China’s biggest SUV and ute maker turns its back on hydrogen
GWM’s hydrogen subsidiary, FTXT, says the fuel only makes sense for large commercial vehicles – for nowYou’re likely to see a lot more hydrogen fuel stations and hydrogen-powered vehicles around the world by 2030 – and in Australia by 20235 – but don’t expect to see many hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) from China’s largest SUV and ute manufacturer.
The company formerly known as Great Wall Motors says passenger cars are not on the agenda of its hydrogen technology off-shoot, FTXT.
Instead, GWM says FTXT is focusing on commercial trucks, buses and even marine applications.
FTXT has five R&D centres and more than 800 staff and its director of commodity planning and overseas business, Michael Li, told carsales that a five-tonne truck – the sort you’d rent to move house – is the smallest hydrogen-powered vehicle it will commercialise in the foreseeable future.
Asked if hydrogen-powered GWM utes and SUVs were feasible in the short-term, Li was unenthusiastic.
“We think that like that light-duty truck, that’s about as small as you want because the running cost it’s very advantageous compared with conventional diesel,” he said.
“If we talk about the hydrogen passenger car, it’s not so mainstream because in China the [battery] electric car is quite easy to produce and sell and the energy recharging is quite convenient.”
Globally, there are only a handful of FCEVs available to the public at present and even the high-profile Toyota Mirai and Hyundai NEXO remain available to Aussie individuals only on a lease basis for now.
The Korean car-maker is also hedging its hydrogen bets with its N74 super-coupe, which incorporates a ground-breaking hybrid powertrain comprising both battery-electric (BEV) and fuel-cell electric (FCEV) technology.
But while several truck-makers already offer FCEVs, FTXT’s export chief said that right now there are several factors holding back hydrogen-powered passenger cars, including the cost to build them and the number of refuelling stations, which remains less than a handful in Australia.
“In China today we have let’s say around 400 hydrogen stations, but a lot more is needed in China because it is so big and the same goes for most other countries,” said Li.
“If you look at gasoline stations, we have maybe 200,000 in China.”
At the end of 2023 there were just over 1000 hydrogen refuelling stations globally, but not all of those are available to the public.
Hydrogen cars will come – eventually
Li said that if hydrogen refuelling infrastructure improves, research and development of hydrogen-powered SUVs and utes will increase, but in his view it’s not likely to blossom until the mid-2040s.
“I think from my personal point of view the diversity will come in the next 20 years,” he said.
FTXT currently has a number of FCEV powertrains, storage tanks and ancillary systems available and under development, including 255kW commercial vehicle powertrains.
The Chinese hydrogen tech company also has a 100kW passenger vehicle powertrain and Li confirmed that it is investigating a passenger vehicle “within the Great Wall Motor group” but that it will likely remain a prototype for now.
“This is depending on the market. If the market comes then we launch our hydrogen car and we observe the other countries who are rich with hydrogen gas, where hydrogen cars can be very popular.
“But the hydrogen resource and infrastructure is important [in achieving this].”
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), around 72,000 FCEVs were on the road at the end of 2023 – up from 52,000 in 2022 and 37,000 in 2021 – confirming a gradual but consistent increase.
But most of this growth was driven by government incentives for hydrogen vehicles and infrastructure, and FCEV numbers remain tiny compared to BEVs.
According to the IEA, there were around 16.5 million electric vehicles on the road globally in 2021, rising by 54 per to 26 million in 2022 and jumping by a similar percentage in 2023 to almost 40 million EVs.
That means that in 2023, around 18 per cent of all new car sales were EVs – up from 14 per cent in 2022. However, EV sales are levelling out so far in 2024, both globally and in Australia.
FTXT’s director of overseas business said that in future there will be a mix of ‘new energy’ vehicles “because not just one technology can cover all of the use cases – each one has an obvious advantage and each one has the obvious disadvantage.
“We know the electric car is very easy to be charged, it is very low cost, but it depends on the [electricity] grid,” said Li.
“The grid in China it’s very rich, but in some other countries the power grid is very weak and fragile, so then you need hydrogen.”
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