Large haulage vehicles are better suited to running on hydrogen fuel cells than grid-charged batteries, according to speakers at a PE Live event on the use of hydrogen in haulage.

Road transport is one of the sectors of the economy that could be decarbonised in various ways—the two leading options are through either a hydrogen refuelling network or an electricity charging network.

A recent report by thinktank the Energy Transitions Commission says dramatic falls in the price of lithium-ion batteries and steady improvements in battery energy density and charging times have widened the distance and size ranges across which battery electric vehicles (BEVs) can compete with hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.

“It is our view that as you adopt more and more battery electric vehicles you run into diseconomies of scale” Knight, Hyzon Motors

But heavy transport is still better suited to run on hydrogen fuel cells, according to Buta Atwal, CEO of bus company Wrightbus and hydrogen production and refuelling company Ryse Hydrogen.

“As time goes on, we will end up moving in cars to electric and above cars [in size] to hydrogen, simply because of scarcity of resources and the opportunity to deliver at a distance with hydrogen,” he said. Wrightbus makes BEV and hydrogen-powered buses.

The complications of grid-charging for heavier BEVs mean hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are often the preferred solution for existing fleet operators, according to Craig Knight, CEO of Hyzon Motors, a hydrogen fuel-cell heavy vehicle company.

"It is our view that, as you adopt more and more BEVs, you run into diseconomies of scale because you run out of grid supply capacity and you run out of space to charge—there are certain practical factors that you hit,” he said. “And then as you adopt more and more hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles you enjoy improving economies of scale.”

Knight believes these economic factors mean improvements in battery technology will not expand the sectors of road transport into which these technologies penetrate.

Long distance

It is likely that the road transport sector will see some ratio of BEVs and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, with heavy vehicles likely to tend towards hydrogen and lighter ones towards being EVs, according to John Wood, lead in new power engineering with engine specialist Cummins.

“We are going to see battery electric within the commercial vehicle. The debate is at what point does it not become a viable solution in terms of the duty cycle and the application,” he said. “Hydrogen clearly favours long-distance missions [and] also those with high mission variability. Hydrogen gives you the flexibility to do that.”

Wrightbus is seeing urban bus routes predominately becoming operated by BEVs because of the shorter distances travelled, whereas rural routes are tending towards hydrogen, Atwal notes.

Both the technologies are likely to come down in cost, especially because some 80pc of the vehicles are effectively the same, the panellists said, noting vehicles running on hydrogen are still electric vehicles.

Another strong argument in favour of using hydrogen fuel cells where possible is end-of-life care for the hardware, according to Knight.

“The fuel cell really is a cradle-to-cradle technology. You lose very little when you refurbish a fuel cell to put it back into service,” he said, noting that end-of-life disposal is currently not properly taken into account.

And decisions on how upstream emissions are accounted in emissions regulations will also affect buying decisions, according to Wood.

“Emissions regulations for diesel engines are written on tank-to-wheel,” he said. “But in the future we are absolutely talking well to wheel. So how you create the energy to go into the truck…is going to be really important.”

The PE Live debate, Is haulage a good use case for scarce hydrogen?, is now available to watch on demand.

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Author: Tom Young