Great Power Reclamation

Chapter 2859 Dual-Ability Number One

Even though the spring chill was still in the air, the research and development workshop of Warrior Automobile Group was bustling with activity.

Ivan stared at the hydrogen fuel cell data flashing on the computer screen, his knuckles white from typing hard.

Three coffee cups on the corner of the table were empty, and the ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts, yet he remained completely oblivious…

The curve on the screen finally stabilized within the preset range, and the thermal efficiency of the hydrogen fuel and gasoline hybrid power system exceeded 65%.

"Success!"

Ivan slammed his hand on the table, scattering the blueprints all over the floor.

He grabbed the phone and called Ye Yuze, his voice trembling with excitement:

"The thermal management system is working! It can start normally even at minus 30 degrees Celsius, and the driving range can reach 1200 kilometers!"

Ye Yuze was at the desertification control site in the military reclamation city, where his mobile phone signal was intermittent.

He trudged through the ankle-deep sand, watching Ye Mao direct the workers to plant sea buckthorn under the solar panels, while Ivan's voice came through the receiver, mingled with the sound of wind and sand.

"Can hydrogen fuel cell vehicles haul goods? Herdsmen need to transport hay, and oil fields need to transport equipment," he suddenly asked.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the scratching sound of a pen slicing across paper.
"We can add a detachable hydraulic tailgate, which can easily support a weight of five tons."

Ivan paused, then added, "But the cost will be 30% higher than that of a pure gasoline car."

"Cost is not an issue."

Ye Yuze's gaze fell into the distance—

Several old diesel pickup trucks were stuck in a sand pit, and herders were using camels to pull them out.

"If you build it, someone will need it."

After hanging up the phone, Ye Mao handed over a bottle of water:

"Dad, the people from the Chinese Academy of Sciences just said that the power generation efficiency of our photovoltaic panels has increased by another two percentage points."

He pointed to the green carpet spreading out beneath his feet, where the grass seeds sown last year had already formed a continuous patch.

"With a stable power supply, charging hydrogen fuel cell vehicles becomes much easier."

Yang Geyong squatted on the sand, drawing a grid pattern for desertification control with a twig:

"I think it would be better to create a closed loop of 'photovoltaic-hydrogen energy'."

Solar panels generate electricity to produce hydrogen, which is stored in onboard tanks. The vehicle emits water as it drives, which can also be used for irrigation.

Ye Yuze's eyes lit up. For the next two weeks, the three of them followed the desertification control team to more than twenty oases on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert.

Downstream on the Keriya River, they saw herdsmen chasing after their flocks of sheep on motorcycles. When their fuel tanks were empty, they had to carry fuel drums for five kilometers to find a supply station.

In the cotton fields of Kuqa, a combine harvester broke down on the Gobi Desert because of diesel fuel curdling up, and an old farmer squatted on the edge of the field wiping away tears.

“In these places, new energy vehicles cannot operate, and traditional fuel vehicles consume too much fuel.”

Ye Yuze filled his notebook with requirements: "Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles must be able to adapt to temperature differences of -40°C to 50°C, and also be able to run on diesel in emergencies."

Back in the military reclamation city, he slammed his notebook on Ivan's desk:
“Just do it to this standard. If you don’t have enough money, just tell me, and we’ll buy as much R&D equipment as you need.”

Ivan's team worked like clockwork. To test low-temperature performance, they drove the prototype into the ice cellars of the Altai Mountains.

To test their off-road capabilities, they traversed the Yardang landforms of Lop Nur for seven consecutive days.

Once, when a car got stuck in the salt crust, the engineers dug for three hours in the face of a sandstorm. When they returned, they were covered in white salt frost, but they cheered while holding up an intact hydrogen fuel tank.

That summer, the first "Dual Energy No. 1" rolled off the production line.

The silver-gray body features a streamlined hydrogen storage tank, capable of being refueled with both hydrogen and diesel. The words "1420 km range" flashing on the dashboard are particularly eye-catching.

On the day of the test drive, a staff officer from the Northern Xinjiang Military Region made a special trip, drove the car back and forth on the winding mountain roads of the Pamir Plateau, and gave a standard military salute upon returning:
"At an altitude of 5,000 meters, the power didn't drop at all!"

The news caused a media frenzy.

The headline of Automotive Weekly was particularly eye-catching: "Internal strife among the warrior group? Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are going to revolutionize gasoline vehicles!"

In the accompanying picture, "Dual Energy One" and "Desert Ship" are parked side by side, like two adversaries poised to strike.

Ivan was debugging the engine when he saw the report, and couldn't help but laugh:

"Let them talk. Once the herders drive their 'dual-function vehicles,' they'll know who's really doing the work."

Just then, Ye Mao's desertification control project encountered a new problem.

The newly developed 10,000 mu of forest land needs irrigation, and laying pipelines requires passing through a 30-kilometer stretch of shifting sand, which heavy machinery simply cannot access.

"We need a vehicle that can pull the pipes across quicksand," Ye Mao said anxiously over the phone.

Ye Yuze immediately summoned the R&D department: "Add a tracked module to the 'dual-energy vehicle' so that it can bear a load of ten tons and can turn around on the spot."

He turned to Yang Geyong and said, "I will donate 200 million yuan to build a desertification control equipment production base, and manufacture this kind of special vehicle."

Yang Geyong took out his phone and transferred money: "I'll add another 100 million to develop hydrogen fuel cell generators. The desert control team can't keep using kerosene lamps to guard the forest at night."

Three months later, the tracked "dual-energy engineering vehicle" entered the quicksand area.

With a pipe reel hanging from the front and photovoltaic panel components towed by the body, the truck left two deep ruts in the sand.

Standing on the sand dune, Ye Mao suddenly said to the person next to him, "This isn't a vehicle, it's a boat that glides through the sand."

Good news keeps coming from the desertification control site, and the transformation of the Warrior Group is also progressing smoothly.

Herdsmen from the five northwestern provinces began lining up to order vehicles. An old man named Abudu, with the money he earned from selling mutton, insisted on buying a "dual-purpose vehicle" equipped with a refrigerated box.
"Before, we would lose two kilograms of meat selling a sheep, but now we can earn an extra two hundred yuan!"

When the research team from the ministry came to inspect, they happened to see the "dual-energy vehicle" operating in the cotton field.

The thresher in the truck bed hummed, and the water discharged from the hydrogen fuel cell flowed into the field ridges, nourishing the newly sprouted cotton.

The research team members touched the car body and exclaimed, "This is the real green transformation. It's not about smashing all the gasoline cars, but about making them more useful."

But Ivan wasn't idle. He and his team worked on improving the purity of hydrogen fuel, reducing costs by 40%.

One late night, he knocked on Ye Yuze's office door:
"I want to build a hydrogen refueling station in Junken City, using photovoltaic power to produce hydrogen, which will be three yuan cheaper per kilogram than the market price."

Ye Yuze pointed to the desertification control base outside the window: "Build! Not only should we build hydrogen refueling stations, but we should also set up maintenance stations at each desertification control site. Let the herders know that if they buy our cars, someone will repair them if they break down, and there will be a place to refuel if they run out of gas."

The funds arrived quickly. Yang Geyong transferred some of the profits from the African oil field back to China, while Ye Yuze mortgaged two properties in California.

Upon hearing this, Ye Mao took the articles of association of the desertification control cooperative to them:

"Dad, Uncle Yang, why don't we invest the money in the cooperative? The herders can buy cars as shares, and they can get dividends when they make money." The three of them discussed it for three days and came up with the "car-for-shares" plan.

Herdsmen can drive away a car by paying a deposit of 10,000 yuan, repay the loan in installments with the money they earn, and the car will belong to the individual after three years. They can also receive dividends from the cooperative.

The first person to sign up was Abudu. He drove the "dual-purpose vehicle" for half a year and not only paid off his deposit but also bought a lawnmower.

Before winter arrived, sales of the "dual-function vehicle" exceeded 5,000 units.

Grandpa Ouyang came especially to offer his congratulations. Looking at the cars in the showroom, he suddenly said to Ye Yuze:
"When I was young, I thought cars were oil-guzzling tigers, but now I realize that if used in the right place, they can become green cattle."

That evening, Ivan drew a diagram on the blackboard in the R&D department:
The left side shows the improvement roadmap for gasoline-powered vehicles, the right side shows the upgrade plan for hydrogen fuel cells, and they are connected by an arrow in the middle.

He told the engineers who were watching, "This isn't like you hitting yourself; it's like your left and right hands helping each other."

Outside the window, the hydrogen refueling station in the military reclamation city was lit with a green light, and the photovoltaic panels gleamed blue in the moonlight.

Ye Yuze stood on the office building's terrace, looking in the direction of the desertification control base, where there were scattered car lights moving—those were herders returning home late, driving their "dual-purpose vehicles" and carrying loads of hope on the newly paved sand roads.

Yang Geyong walked over and handed him a bottle of wine: "Tell me, wouldn't you say we've saved the gasoline-powered car?"

Ye Yuze took a sip of his drink, gazing at the desertification control grid that gradually lit up in the distance:
"It's not about saving it, it's about letting it understand that no matter what's burning, a good car is one that can help people with their work."

The wind blows from the Gobi Desert, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees. On the distant sand dunes, newly planted saxaul trees sway in the night, like countless raised hands applauding the new life on this land.

After the start of spring, the photovoltaic industrial park in Junken City welcomed a new batch of equipment installations.

Fifty "dual-energy engineering vehicles" drove into the construction site in a convoy. The hydraulic booms precisely placed the photovoltaic panel brackets in the designated positions, and the water discharged from the hydrogen storage tanks flowed through the pipes into the grass squares next to them, where the newly sprouted sagebrush greedily drank in the water.

Standing on the observation deck, Ye Yuze looked at this scene and suddenly laughed:
"We used to say that cars drink oil, but now our cars can also 'water' them."

Yang Geyong is looking at the distant desertification control site through binoculars:

"Ye Mao has expanded his forest land by another 5,000 mu and called to say he needs ten trucks with water spraying equipment. I told Ivan to expedite the process and convert the auxiliary compartment of the hydrogen storage tank into a water tank."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ivan's video call came in, with the roar of the factory in the background:
"Bosses, I have great news for you! The hydrogen fuel conversion rate of 'Dual Energy No. 2' has exceeded 90%!"

"One fill-up with hydrogen allows it to travel 1800 kilometers, and it only takes three seconds to start at minus forty degrees Celsius!"

On the screen, several engineers cheered while holding up the test report, one of whom, a young Mongolian man, pointed to the new design on the vehicle:
"We also added a detachable yurt frame, so that herders can put the yurt directly on the roof of the vehicle when moving, saving them the trouble of taking it apart and putting it back together."

Just as Ye Yuze was about to say "That's great!", Ye Mao called, his voice filled with excitement:

"Dad, the people from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that the cost of our photovoltaic hydrogen production has dropped to 15 yuan per kilogram! That's cheaper than diesel!"

He paused for a moment, then said, "Yesterday, cotton farmers from Hotan came to order twenty 'dual-function trucks' equipped with cottonseed hulling machines. They said if it goes through, they can harvest 30% more seed cotton this year."

After hanging up the phone, Yang Geyong stroked his chin and laughed: "This is what you call a chain reaction. Solar panels generate electricity to produce hydrogen, hydrogen drives cars, cars do the work, and in the end, it all goes into the farmers' pockets."

Over the next six months, the "dual-energy vehicle" became a new sight in Northwest China.

On the grasslands of Altay, herders drive it to transport their yurts during migrations, with just enough water in the hydrogen storage tank for their sheep to drink.

In the orchards of Aksu, fruit farmers use hydraulic arms to harvest apples, and the moisture in the exhaust fumes helps to keep the fruit trees moist.

A documentary film crew followed the car for three months and eventually named the film "The Water-Drinking Car," which won an award at a film festival.

The media's stance has also shifted. The *Economic Observer* published a special report on it.
"The dialectic of the warrior group—not replacement, but symbiosis."

The article states: "While other automakers are still anxious about phasing out gasoline-powered vehicles, Warrior Group has already made diesel and hydrogen coexist harmoniously in the same fuel tank. This is not a compromise, but the deepest understanding of the market."

Ivan, however, had no interest in reading the news. He and his team were immersed in the development of "Dual Energy 3," aiming to reduce the weight of the hydrogen fuel tank by another 30%.

To test the new material, they exposed it to the blazing sun in the Flaming Mountains of Turpan for a month, recording the temperature changes of the tanks every day.

Once, when the sensor malfunctioned, engineer Xiao Wang simply hugged the thermometer and lay face down on the tank. His back peeled from the sun, but the data was still accurate.

That day, Ye Yuze and Yang Geyong accompanied Ye Mao to inspect a new desertification control site.

As the car drove along the newly repaired desert highway, the grass checkerboards on both sides had already formed a continuous stretch, and watermelon vines planted under the photovoltaic panels were climbing upwards.

Ye Mao pointed to the drilling platform in the distance: "That's the geothermal well that Uncle Yang donated. The warm water pumped up can irrigate 500 acres of land."

Yang Geyong waved his hand: "Compared to the batch of 'dual-function engineering vehicles' your dad donated, this is nothing."

He pointed to the trucks working by the roadside, "Look, the pile driver in that truck bed can plant two thousand photovoltaic brackets a day, which is equivalent to the work of twenty people in the past."

Ye Yuze squatted on the edge of the field, watching the light reflected from the solar panels onto the watermelon leaves:
“I plan to invest another 100 million yuan to build a ‘dual-skill vehicle’ repair and training center here. This will allow local young people to learn vehicle repair, so that they can open their own repair shops or work with the desertification control team.”

Ye Mao's eyes lit up: "I was just worried about not having enough manpower! Yesterday a young man told me that he wanted to learn how to repair hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, but he had nowhere to go."

The three of them got right to work. The training center was built in three months, and the first batch of fifty trainees were recruited, including children of herders and migrant workers returning to their hometowns.

Ivan came to class every week, explaining animatedly with a disassembled engine in hand. Since the students didn't understand the technical jargon, he used the example of desertification control to illustrate his points:
"This hydrogen fuel cell is like the saxaul tree; it may look inconspicuous, but it needs deep roots to withstand the wind and sand."

In the fall, the trainees graduated. Abudu's son, Maitijiang, came in first place and stayed at the repair shop as a technician, earning eight thousand yuan in his first month.

When he called home, Abudu was hauling cotton with his "dual-purpose cart." Hearing his son's voice, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

Orders for "dual-purpose vehicles" are increasing. XZ's ranch ordered two hundred vehicles to haul fodder.

The salt lake scenic area in Qinghai has ordered fifty sightseeing vehicles, which can run for a whole day on a single hydrogen refueling.

Farmers in Southeast Asia have even made overseas calls, wanting to import this type of vehicle that can adapt to tropical climates.

Li Lindong grinned from ear to ear as he held the order: "The production line is running 24/7, but we still can't keep up with demand. Mr. Ivan, shouldn't we expand the factory?"

Ivan frowned as he pointed to the test report: "Expanding the factory is fine, but the quality cannot be lowered."

"Yesterday we discovered that one batch of hydrogen fuel valves had a precision error of 0.1 millimeters, and all of them have been reworked."

He paused, then said firmly, "We're making cars that can run in the desert for ten years, not cheap models that break down after three years."

Ye Yuze was very supportive: "If there's not enough money, I'll invest more. It doesn't matter if the construction period is delayed a bit, as long as we can make sure that every car can withstand the test."

He turned to Yang Geyong and said, "How about we reduce our stake in those oil fields in Africa a bit more? We need the money for desertification control and car manufacturing."

Yang Geyong replied without hesitation, "I'll take care of it tomorrow. Besides, once the ecological agriculture demonstration park in the Northwest is up and running, we can also set up a hydrogen refueling network there, and then the money will be back, right?"

Ye Mao added from the side: "The cooperative plans to implement a 'vehicle-to-everything' system, which will allow for real-time monitoring of each vehicle's location, fuel consumption, and hydrogen refueling. If a herder's vehicle is about to run out of gas, the repair station can deliver it in advance; if a vehicle breaks down, an engineer can provide remote repair guidance."

This winter, the "Dual Energy No. 3" rolled off the production line. The new vehicle is equipped with intelligent navigation, which can mark the nearest hydrogen refueling station and water source in the desert where there is no signal.

The hydrogen storage tank uses a new type of composite material, and it wasn't even scratched when it was bumped by a herdsman's camel.

On the day of the test drive, Ye Mao specially invited Batu, the elderly man who had given feedback earlier.

coming