Jonathan Xavier Weinert 2008

November 5, 2005

Just returned last week from the commercially thriving, incredibly well-lit, and massively polluted city of Hong Kong. While there, I visited Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) to discuss hydrogen stations and alternative fuels, and also had a nice hike with Hong Kong's MTR (Metro Transit Rail) Director of Sustainability. I learned many interesting things from the visit.

1. "Town gas": Hong Kong has extensive network of "town gas" pipelines throughout the island. This gas (also known as syngas) is about 50% H2, 20% natural gas, 30% CO. This pipeline network presents a unique pathway for transitioning to H2 stations (much different from any other city that I've heard of): purify the pipeline delivered town gas on-site at the H2 fueling station. No need for trucked h2, no need for on-site reformation/electrolysis (i.e. potentially cheaper). Hong Kong's town gas provider operates pretty much as a monopoly. One of the big uses of town gas on the island is, surprisingly, to generate steam for the clothing industry!

2. Gov't: Compared with China (& especially Shanghai), Hong Kong gov't is very slow when it comes to making technology changes. They have a "wait and see" attitude. Gov't officials are plagued by paralysis (they're afraid to do something wrong so they don't do anything). It's getting better now that the former President has left office. His replacement wants to fix this problem. There is very little "technology" expertise within gov't.

3. LPG: About 4-5 years ago, HK converted their fleet of taxis to LPG. They proceeded very slow and did a trial for a couple years, despite the fact that Tokyo had already made the conversion 14 years ago and had plenty of experience to draw from. The taxis were originally against the idea. LPG engines don't have the durability of diesel engines and the fuel's more expensive. Gov't however decided to offer a subsidy for both the fuel and the conversion process. Now it's cheaper for taxis to run on LPG than diesel, and cab drivers happy. LPG is ~$0.40/Litre (USD).

4. Electricity: HK has two electricity providers. One (on the island) operates exclusively on coal. The other (on the mainland), uses 1/3 coal, 1/3 nuclear, 1/3 oil.

5. Diesel: Hong Kong made the switch to low-sulfur diesel a few years ago. There is a problem however with "black-market" diesel; people sell very cheap diesel fuel which is half clean diesel, half really dirty stuff (like heating oils,etc.). Even if Shanghai switched to selling clean diesel, some would buy the black market product because it's so much cheaper.

6. HKUST: The folks at HKUST may play a lead role in drafting energy policy for HK and for spear-heading the hydrogen fueling station construction. They're must still waiting to hear from gov't if they win the contract to do this. If they win, expect to hear more from them about H2 stations.

7. Public Transit: HK's public transit system is remarkable. The subway is fast, clean, high-tech (and expensive!). THe buses are frequent, fast, and double-decker (my favorite kind! I like to ride on the top deck in the very front=)). The taxis are ubiquitous & spacious. And to top it all off, they have trolley's running up and down the city's main street all day. Major redundancy! The MTR is a privately owned company that competes with the bus system. The bus system is partially subsidized. MTR is profitable!

8. Air Quality: See the attached article, (from the front page of the Sunday paper, mind you.) People are talking about the bad air quality in the city (at least the group I was hanging out with was...I didn't even have to bring it up).

9. Traffic: though people say traffic is bad, I spent Monday morning rush hour walking and riding the trolley around the heart of downtown searching in vain for traffic jams on the city streets and the highways, none to be found. I must admit though, the pollution that morning was definitely tangible and uncomfortable. There's roughly 1.5 million cars here for 7 million people. Gas costs ~$1.5/litre (USD) so you can see why people choose public transit.

More observations:
I thought Shanghai had urban density. Man, It doesn't hold a light up to Hong Kong! Here, people wait in long lines just to use the elevator!

Dr. Fang from HKUST explained that where China goes, HK will follow (kind of like the little pilot fish that swim along side the massive great white sharks.) Whatever alternative fuel technology China adopts, expect HK to follow suit.


4. A local coal dispatch center in a small yet-undeveloped town in the middle of Shanghai (note the small coal bricks on the back of the bike. These are delivered throughout the town to local kitchens and houses for cooking.)