It’s April 2024 and a few of Australia’s fossil gas majors are nonetheless touting hydrogen powered automobiles as an answer for decarbonising transport.
In an article printed this week, the ABC quoted Dr Steven Percy, a senior analysis fellow on the Victorian Hydrogen Hub, who says inexperienced hydrogen has the potential to decarbonise transport.
“It’s notably promising for highway freight, the place hydrogen has a bonus over each batteries and fossil fuels.” says the ABC, quoting Dr Percy.
The article by ABC journalist Jessica Black was accompanied by social media tiles on Instagram parroting the declare that hydrogen has a bonus over batteries exhibiting a H2 graphic alongside a truck, a van and a passenger automotive.
“Working a battery electrical truck on a route like that’s attainable nevertheless it’s going to require quite a few hours of charging time whereas with hydrogen, you possibly can refuel these automobiles about as rapidly as a diesel truck,” says Percy.
Victorian Hydrogen Hub in collaboration with oil and gasoline firms
In keeping with its web site, the Victorian Hydrogen Hub is a partnership between CSIRO and Germany’s ARENA2036 manufacturing unit.
“The Victorian Hydrogen Hub (VH2) brings collectively researchers, trade companions and enterprise to drive the implementation of the hydrogen financial system.” states the organisation’s web site.
Nevertheless, scroll additional down the web page and petrol and diesel distributer Ampol in addition to the Australian Gasoline Infrastructure Group are listed as VHH collaborators.
The Pushed spoke to the Victorian Hydrogen Hub to hunt clarification on the analysis behind the claims made within the ABC story.
VHH chief scientist Professor Virginia Kilborn confirmed that along with funding from the Victorian authorities’s Victorian Increased Training State Funding Fund, VHH additionally receives funding from its trade companions similar to Ampol.
Hydrogen transport declare not really supported up by VHH analysis
The Pushed requested VHH in regards to the analysis behind Dr Percy’s declare that hydrogen has a bonus over battery electrical transport. Dr Percy was not obtainable for remark, nevertheless VHH put The Pushed in touch with Affiliate Professor Hadi Ghaderi, who can be listed on the VHH crew, to reply our questions relating to the ABC article.
“There’s no actual world Australian discipline trials and that’s a problem.” unhappy Professor Ghaderi.
“From a modelling perspective, after we take a look at a few of the charging refuelling occasions there could possibly be some benefit when it comes to operationally.”
The Pushed requested if the declare was primarily based solely on the metric of charging/fuelling time somewhat than different elements similar to thermodynamic inefficiencies related to hydrogen, which lead to 80% vitality losses in addition to unimaginable complexity in hydrogen provide chains in comparison with electrical energy.
“To be truthful, we have to have each applied sciences towards one another in actual world situation and take a look at for this, however each vary and charging refuelling time are elements that may affect the comparative benefit of those applied sciences,” he says.
Battery electrical vans are already past actual world trials and are in business operation. They’re additionally far superior to hydrogen vans on vary and charging time. For instance Tesla’s Semi truck is already operational and has a variety of 500 miles (804 km) when absolutely loaded with 82,000 kilos (37 tonnes) and may cost 70% (562 km) in simply 30 minutes.
The Australian commonplace hours of service rule states {that a} driver should take a compulsory 15 minute break previous to the completion of 5.5 hours of steady work and a compulsory 30 minute break in blocks of at the least 15 steady minutes previous to the completion of 8 hours of steady work.
This successfully signifies that primarily based on Tesla’s Semi’s vary and charging pace, charging occasions wouldn’t be lengthy sufficient to fulfill necessary truck break time necessities.
The Pushed requested professor Ghaderi if along with vary and charging time, their analysis additionally appeared on the availability and price of hydrogen in comparison with electrical energy.
“Completely, presently the numbers don’t make sense in any respect. The numbers we see $2 or $3, they’re not sensible in any respect. So positively, from an infrastructure standpoint, hydrogen can have the next whole price.”
“However typically talking, the work we’ve completed, we don’t have a truck in entrance of us it’s just a few modelling work. Principally we nonetheless don’t have the total outcomes in the intervening time.”
The Pushed then requested Professor Ghaderi if VHH doesn’t have the total outcomes, why are they being quoted within the ABC story as saying hydrogen has a bonus over battery electrical. Professor Ghaderi stated he disagreed together with his VHH colleague.
“In my opinion, the hydrogen infrastructure is way way more complicated than a battery charging system. Positively far way more complicated. There are different technical points. And that’s the reason we’re seeing the battery electrical vans on the highway, at the least within the city freight and brief distance actions.”
Any variety of research have pointed to the dramatic effectivity benefit of electrical vans over hydrogen, that are about the identical benefit that electrical vans and automobiles have over petrol and diesel machines. This one above from Transport and Setting is without doubt one of the extra beneficiant to hydrogen. Many research recommend an effectivity of 25 per cent.
Hydrogen transport misinformation complicated the general public in regards to the transition
In 2024, suggesting hydrogen has a bonus over battery electrical automobiles is like suggesting cassette tapes have a bonus over Spotify.
Some imagine that hydrogen has been pushed by firms like Toyota to confuse the general public about the way forward for transport subsequently permitting them to promote extremely polluting fossil gas powered automobiles for longer.
There additionally been a push from gasoline firms who’re determined to guard their monopolies over vitality, one thing they gained’t be capable of do in a way forward for decentralised renewables and electrical automobiles.
If it looks like hydrogen for automobiles has been talked about for many years, that’s as a result of it has.
A Guardian article from 2011 titled “Why don’t governments push for extra hydrogen automobiles?” begins with the sentence “We appear to have been speaking in regards to the ‘hydrogen financial system’ for properly over a decade now, however, like so many different saviour applied sciences, its arrival by no means appears to get any nearer.”
The by no means ending narrative of “we’re creating hydrogen-powered automobiles” that stretches out into the longer term, fits legacy auto firms who’re unable or unwilling to develop electrical automobiles.
They inform their clients this obscure know-how will probably be prepared in a couple of years. Within the meantime please contemplate our petrol and diesel automobiles.
For a full debunking of why hydrogen has no future in any type of highway transport see The insanity of Large Auto’s push for hydrogen-powered automobiles
Daniel Bleakley is a clear know-how researcher and advocate with a background in engineering and enterprise. He has a robust curiosity in electrical automobiles, renewable vitality, manufacturing and public coverage.