Author | Guan Xuejun
Source | Car selection network
As the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, international energy prices continue to climb, and the price of diesel fuel in Europe has now surpassed that of gasoline, reaching 2.6 euros per liter (1 euro≈6.9 yuan). At the same time, shares of China's new energy vehicles and lithium battery concept stocks plummeted. Some insiders say that it is the disaster caused by the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine. During the two sessions, Li Shufu, the people's representative of the automobile industry, once again put forward a proposal for the development of methanol vehicles. In the past, Li Shufu has also proposed the development of methanol vehicles in the National People's Congress many times, and it seems that the influence of the industry is not large, but this time, driven by the superposition of multiple factors at home and abroad, the development of methanol vehicles may be put on the agenda of national development.
The research and development of methanol vehicles has a history of several decades in China, and china is currently in the leading position in the field of methanol vehicle technology, and has complete independent intellectual property rights and a complete industrial chain. It is reported that at present, Geely Automobile is in the leading position in the field of methanol vehicles in the country and has large-scale production capacity. Geely methanol cars have been used as taxis in many places, and the cost of methanol is much lower than that of gasoline, so methanol cars are well received by taxi drivers. If the technology can be rolled out across the country, it will contribute to China's efforts to break away from its dependence on oil and reduce carbon emissions. Especially at a time when global oil prices are soaring, the strategic value of methanol is further highlighted. Previously, major automobile manufacturers were not optimistic about methanol vehicles, and everyone focused on fuel vehicles, after all, methanol has not yet been designated as fuel by the state. Li Shufu is optimistic about methanol and is committed to the development of methanol vehicles, which shows Li Shufu's strategic vision.
It is understood that methanol can be produced through raw materials such as coal and natural gas, and the mainland is the world's largest producer of methanol. As fuel, methanol made a profit if the international oil price fell below $20 a barrel, while today's crude oil price hovers at $110. There is news that oil prices are expected to climb to a peak of $150. Historically, fluctuations in oil prices do not depend entirely on supply and demand, or on the great power game, and China must reduce its dependence on oil because it relies heavily on oil imports. In this sense, the promotion of methanol vehicles will greatly reduce the mainland's dependence on oil, while greatly reducing the cost of transportation across the country, and its strategic economic value is self-evident. In this context, can the state not pay attention to Li Shufu's proposal?
Judging from this year's "Government Work Report," stabilizing employment is the top priority this year. If methanol vehicles are developed, methanol production needs to be increased. If coal is made to methanol, then small coal mines and small chemicals can resume work one after another, and workers who were previously laid off can immediately achieve re-employment. It is reported that although the mainland has made it clear that it wants to reduce the amount of coal used, there is no limit to coal-to-methanol. It is reported that only domestic coal reserves are enough for China to use for 300 years, and the advantages of resource endowments are obvious. In terms of reducing carbon emissions, because the methanol molecule has only 1 carbon atom, and gasoline has 12 carbon atoms, the carbon emissions after methanol combustion are much smaller than gasoline, which is of great significance for achieving scientific emission reduction. Li Shufu obviously has long understood the strategic significance of the development of methanol vehicles, especially in the current special period, the proposal to develop methanol vehicles is more urgent and practical.
According to industry insiders, it is not difficult to change the current gasoline engine to a methanol engine, and it is almost unnecessary to transform. There is even news that if the internal combustion engine of China V uses methanol as fuel, it can directly meet the Emission Standards of China VI. For manufacturers, if the National V engine can still be used, it is undoubtedly good news. Some insiders said that the stock price of the electric vehicle sector and the lithium battery plate fell, in addition to the original market value was too high, more importantly, in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, everyone saw the fragility of electricity, resulting in the capital side being bearish on electric vehicles and involving the lithium battery plate.
It is reported that affected by the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the EU has decided to get rid of its dependence on Fossil Energy in Russia by 2027, so it has adjusted its development strategy for clean energy vehicles and regarded hydrogen energy as the most reliable technical route. Recently, BMW released news that BMW's hydrogen energy vehicles will enter the small-batch mass production stage at the end of this year, which has opened the prelude to the transformation of new energy vehicle technology in Europe and also marked a new change in the global new energy technology route. In China, the current hydrogen energy vehicle technology seems to be more advanced than in Europe – there is no need to directly hydrogenate the car. It is reported that China already has a vehicle-mounted methanol hydrogen-to-hydrogen technology, that is, to fill the car with methanol, to produce hydrogen by reforming methanol on the car, and then directly into the hydrogen fuel cell. This technical route can avoid the problem of the high cost of building hydrogen refueling stations and the high safety risk of hydrogen storage, so that China can step into the era of hydrogen energy vehicles with the help of methanol and truly change lanes and overtake. It is worth noting that traditional car companies can achieve the goal of carbon reduction by switching to methanol fuel, and electric vehicle companies can also use methanol on-board hydrogen production technology to avoid the risks caused by technical route adjustment.
Some people say that this time Li Shufu bet on the treasure again. In fact, this is not Li Shufu's right bet, but Li Shufu has a more entrepreneurial strategic vision, and can better examine his positioning and role from the perspective of national strategy, and then it is Geely's technical route and product positioning. We look forward to the relevant departments' response to Deputy Li Shufu's proposal, and look forward to China's automobile industry in the field of new energy to embark on a new road with Chinese characteristics and truly realize lane change and overtaking. To this end, we have selected Li Shufu as the news person of the week in this issue.
(Image source: Internet)