UK makes first steps towards hydrogen-fuelling network
Among the changes since the early 2000s in the hydrogen economy are the presence today of commercial hydrogen-powered vehicles, from manufacturers such as Toyota (whose fuel-cell-powered Mirais went on sale last year), Hyundai and Nissan, with GM and BMW reportedly planning to launch fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in the near future.
Admittedly, these are currently expensive and built in small numbers, but they are made on production lines (as are the fuel cells that power them) which, as University College London’s Prof Paul Dodds, who specialises in the impact of H2FC technology on policy, pointed out, is a key factor in reducing production costs and final price, as has been seen with battery-electric vehicles and hybrids in the last two decades.
There seems little doubt that in terms of technology development, fuel cells for automotive application are fit for purpose. The old issue of establishing a hydrogen-fuelling network has still to be overcome, but progress is being made in the UK, starting with filling stations being opened around the M25 using ITM Power’s electrolysers connected to on-site wind turbines. This is a small first step, of course; estimates of the number of filling stations that would be needed to cover the whole UK vary.
ITM business development director Prof Marcus Newborough pointed out that there are 8,000 petrol stations in the country, but that the H2Mobility project, a government-industry study that reported in 2014, found that 1,150 stations by 2030 would be sufficient for a first phase.
Dodds said that the number for the UK might be as small as 60 under the right circumstances. “There’s nothing wrong with FCEVs,” he added, “but you don’t get the best advantages from cars; those come from heaver vehicles such as buses, taxis and lorries that do longer distances, and from refuse trucks.” This relates to another change in circumstances since the early 2000s – rising concern about air quality in cities, often blamed on larger vehicles powered by diesel engines. With FCEVs producing only water vapour in use, this problem is avoided. “These vehicles don’t need a whole refuelling network; they need depots equipped with refuelling that would be established and operated by local authorities, and if they were available to the public at certain times of day, they could form the kernel of a distribution network.”
Fuel cells represent a better way of electrifying heavy vehicles than batteries, Dodds said. Batteries are heavy and as more are added to a vehicle to expand its range, eventually they add so much to the vehicle’s weight that the opposite happens.
Dodds added that regulations limiting the use of diesel in cities might turn out to be the deciding factor in encouraging the spread of hydrogen-powered vehicles; in which case the change is unlikely to start in the UK or in Europe at all, but in east Asia. China has already signalled its belief in H2FC technology by curtailing subsidies for research into battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and increasing support for fuel cells, and is planning to bring 300 fuel cell buses into service this year (this might not sound a lot, but it’s twice as many as were in service worldwide at the beginning of the year).
For more details about development of hydrogen and fuel cell technology, click here.
Technology innovation in the FCEV sector
While automotive fuel cells and electrolysers are considered to be mature technology, there is still space for technology innovation in the FCEV sector, according to patent lawyer Russell Edson of Withers & Rogers.
A key area of R&D for automotive companies is how the cars will be refuelled with hydrogen. “It’s a high-pressure system,” he said, “and it makes the refuelling more complex than just sticking a nozzle in a hole and filling your tank with petrol.”
This interface between car and refuelling system is likely to require some collaboration between producers of the refuelling technology and carmakers. Edson said: “The automotive manufacturers will try to make sure that one company does not completely monopolise the connection to vehicles.”
Edson agrees that large vehicles such as buses and lorries are likely to be the first major users of fuel cell technology, and that air-quality regulations will be an important driver. “If haulage and public transport operators are told you need to get rid of internal combustion engines, I think that might be what pushes the hydrogen to the fore,” he said. “The quick answer for dealing with the local pollution from big vehicles is to use hydrogen. I think that regulation is likely to be the most important thing pushing that to the fore in that sector.”
Hydrogen works perfectly well with suitably adapted internal combustion engines and on that basis could save $billions worth of existing engine manufacturing capital assets. The big problem with hydrogen is water vapour emissions. This could be a big problem , especially in countries with long winters with continuous mean temperatures well below zero, where the steam could quickly form a film of ice on a road surface previously gritted or cleared of snow and ice. In theory, a vapour catchment system could be devised. And remember — no natural process produced water. in principle, the Earth’s water (liquid, ice, vapour) is constant.
According to various articles about air pollution due to diesel vehicles driven in cities, thousands of people are developing health problems every year. If these people can medically prove that their ailments are due to vehicle emissions, they can possibly collectively sue automotive manufacturers for health damages. This can cost many millions and will be a huge incentive to quickly finding solutions that will reduce vehicle dangerous emissions to near zero. Perhaps this is what is needed to stimulate automotive manufacturers into doing what is right, instead of just waiting for laws to come out.
Charles, my understanding is that a citizen of Stuttgart has filed suit for exactly this reason, against the municipal government; the manufacturers may be next. Dieselgate will like not only end diesel use in passenger vehicles, but perhaps even trucks, if the development of newly announced class 6 and 8 hydrogen fuel cell trucks proceeds at its current pace. Diesel is a great, energy-dense fuel, but the air quality and health consequences of particulate emissions of thousands of engines, in a compact area, will be its undoing…
Heavier and long distance vehicles, plus propeller aircraft are applications where hydrogen and fuels cells will have decided advantages a long time ahead. If we are serious about getting free from fossil fuels hydrogen infrastructure must be prioritized. This might not be so costly. As stated in the article. a limited number of strategically placed H2 refuelling stations are needed. Likewise, a limited number of heavy trucks and long distance buses are great CO2 emitters. They could profitably be replaced with hydrogen driven ones combining public subsidy and private investment.
The big danger with hydrogen is the very wide flammability range coupled with high pressure storage and transfer. Safety would be a major concern. This is particularly so for passenger cars, though use in commercial vehicles might be easier to control.
High voltage mobile batteries can’t be without safety problems either.
Geoff, I would respectfully disagree, hydrogen is no more dangerous than gasoline – possibly less, given how fast it ascends into the atmosphere and does not pool. It’s widely and very safely used in lab and industrial applications and, while you are correct to point out the challenges of high pressure storage and transfer, it’s essentially an engineering challenge where the first milestones have been safely and cost-effectively achieved. H2 refueling of fuel cell material handling vehicles is widespread across the US (15,000+ forklifts). The absence of emissions and quick refill time makes them ideal for indoor use. FC-electric buses are being deployed with great results, the Germans have a train coming online, and more FCEVs are in the design pipeline of every major automotive company…
I agree Geoff, but bear in mind that the hydrogen would have to be stored in very strong high pressure tanks. Petrol on the other hand is stored in a sheet metal box, very easily spilled in the event of an accident and also very easy to ignite. My feeling is that if the petrol car was invented today we would not be allowed to keep it in such flimsy containers.
Regards
Ian
The hydrogen infrastructure is very important, but also the Lithium from which to make batteries is not an infinite source, so we need to find alternatives for this increasingly precious material, the fuel cells are a range extender, rather than the main fuel, BMW`s current electric model uses a 650cc internal combustion engine as a range extender, wonder if its a flat twin? .