Fuel cells may fuel a cleaner
China By Michael Mackey
SHANGHAI - A Canadian business delegation
showcasing hydrogen fuel cell companies has reported
strong interest in its non-polluting products from
Chinese companies and government bodies. If China adopts
new fuel cell technology, it could fuel a cleaner
Chinese economic powerhouse, with huge implications for
reducing devastating pollution.
"The Chinese are
very supportive, very keen," said Stephen Kukucha,
director of external affairs for the
Vancouver-headquartered Ballard Power Systems, part of a
delegation that recently visited the country. Fuel cell
manufacturers see China as both a low-cost manufacturer
and a vast market for fuel cells.
In contrast to
the polluting internal combustion engine and China's
dependence on coal-burning power sources, many different
kinds of fuel cells use clean hydrogen, solar energy,
zinc-air fuel, biofuel, natural gas, and
fly-wheel-stored energy.
A hydrogen fuel cell,
the type usually discussed, is an electrochemical energy
conversion device that converts hydrogen and oxygen into
water, producing electricity and heat, like a battery
that can be recharged while power is being drawn from
it. Instead of recharging using electricity, however, a
fuel cell uses hydrogen and oxygen. Some types of fuel
cells could be used in power generation plants, while
others could be used to power cars and other equipment.
China has several reasons for being interested
in Canada's fuel cell cluster, and those of other
manufacturers. They see China as a cheap manufacturing
site and a vast, natural market, if issues of
intellectual property rights can be overcome.
Pollution is a major concern - the World Health
Organization estimates that of the world's 10 most
polluted cities seven are in China, with Beijing itself
admitting to the formidable scale of the problem:
"Two-thirds of Chinese cities have unacceptable levels
of air pollution caused by soot, suspended particulates
and chemicals," Zhu Guangyao, vice-minister of China's
environmental protection agency, said when he unveiled a
recent report. Observers say that Beijing, host of the
2008 Olympics, does not want to be remembered as host to
the Smog Games; too much prestige is involved.
No leaded gasoline, but coal's OK for
industry Leaded gasoline is prohibited, but with
coal being used to fire industrial boilers and furnaces,
one estimate is that 21 million tons of sulfur dioxide
are emitted annually into the atmosphere, along with 13
million tons of suspended particulate matter.
Rapid industrialization is exacerbating the
problem and rising affluence means an increasing number
of cars are hitting the roads. Last year the number of
news cars sold was 700,000, this year it is expected to
be a million, meaning the problem is getting worse and
the cadres know it , and they know that going with
hydrogen cells helps reduce the problem.
"I was
surprised at the level of acknowledgement the Chinese
government gave to both air pollution concerns and
greenhouse gas reduction," Kukucha said. "Beijing's
adoption of fuel cells, if it happens, would not just be
an underlining of that concern, it would be doing
something very solid about it."
In addition,
China is also moving from being a net exporter of oil to
a heavy importer. With prices rising and supply looking
wobbly, alternative sources of power appear increasingly
attractive, not to mention stable, and stable energy
sources are desperately needed by China. The country
also does not have the infrastructure that is already
built in North America, Europe, Australia and East Asia
for traditional hydrocarbon fuel sources.
It is
also so much more reliant on public transport: two
Chinese cities, Beijing and Shanghai, between them have
34,000 buses - against a total North American fleet of
80,000. This absence, so far, of a private car culture
makes adaptation to the new technologies easier, which
in turn frees or lessens China's oil dependency.
This issue takes some pondering, but
economically China faces the problem of an energy
shortage - and one that is getting worse. Easing that
could make the tiger really roar. But a China not
needing to import oil, or not so much oil, or not
worrying so much about energy is a China that could take
a more independent line in its foreign policy. The
diplomatic dance of Beijing-Taipei and
Beijing-Washington would get more intricate if that day
ever comes. Despite the fact that many companies in
the field are being cautious in their initial approach
to China, as befitting a situation in which there are
big concerns along the way, this is still early days.
"I'm here exploring the opportunities to partner
with research institutes or companies to develop or
demonstrate fuel cell technology or products including
power generation products or vehicles," said Ballard's
Kukucha, the scramble for market share seemingly being
some way off.
Concern over intellectual
property rights One reason for the restraint
is concerns over protection of intellectual property
rights (IPR), which is always an issue with China and
especially sensitive with cutting-edge technologies such
as fuel cells. Canada's National Research Council said
its acting president, Dr Michael Raymont, "has and still
is very actively exploring creative ways of aligning
interests to minimize IPR [problems]".
The
delegation said that what seemed to be on offer was
joint ventures with Chinese companies, structured in
such a way that technology was transferred for money and
without the risk of IPR loss. Or as one member of the
delegation put it, "So they don't want to walk away."
Again, this approach is profoundly important,
not only because of the issue of serious technology
transfer, but also because the precedent of a creative
solution to the recurring problem of IPR goes far beyond
high technology issues and products.
Many also
see the People's Republic as a significant market
because of its uniqueness. It is the only country in the
world that has the scope to produce fuel cells in
numbers that become cost-efficient; it needs mass
numbers and it's a cheap place to manufacture in volume
for sale both internationally and locally. The fuel cell
business, being a business, employs the same logic of
many other companies for relocating to China.
As
delegation member Michael Brown, chairman of venture
capitalists Chrysalix Energy Management, said, "A whole
sector can be made here, and the rest of the world catch
up." Catching up though to a leapfrogging China might be
one of the hardest things to do.
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