It’s still arguable which future mobility system is the best. Malaysian Green Technology Corp analyses the issue and offers its take.
The recent prolonged spell of haze in Malaysia and around the region generated widespread concern over the pressing need for healthy air quality.
The recurrent crisis of air quality forced the closure of schools nationwide for days, disrupted airport operations for hours, and contributed to a severe hike in respiratory disorders. Air pollution, be it from forest fires, industrial or transport-related emissions has been an ongoing concern for years.
In fact, in 2012, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that outdoor air pollution led to approximately 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide, with 88% of these deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries particularly within the South-East Asia region.
Here in Malaysia, road transport is the second highest contributor of carbon emissions, with over 22.7 million registered vehicles spewing out tens of millions of tonnes of air pollutants each year.
This statistic is further compounded by an annual increase of road vehicles at 6% on average, which is faster than the rate our population and the economy is growing.
Clearly, there is a pressing need to alter the way we travel and reduce our dependence on fuel-guzzling, air-polluting vehicles in favour of cleaner, more sustainable forms of transport.
The Prius hybrid.
The options
In general, there are three main contenders vying for pole position in the race to be the future of mobility. These are, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs).
Hybrids, such as the Honda Civic Hybrid, combine different sources of energy to achieve propulsion, typically by employing a tradition fuel-powered internal combustion engine (ICE) together with an electric motor.
Meanwhile EVs, such as the Tesla Model S, do not have traditional ICEs, instead relying solely on an electric motor powered by a battery pack which is charged through a plug-point or EV charging station.
FCVs, such as the Toyota Mirai, do not rely on conventional petrol or diesel-based ICEs but instead uses compressed hydrogen stored in fuel-cells and oxygen from the air to power its electric motor.
Exploring the options
To get a rough idea of the most viable option, we compared one vehicle from each category with similar or comparable specifications.
Points of comparison include the vehicle’s carbon emissions, its electric driving range and its affordability.
We can see that the EV and FCV are significantly cleaner options with zero contribution to air pollution when driving.
However, EV falls just short of the superior driving range provided by the FCV.
Nevertheless, both lose out to the hybrid when it comes to affordability.
However, if we are truly looking for the future of mobility, hybrids would have to be seen as only a stepping stone towards cleaner and more technologically advanced options. So if the race is between EVs and FCVs, which of the two will be more feasible?
Narrowing it down
When it comes to charging or refuelling time, FCVs are clear winners, taking less than five minutes to fill a full tank as compared to the nearly 30 minutes it would take a Nissan LEAF to fully charge using a direct current fast charger.
However, FCVs could prove to be even more expensive in the long run. Based on Malaysia’s current tariff, it would only cost RM8.70 to fully charge a LEAF as compared to a full tank of hydrogen for the Toyota Mirai which costs around RM210.
The NIssan LEAF.
On the practicality of refuelling, with only 625 publicly accessible hydrogen fuelling stations around the world as compared to the over 1 million EV charging stations available worldwide, FCV drivers will find it difficult to travel long distances despite the superior range.
Adding to this, is the exorbitantly high cost of setting up hydrogen fuelling stations (which can cost up to RM6mil per station) compared to an EV charging station (which cost in the range of RM10,000 per station) .
On top of that, FCVs can only be refuelled at a station as hydrogen is not readily accessible elsewhere whereas an EV could even be charged using your conventional three-pin plug point that can be found at home.
With regards to diversity of models available, EVs have FCVs beaten at the moment with over 30 models of EVs available worldwide as opposed to the less than five models of FCVs commercially available.
A range of electric vehicles.
The winner
With these considerations in mind, while there is a bright future ahead for FCVs, as it stands, EVs certainly look poised to be the future of mobility.
The key challenges of wide-scale adoption of EVs, namely price and range, are already being addressed, with developments in battery technology set to reduce the price of EVs substantially while increasing driving ranges of EVs to well over 400km.
At the same time, the introduction of economic incentives such as tax exemptions, could see EVs become even more affordable. Meanwhile, there is already local interest and investment in increasing the EV charging station network in Malaysia through programmes such as ChargEV being led by Malaysian Green Technology Corp (GreenTech Malaysia) which aims to install 300 stations by this year.
Not many electric cars are around but their numbers are growing.
In line with global trends, Malaysians from all corners of the transport landscape are quickly realising that there is an urgent need to transition away from high polluting vehicles and that we all can play a role.
With the many benefits EVs have to offer, they are the most viable way forward for a cleaner and healthier nation.
Since EVs appear to be the more viable option for future mobility, what is holding us back from fully adopting this more sustainable mode of transport?
> In the next article, we will be exploring the challenges EVs face in gaining a foothold in the Malaysian market.
GreenTech Malaysia is an organisation under the purview of the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology & Water (KeTTHA) charged with the development and promotion of green technology as a strategic engine for socio-economic growth in Malaysia.
Keyword: Hybrids, electric cars and hydrogen-driven vehicles race to dominate future