瑞士人这个月可能会在路上见到一些大型氢动力卡车。这些卡车是韩国现代公司的产品。它们是该公司计划在低碳世界创建技术的一部分。
Invented nearly two centuries ago, hydrogen fuel cells lost out to combustion engines – the kinds of engines that most cars use. Even now, hydrogen fuel cells are less common than electric batteries. This is because hydrogen fuel cells cost more.
近两个世纪前发明的氢燃料电池败给了内燃机这种大多数汽车使用的发动机。即使是现在，氢燃料电池也不如蓄电池普遍。这是因为氢燃料电池成本更高。
Hydrogen is hard to store. And the process by which it is taken from natural gas also produces carbon emissions.
氢难以储存。而且从天然气中提取氢也会产生碳排放。
But when it comes to trucks, Hyundai and its partners argue that electric batteries will not always do the job. The bigger the truck, the bigger the electric battery. That additional weight is a problem when trucks drive up Swiss mountains.
但是在卡车方面，现代及其合作伙伴认为电力电池并非总能胜任。卡车越大，电力电池就会越大。当卡车开到瑞士的山脉时，这些电池的额外重量就是一个问题。
With more than half of Switzerland's energy coming from hydropower, the country could take "green" hydrogen from water. This process is called electrolysis. It may require more energy, but it is carbon-free if powered by renewable electricity.
由于瑞士一半以上能源来自于水力发电，该国可以从水中获取“绿色”氢能。这个过程被称为电解。它可能更耗能，但是如果使用可再生电力供电，那么它就没有碳排放。
Mark Freymueller is the head of Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility. He says that developing a hydrogen-powered truck is no easy job.
马克·弗雷米勒是现代氢动力公司的负责人。他说开发氢动力卡车绝非易事。
"It is not enough to produce a truck. You have to take care of the entire ecosystem, find like-minded partners and show this all makes sense for the customer," he said.
他说：“仅生产卡车是不够的。你必须注意整个生态系统，找到志趣相投的合作伙伴，并向客户证明这一切都是有意义的。”
Switzerland's "green" hydrogen is far more costly than diesel fuel. But Hyundai hopes that as governments restrict carbon emissions - and the cost of producing the clean fuel drops - the numbers could start to add up.
瑞士的环保氢能比柴油昂贵得多。但是现代公司希望，随着政府限制碳排放以及清洁能源生产成本下降，氢动力卡车的数量会开始增加。
McKinsey & Company, an advisory service, noted in a study that the cost of hydrogen made with renewable energy could be cut in half over the next 10 years.
提供咨询服务的麦肯锡公司在一项研究中指出，可再生能源制氢的成本在未来十年可能会减少一半。
That cost would be almost equal to the cost of diesel for heavy vehicles, once other costs are added in.
这个成本将几乎等同于重型车辆的柴油成本加上其它成本。
Hydrogen has long been thought to be an alternative to oil and other fossil fuels.
人们长期以来一直认为氢可以替代石油和其它化石燃料。
Hyundai's H2 Xcient trucks have a 190 kilowatt fuel cell and seven high-pressure tanks. Each tank can carry nearly 35 kilograms of hydrogen. The truck can travel distances up to 400 kilometers - much further than current heavy goods vehicles powered by electric batteries.
现代公司的H2 Xcient卡车配备了190千瓦的燃料电池和7个高压气罐。每个气罐可以携带近35公斤氢气。这种卡车的行驶距离可以达到400公里，比目前由电力电池供电的重型货车要远得多。
For now, Hyundai is depending on government assistance for fuel cell trucks. "We are not fooling ourselves, it is initially a subsidized business model," said Mark Freymueller.
目前，现代汽车依赖于政府对燃料电池卡车的补贴。弗雷米勒表示：“我们并非自欺欺人，它最初是一种有补贴的商业模式。”
Around the world, the South Korean company is betting heavily on hydrogen. It plans to spend $6.7 billion on hydrogen technology by 2030.
这家韩国公司在全球范围内对氢能押上了重注。该公司计划2030年前在氢技术上投资67亿美元。
Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility is starting out with 50 H2 Xcient trucks but plans to put 1,600 on Swiss roads by 2025. The company is also looking to launch similar projects in at least two more European countries this year.
现代氢动力公司最初生产了50辆H2 Xcient卡车，但是计划2025年前在瑞士道路上投放1600辆。该公司还希望今年至少在两个欧洲国家启动类似项目。
I'm John Russell.
我是约翰·罗素。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)