electric vehicle public charging network, with more than 12,000 places to charge, including fast charging, and more than 35,000 charge plugs. Ford said it will be more charging infrastructure provided than from any other automaker. Through FordPass on a mobile device or in each vehicle’s on-screen dashboard, customers will be able to monitor charging at home, and find and pay for easy, one-stop charging at FordPass Charging Network stations.

Volvo Trucks selling EVs in Europe: Volvo Trucks announced the start of sales of its Volvo FL and Volvo FE electric trucks in selected markets within Europe, meeting the increasing demand for sustainable transport solutions in city environments. “Global urbanization requires urban logistics and truck transport with zero emissions and less noise with increasing urgency. With the Volvo FL Electric and Volvo FE Electric we are able to meet both the strong environmental demands as well as the high commercial requirements of our customers,” said Jonas Odermalm, VP Product Line Electromobility.