816 hydrogen-powered vehicles were used at the Beijing Winter Olympics, which concluded on February 20. 312 hydrogen-powered vehicles, which only emit pure water, were used at the Beijing and Yanqing competition zones, and a total of 42.04 tons of hydrogen were consumed from the opening of the Games on February 2 to February 14. Beijing Huanyu Jinghui City Gas Technology Co, a main supplier of hydrogen power for the Games, produces and extracts hydrogen out of “green electricity” made from photovoltaic and wind power, Zhang Yan, Deputy General Manager, told the Global Times. “Our company can provide 1.5 tons of hydrogen to multiple refueling stations for the Olympics, which approximately accounts for half of the overall hydrogen consumption,” Zhang said.
One of the major hydrogen buses in service was co-developed by Chinese carmaker Foton and Japan's Toyota, as well as a number of Chinese hydrogen battery and engine developers. The 12-meter-long bus, called Ouhui, can avoid emitting 57.86 kilograms of carbon dioxide every 100 kilometers. That translates into a reduction of 115.72 kilograms of carbon emissions every day, Liu Jihong, Vice President of the AUV Division under Foton Motor Group, told the Global Times. He added that the company's research and development team overcame technological difficulties, including starting vehicles in extreme cold weather, slippery roads due to snow and ice, and steep inclines. “In the Zhangjiakou competition zone, the Ouhui hydrogen-powered bus can start its engine in -30°C weather, and it will automatically activate protection procedures for storing and parking at -40°C,” Liu said.
He added that the company also created China's first “U-degree” comprehensive heat management technology, which is able to collect waste heat and transform it into internal car heat for defrosting and demisting. “When the power of the fuel cell reaches 75%, all waste heat can be recycled, reducing energy consumption by 7.6%,” Liu noted. Beijing aims to build an industrial cluster for key parts and equipment for hydrogen vehicles by 2025, the Global Times reports.
