In recent years, domestic hybrid technology has ushered in a full outbreak, BYD, Geely, Great Wall, Changan, Chery and other head independent brand car companies have launched hybrid technology with their own characteristics, which not only greatly lowers the price threshold of hybrid models, but also relies on excellent fuel consumption performance and product strength, which is favored by the market and breaks the monopoly of Japanese hybrid on the market.
With the efforts of major independent brand car companies, the hybrid track is becoming more and more intense, and it is not easy to break through. However, recently, Geely Automobile released an Emgrandol electric hybrid version of the model, using a hybrid system based on methanol engine + motor, 100 kilometers of "alcohol" consumption of 9.2L, according to the price of synthetic gasoline equivalent to only 3L/ 100km, plus methanol is a renewable energy source, the price is not as affected by the global market fluctuations as oil, the future will even be cheaper and cheaper with the reduction of preparation and transportation costs. So it seems that using methanol as the energy source for cars is also a good choice, so how far is methanol cars from full popularization?
Methanol cars: It is not difficult to popularize, but the disadvantages are fatal
As we all know, the field of new energy vehicles is not only the pure electric route of lithium batteries, hydrogen fuel cells and methanol engines are also the technical routes that have been developed for many years. But from the current point of view, almost all car brands regard lithium battery pure electric vehicles as the main line of future development. The reason is also very simple, lithium battery pure electric vehicle structure is relatively simple, technology development is relatively mature, coupled with the low construction cost of charging piles and other energy supplementary facilities, all make lithium battery pure electric vehicles easier to achieve widespread popularity, so as to achieve profitability more quickly.
However, there are also many problems in the development route of lithium battery pure electric vehicles, on the one hand, the endurance and energy replenishment of vehicles are far from enough to support pure electric vehicles to fully replace traditional fuel vehicles. On the other hand, the treatment and recycling of waste batteries of pure electric vehicles need to be solved urgently, and the later stage will still cause certain pressure on the environment.
As a result, the state is also currently supporting diversified automotive energy sources, such as hydrogen and methanol.
The application of hydrogen energy in the automotive field believes that everyone is no stranger, to Toyota Mirai, Hyundai Nexo and other representatives of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have shown a good strength, hydrogenation 5 minutes, endurance can supplement more than 600 kilometers, looks quite good, the future in the domestic market will also have a layout.
However, the conditions required for hydrogen in the transportation and storage links are quite harsh, and the construction cost of hydrogen refueling stations is relatively high. According to estimates, the construction cost of a 500kg (about 50 vehicles) hydrogen refueling station at 35MPa is about 12 million yuan, which is equivalent to 3 times that of a traditional gas station.
In contrast, methanol, also a renewable clean energy source, has a transportation and storage process similar to conventional fuel oil due to its liquid state at room temperature.
Not only that, methanol sources are widely and reliable, coal, hydrogen, natural gas, etc. can be converted into methanol, and the most well-known and environmentally friendly is the crop methanol. Coupled with the huge economic volume and the sustainable development of the whole industry chain, methanol has gradually become a new type of clean renewable fuel recognized by the global industry.
But why has methanol engine not yet been widely popularized?
The main reason for this is that methanol has a lower calorific value, or even less than half the calorific value of gasoline, so the same speed line power will be twice as weak. That is to say, if you want to achieve the same dynamics as the same displacement gasoline car, the cost of methanol consumed has exceeded that of gasoline, and it cannot bring much benefit.
In addition, methanol and its insufficient combustion products have a certain degree of corrosiveness, which will reduce the durability of the engine and other components. This is also a technical difficulty developed by car companies.
Methanol electrocution, unlimited prospects?
Although the road to the popularization of methanol power is full of obstacles, in fact, China's methanol engine technology has been developed for many years. For example, Geely Automobile began to develop the first generation of methanol technology in 2005, and the second generation of methanol taxis has also been launched in some southwest cities, and has now developed into a fourth-generation methanol power.
Now, with the advancement of hybrid technology, the hope of the popularization of methanol energy seems to have become clearer.
Take the Geely Dihao alcohol hybrid model as an example, which is equipped with a Geely 1.8-liter alcohol-electric hybrid engine and a 3-speed hybrid electric drive DHT PRO transmission. Equivalent to Geely Star Yue L Hi · The three-cylinder gasoline engine on the X was replaced by a 1.8-liter alcohol-electric hybrid engine.
The addition of the 3-speed hybrid electric drive DHT Pro transmission also better makes up for the shortcomings of the weak power of the methanol engine, and the electric drive mode is used at low and medium speeds, and the engine only needs to cope with the high-speed conditions with small torque requirements.
Of course, there is not much information about this car at present, especially the energy consumption and power level under different working conditions have yet to be officially announced. It is expected that it will be put into the travel market in the early stage, and will be released to the private market after the infrastructure such as the alcohol station is mature.
Nowadays, the hybrid technology of independent brands has ushered in unprecedented development, and the addition of methanol engines has achieved provincial and provincial savings, helping to diversify energy. It is not difficult to foresee that the future application of methanol in the automotive field will be more and more abundant, methanol motor extended range electric driving force, methanol conversion to hydrogen to solve the hydrogen energy transport reserve pain points and so on. As a big country in methanol production capacity, China's good use of methanol energy may lead the automotive industry to achieve curve overtaking.