The hydrogen energy for Shanghai's "appetite" needs to go through cost and site constraints, and by 2025, 30% of sanitation vehicles will need to be replaced with new energy at a cost | new energy | Shanghai

The new energy process of Shanghai's environmental sanitation equipment, which has been piloted since 2019, has entered a sprint period. By 2025, the proportion of new energy sanitation vehicles in Shanghai will not be less than 30%.

At today's Shanghai International Carbon Neutrality Technology, Products, and Achievements Expo, dozens of new energy and sanitation vehicles from 8 car companies across the country were showcased, many of which have been put into operation in Shanghai, giving people a tangible feeling of the increasingly strong pulse of low-carbon cities.

accelerate

When the weather is clear, all 5 solar panels attached to the car body are turned on, and ideally, it can provide 1 kWh of electricity per hour. At the exhibition, a red solar lithium-ion road sweeper was very eye-catching.

Since the second half of last year, this new energy road sweeper has been driving on roads in areas such as Huangpu, Changning, Pudong, and Songjiang. As of now, nearly 10 vehicles have been put into operation in Shanghai.

Ren Jianglong, the sales manager of Fujian Ronggong Environmental Protection Machinery Co., Ltd. in Shanghai, said that this is the product with the highest "concentration" of green electricity in the company. Under normal operating conditions, solar power can meet 20% of the required electricity for operation. "It is true that the driver's cabin does not have to spend money on air conditioning."

"Replacing oil with electricity is the first step. In the future, electric powered sanitation vehicles will reduce carbon emissions during the power generation process, which is a trend." Wen Jianglong said that the carbon dioxide emissions from producing green electricity such as solar and wind power are zero or approaching zero, and compared to thermal power generation, the impact on the environment is relatively low. Moreover, the cost of using green electricity is lower, which makes the prospects of solar lithium-ion road sweepers broad.

Across from the solar lithium-ion road sweeper, an 18 ton hydrogen fuel road sweeper has a similar effect.

Under ideal working conditions, it can only run over 100 kilometers when fully charged. After adding 20 kilograms of hydrogen gas and fully charging it, the range can reach 500 kilometers. This road sweeper has been put into operation in the Lingang area of Shanghai.

Li Binfa, Sales Manager of Fulongma Group Co., Ltd. in Shanghai, stated that although the cost of using hydrogen fuel for sanitation vehicles in Shanghai is higher than that of pure electric vehicles, the significant increase in range can solve the pain points of frequent return charging, low charging efficiency, and poor working mobility of pure electric vehicles in the past.

These exhibits are just a microcosm of Shanghai's accelerated new energy transformation of sanitation vehicles.

In 2019, the four districts of Huangpu, Jing'an, Xuhui, and Putuo took the lead in purchasing a batch of light pure electric bucket transport garbage trucks and pure electric road maintenance vehicles, initiating a new round of exploration for the new energy utilization of environmental sanitation vehicles in Shanghai.

The Implementation Plan for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Environmental Sanitation Vehicles during the 14th Five Year Plan Period in Shanghai clearly states that for environmental sanitation vehicles used for household waste removal and road cleaning, and with suitable vehicle models, newly added or updated vehicles will generally use pure electric vehicles or fuel cell vehicles.

It is estimated that there are nearly 6000 sanitation vehicles in Shanghai that can be updated to new energy. From January 2021 to May 2023, 324 vehicles have been updated, including 137 road cleaning vehicles and 187 garbage removal vehicles.

challenge

At present, the progress of updates is not fast.

Chen Yijun, Director of the Science and Technology Information Department of the Shanghai Greening and Urban Appearance Bureau, explained that the main reason is that environmental sanitation vehicles have a scrapping cycle, which usually takes 8 years to "retire". A large number of environmental sanitation vehicles in Shanghai were purchased before the "four categories" were clearly defined, and they were scrapped all at once, and then bought new ones, which is too wasteful. Starting from this year, more sanitation vehicles will be combined with scrapped and updated to new energy vehicles. It is expected that 400 sanitation vehicles will be updated this year.

To accelerate the new energy transformation of Shanghai's sanitation vehicles, there are still two difficulties: cost and venue.

Taking the 18 ton hydrogen fuel road sweeper mentioned above as an example, its price is almost twice that of pure electric road sweepers of the same tonnage.

Although multiple departments in Shanghai have introduced supportive policies for the promotion and application of updated new energy sanitation vehicles, in practical operation, the amount of financial incentives is still limited, and the enthusiasm of operating units to purchase new energy sanitation vehicles is not high.

At the same time, the cost of hydrogenation is currently higher than charging, and even more expensive than refueling.

At the end of last year, two hydrogen fuel cell compressed garbage trucks were put on the road in Jiading District, marking the beginning of the exploration and application of hydrogen energy sanitation vehicles in Shanghai. It is revealed that the cost of hydrogenation is 58 yuan/kg.

"We have calculated that the cost of hydrogenation has been reduced to 38 yuan/kg, which is advantageous compared to using diesel." Chen Yijun said that if it is to be compared to charging, the cost of hydrogenation must be further reduced.

On October 19, 2018, at Jiangqiao Hydrogenation Station in Jiading District, Shanghai, workers opened the door of the hydrogen tank and sprayed water on the gas tank valve to check the sealing condition of the gas tank.

The scene of electric vehicles queuing up for charging during holidays also exists in the sanitation industry. Hydrogen fuel sanitation vehicles, which are less popular, will experience the hardship of rushing to refuel on weekdays.

In provinces such as Guangdong and Gansu, the promotion of Fulongma hydrogen fuel sanitation vehicles is faster. Industry insiders believe that this is mainly because there are more complete industrial supporting facilities and more attractive new energy subsidy policies in the local area.

Li Bin candidly stated that the most obvious difference lies in which cities can see more hydrogen refueling stations. In contrast, Shanghai is more valuable than land, and we also need to consider the impact of hydrogen refueling facilities on surrounding safety. These will limit the landing of hydrogen refueling facilities, thereby affecting the enthusiasm for using hydrogen fuel sanitation vehicles.

Although there are many shortcomings to be addressed, the prospects of Shanghai's new energy sanitation vehicles, especially hydrogen fuel sanitation vehicles, are still optimistic because they are more in line with Shanghai's appetite.

"Taking garbage trucks as an example, the cleaning mode in Shanghai is' big opening and big closing '. Chen Yijun said that due to the lack of facilities such as small pressure stations as transitional spaces for transfer, garbage trucks often have to directly transport garbage from residential areas to transfer docks or even terminal disposal plants. The longer transfer distance leads to a common' charging anxiety 'for pure electric garbage trucks, but it also provides opportunities for hydrogen fuel sanitation vehicles that refuel less and run longer.".

The Carbon Expo Energy Application Exhibition Booth and the Lingang New Area are planned to have more than 10 hydrogen refueling stations, forming a regional hydrogen refueling station infrastructure network