BERND HEID
SMART ENERGY
Are battery electrics or fuel-cell electrics the answer to a clean energy solution ? Many companies and individuals have favoured battery-electric cars for their renowned energy efficiency ( since they reuse 80-90 % of the energy stored inside ), lower running costs and ease of charging . Tesla , for example , have crafted impressive manufacturing systems to produce high numbers of battery-electric vehicles within a single fleet . Their process of ‘ gigacasting ’ ( producing one giant piece instead of lots of small pieces ) has become renowned for the extent to which it reduces the cost and production time for a fleet of electric vehicles – thereby making battery-electric cars more affordable and accessible to a wider audience .
On the other hand , proponents of fuelcell ( or hydrogen ) vehicles prefer their faster refuelling processes and longer driving range . While a battery-powered electric car requires hours of recharging time , a much
BERND HEID
TITLE : SENIOR PARTNER COMPANY : MCKINSEY & COMPANY
INDUSTRY : MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
LOCATION : UNITED STATES
Bernd Heid is a consulting professional based in New York , United States . He holds a Senior Partner position at McKinsey and has been with the organisations since 2000 , making him a veteran by today ’ s standards of employment period with over 23 years with the business
“ I THINK WE WILL SEE IN THE NEXT YEAR THAT WE WILL NEED BOTH TECHNOLOGIES ”
BERND HEID SENIOR PARTNER , MCKINSEY & CO
larger trailer-truck will take only 15 minutes . For larger vehicles taking multiple rounds of trips in a day , then , fuel cells seem to be the sensible option . Since hydrogen has a higher energy density than batteries , a fuel-cell powertrain will weigh less and consequently allow its vehicle to travel for longer , while carrying heavier cargos .
Recently , green hydrogen mobility solutions company First Hydrogen partnered with fleet management company Rivus to assess the performance of its brand new hydrogen vehicle . Clearly , as hydrogen technologies develop , a range of corporations and their stakeholders are becoming interested in the capabilities of fuel- cell vehicles on a grander scale .
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