Fuel cell vehicles may not be as efficient as people make them out to be.

Fuel cell vehicles may not be as efficient as people make them out to be.
My favorite car magazine
There is a book called Motor Fan Illustrated.
It is an extremely useful book that introduces the mechanism of automobiles with beautiful illustrations.
It's a maniac magazine.
http://motorfan-i.com/
However, the essence of manufacturing, "why does it happen?", is written throughout the book.
This is one of the must-have magazines for car enthusiasts and people who make things.
Among them, there was an interesting article by Dr. Hatamura, a former engine engineer at Mazda.
I found one sentence.
"For the time being, EVs (electric vehicles) will not be viable without nuclear power. FCVs (fuel cell vehicles) have an efficiency of 70% for extracting hydrogen, which serves as fuel, from natural gas, and 50% for the fuel cells, for a total efficiency of 35%. In that case, it would be better to just use natural gas."
This is because Dr. Hatamura is developing a completely new type of engine.
I highly recommend the Pinnacle engine, which is far superior to the best engines out there.
It seems that there is a possibility of increasing efficiency. Moreover, the fuel of the engine is not gasoline.
If natural gas, which emits less CO2 than diesel, is used, CO2 emissions can be significantly reduced.
So here is the Pinnacle engine.
http://blog.livedoor.jp/motersound/archives/51614682.html
At first glance, it looks like an inverted horizontally opposed engine.
In addition, since it is not possible to install intake and exhaust valves or camshafts, a type called a sleeve valve is used.
It has an intake and exhaust system.
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/rcolumn/DM_COLUMN_LEAF/20060221/113485/
This engine is capable of making the stroke extraordinarily long relative to the bore.
This is apparently very important for achieving high efficiency.
If you try to do this, the crankshaft will be abnormally long and the engine will become too large.
This method allows for a long stroke while still being very compact.
Yes, it is possible. And from a technical standpoint, it is much simpler than a rotary engine.
The doctor says that combining this with a hybrid system is currently the most efficient.
Here, I have looked at the materials written by other people.
First, here is some material from the JHFC (Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Demonstration Project), which is led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Source:http://altairposeidon.hatenablog.com/entry/2015/01/26/000000
What can be read from this table is that Toyota is ranked from most efficient to least efficient.
Fuel Cells > Natural Gas Hybrids > Electric Vehicles
That is what I think.
And JHFC
Electric Vehicles > Natural Gas Hybrids > Fuel Cell Vehicles
It can be seen that the ranking is the exact opposite.
As an amateur, I have no idea which one is correct.
The JHFC documents also contained the following:

*For plug-in hybrid vehicles, the fuel consumption is about 0.5 when plugged in.
This graph also shows fuel cells to be at a disadvantage.
However, after reading the contents of the JHFC below, I became convinced.
http://www.jari.or.jp/portals/0/jhfc/data/seminor/fy2010/pdf/day1_J_20.pdf
Currently, if hydrogen is supplied in a form separated from gas, fuel cell vehicles are not so popular.
It's not spectacularly efficient, but it could be used in the future to generate electricity from solar and wind power.
This can be done by separating hydrogen produced by electrolysis or methane produced by capturing CO2.
The resulting hydrogen fuel cell is by far the most efficient.
However, this is a world away.
My guess is that Dr. Hatamura is referring to the efficiency of natural gas hybrid fuel.
84%, and if the efficiency of cars could reach 50% by putting the Pinnacle engine into practical use, the overall efficiency would be 42%.
This is significantly higher than Toyota's calculation of 34% for fuel cells, and the cost is also overwhelmingly cheaper.
I think it means that it is possible.
Looking at the future in 15 years or so, it would probably be wise to prioritize this.
However, Toyota, a company that accounts for about 4% of GDP, and many of its subsidiaries
In order to survive in the world... it's a very long-term strategy, which is rare for Japan.
I think that's why there's so much fuss about fuel cells.
If the doctor says it's easier than Rotary,
Rotary has been making this happen for almost 40 years now.
It seems quite possible to achieve this.
However, the patent for this engine is owned by an American company called Pinnacle Engines.
Considering that it is already included in Mitsui Global Investment's portfolio,
I see a bright future for this company.
https://www.mitsui-global.com/portfolio/pinnacle.html
For reference, Mazda unveiled the natural gas-based Axela at the motor show.
http://car.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20131022_620390.html
I hope that Mazda, a company with limited financial resources but a strong adventurous spirit, will be the one to take on something like this.
However, even if you look at ordinary magazines or the Internet, you will see this level of
There's very little to excite me about.
I will continue to watch with interest.