JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Special Issue Composites for mobility - May 2020 - 24

TRENDS powertrain

Automotive:
which powertrain for tomorrow?
Steering in a new era of multi-mobility with electrification and fuel cell technology in 2030: Which powertrain
scenario will win at the end?

gainst the background of
global warming, decarbonization of the global economy
is currently a major issue. Multiple
strategic studies outline different
scenarios to cope with this urgent
challenge. As far as powertrain
technologies are concerned, there
are two major paths indicated: battery-driven e-mobility versus fuel
cell technology. The origin of fuel
cell technology goes back to the galvanic gas battery early in the 19th
century. It was also used for submarines and in aerospace in the 50's, but
its high technical requirements and
costs slowed down further development for decades.[1]
Fuel cell technology
Europe has been reluctant to pursue
research and development for fuel
cell technology, whereas China is investing extensively in this technology,
including the associated infrastructure. The driving force for this development in China is the Minister for
Science and Technology, Wan Gang,
a former senior developer and powertrain expert at Audi. There are already
fuel cell cars with a range of 700 km
on the market from brands like Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, Renault and
Mercedes-Benz, but price ranges are
by far higher than for e-cars. Comparing the greenhouse gas emissions of
battery-driven and fuel cell vehicles,
a recent study by the Fraunhofer Institute for solar energy systems (ISE)
on behalf of H2 Mobility Germany

came to the conclusion that at a mileage of 150,000, the emissions of fuel
cell cars are lower than those of comparable battery-driven cars. According to Christopher Hebling, head of
hydrogen technology at Fraunhofer
ISE, "the study also demonstrates that
battery-driven and fuel cell vehicles ideally complement each other. For higher
mileages, fuel cell cars are more climate-friendly, while battery-driven cars
are better for lower mileages."[2]
E-mobility
No other car maker is demonstrating
such an unambiguous and comprehensive commitment to e-mobility
than Volkswagen does. The group
wants to become world market leader
in e-mobility and is willing to invest
in total 33 billion euros by the end
of 2024. The objective by 2029 is to
bring up to 75 pure e-models to the
market and to sell 26 million e-cars.
The market launch of the ID.3 mass
market model is planned for summer
2020. Series production has already
started in Zwickau. With the ID.4,
there is also an SUV in the pipeline.
These objectives were defined before
the outbreak of the Corona crisis, the
pivotal effects of which cannot yet be
foreseen. "The Corona pandemic presents us with unprecedented operational
and financial challenges," explained
Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Board
of Management of the Volkswagen
Group, at the annual press conference
mid-March. "In addition, we are concerned that sustainable economic influ-

jec composites magazine / SPECIAL ISSUE Mobility / May 2020

ences will occur." However, against the
background of the already initiated
transformation of Volkswagen, Diess
affirms: "We are confident, the future
of the car is electric." Another parameter in future traffic concepts is trying
to limit the growth of uncontrolled
individual traffic with improved local public transport or car sharing
concepts. A recent study by Deloitte
predicts that autonomous vehicles
like roboshuttles "will revolutionize
mobility in our cities" and "become one
of the main means of transportation in
2035."[3] Under the Weshare subbrand, Volkswagen introduced a pure
electric car sharing service in selected
cities in 2019. The brand is part of the
"Volkswagen We" ecosystem, with
planned investments of 3.5 billion euros in digitization by 2025.[4]
References
[1] https://www.co2online.de/
modernisieren-und-bauen/brennstoffzellen-heizung/was-sind-brennstoffzellen/
[2] https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/
content/dam/ise/en/documents/
News/190815_LCA-BEV-FCEV_Results_EnglishVersion.pdf, p. 5
[3] Urban Mobility and Autonomous
Driving in 2035. How robotaxis will
affect cities and automakers, Deloitte
9/2019, see executive summary p.
4-5
[4] https://www.volkswagenag.com/
en/news/stories/2019/06/ive-got1500-cars-here-in-berlin.html

https://www.co2online.de/modernisieren-und-bauen/brennstoffzellen-heizung/was-sind-brennstoffzellen/ https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/ise/en/documents/News/190815_LCA-BEV-FCEV_Results_EnglishVersion.pdf https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/news/stories/2019/06/ive-got-1500-cars-here-in-berlin.html

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Special Issue Composites for mobility - May 2020

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