7 BETTING ON HYDROGEN: JAPAN’S GREEN INDUSTRIAL POLICY …
167
The industry has also shown advantages in the mass transit sector, as
any vehicle that travels a closed-circuit loop could usefully adopt fuel cell
technology. In Japan, Hino Motors and Toyota worked together to create
a fuel-cell bus and carried out tests in Toyota City in January 2015. The
2020 Olympic Village will rely on a fleet of 100 such buses. Governments
worldwide have encouraged the adoption of fuel-cell buses, especially in
Europe and China, but also in South Korea, the UK, India, and California
(IEA Hydrogen 2017, p. 11; EPCA 2018; METI/ANRE 2015, p. 7). As
a result, worldwide sales of these buses are now approaching “commercial
normality” (E4tech 2019).
Fuel cell trains are also growing in attractiveness, especially for countries that are looking to replace their diesel train fleets. In 2018, Germany
put its first fuel cell passenger train into service, and the success of this
unit quickly led to orders for 40 more. Operators in the UK, France,
Canada, Korea, and China are also putting such trains into service (E4tech
2019). The maritime sector is another intriguing place where fuel cells
can be utilized. Numerous projects have been reported in which companies have converted existing small ferries and cruise ships to run on fuel
cells, including in Norway, Scotland, France, Denmark, Korea, and San
Francisco (IEA Hydrogen 2017; E4tech 2019). In October 2017, Viking
Cruises announced that it plans to build the world’s first cruise ship
powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The European Maritime Safety Agency
also reports 12 different shipping projects that have investigated various
fuel cell technologies (MAREX 2017).
A final intriguing development is recent interest on the part of the
US military in using FCEVs for rear-area transportation and material
handling. The Department of Defense (DoD) has been working with
Chevrolet to create prototypes for convoy vehicles and unmanned aerial
drones. As a huge user of energy, the DoD is evidently looking to save
on fuel and energy costs (E4tech 2019). 22 The DoD has also discussed
with General Motors the idea of building an unmanned fuel cell submarine. While these ideas are still at an early stage, demand from the military
would be a big boost for the FCEV industry. 23
In short, FCEVs are just now beginning to compete with BEVs in the
small car market, but are likely to dominate other transportation sectors.
If FCEVs are successful in these other sectors, this success may spill over
back to the small car sector. If businesses build up their hydrogen refueling networks, the current lack of HRS may become less of a problem in
the future.
167
The industry has also shown advantages in the mass transit sector, as
any vehicle that travels a closed-circuit loop could usefully adopt fuel cell
technology. In Japan, Hino Motors and Toyota worked together to create
a fuel-cell bus and carried out tests in Toyota City in January 2015. The
2020 Olympic Village will rely on a fleet of 100 such buses. Governments
worldwide have encouraged the adoption of fuel-cell buses, especially in
Europe and China, but also in South Korea, the UK, India, and California
(IEA Hydrogen 2017, p. 11; EPCA 2018; METI/ANRE 2015, p. 7). As
a result, worldwide sales of these buses are now approaching “commercial
normality” (E4tech 2019).
Fuel cell trains are also growing in attractiveness, especially for countries that are looking to replace their diesel train fleets. In 2018, Germany
put its first fuel cell passenger train into service, and the success of this
unit quickly led to orders for 40 more. Operators in the UK, France,
Canada, Korea, and China are also putting such trains into service (E4tech
2019). The maritime sector is another intriguing place where fuel cells
can be utilized. Numerous projects have been reported in which companies have converted existing small ferries and cruise ships to run on fuel
cells, including in Norway, Scotland, France, Denmark, Korea, and San
Francisco (IEA Hydrogen 2017; E4tech 2019). In October 2017, Viking
Cruises announced that it plans to build the world’s first cruise ship
powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The European Maritime Safety Agency
also reports 12 different shipping projects that have investigated various
fuel cell technologies (MAREX 2017).
A final intriguing development is recent interest on the part of the
US military in using FCEVs for rear-area transportation and material
handling. The Department of Defense (DoD) has been working with
Chevrolet to create prototypes for convoy vehicles and unmanned aerial
drones. As a huge user of energy, the DoD is evidently looking to save
on fuel and energy costs (E4tech 2019). 22 The DoD has also discussed
with General Motors the idea of building an unmanned fuel cell submarine. While these ideas are still at an early stage, demand from the military
would be a big boost for the FCEV industry. 23
In short, FCEVs are just now beginning to compete with BEVs in the
small car market, but are likely to dominate other transportation sectors.
If FCEVs are successful in these other sectors, this success may spill over
back to the small car sector. If businesses build up their hydrogen refueling networks, the current lack of HRS may become less of a problem in
the future.