Hydrogen vehicle

The Hyundai ix35 FCEV production car

As of 2018, there are 3 hydrogen cars publicly available in select markets: the Toyota Mirai, the Hyundai Nexo, and the Honda Clarity.[10]

The Hyundai Nexo is a hydrogen fuel cell powered crossover SUV

In 2013 the Hyundai Tucson FCEV was launched, it was a conversion of the Tucson and available in left-hand drive only and became the first commercially mass produced vehicle of its type in the world.[11][12] Hyundai Nexo, which succeeded the Tucson in 2018, was selected as the "safest SUV" by the Euro NCAP in 2018[13] and was rated as "Good" in a side crash test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)[14]

Toyota launched the world's first dedicated mass produced fuel cell vehicle (FCV), the Mirai, in Japan at the end of 2014 and began sales in California, mainly the Los Angeles area and also in selected markets in Europe, the UK, Germany and Denmark later in 2015.[15] The car has a range of 312 mi (502 km) and takes about five minutes to refill its hydrogen tank. The initial sale price in Japan was about 7 million yen ($69,000).[16] Former European Parliament President Pat Cox estimated that Toyota would initially lose about $100,000 on each Mirai sold.[17] At the end of 2019, Toyota had sold over 10,000 Mirais. [18][3] Many automobile companies have introduced demonstration models in limited numbers (see List of fuel cell vehicles and List of hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles).[19][20]

In 2013 BMW leased hydrogen technology from Toyota, and a group formed by Ford Motor Company, Daimler AG, and Nissan announced a collaboration on hydrogen technology development.[21] By 2017, however, Daimler had abandoned hydrogen vehicle development,[22] and most of the automobile companies developing hydrogen cars had switched their focus to battery electric vehicles.[23]

A record of 207.297 miles per hour (333.612 km/h) was set by a prototype Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 Fuel Cell Race Car at the Bonneville Salt Flats, in August 2007, using a large compressed oxygen tank to increase power.[24] The land-speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle of 286.476 miles per hour (461.038 km/h) was set by Ohio State University's Buckeye Bullet 2, which achieved a "flying-mile" speed of 280.007 miles per hour (450.628 km/h) at the Bonneville Salt Flats in August 2008.

In 2007, the Hydrogen Electric Racing Federation was formed as a racing organization for hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles. The organization sponsored the Hydrogen 500, a 500-mile race.[25]

Solaris Urbino 12 bus, near the factory In Bolechowo, Poland

Fuel-cell buses are being trialed by several manufacturers in different locations, for example, Ursus Lublin.[26] Solaris Bus & Coach introduced its Urbino 12 hydrogen electric buses in 2019. Several dozen have been ordered and are expected to be delivered in 2020 and 2021.[27]

In March 2015, China South Rail Corporation (CSR) demonstrated the world's first hydrogen fuel cell-powered tramcar at an assembly facility in Qingdao. The chief engineer of the CSR subsidiary CSR Sifang Co Ltd., Liang Jianying, said that the company is studying how to reduce the running costs of the tram.[28] Tracks for the new vehicle have been built in seven Chinese cities. China plans to spend 200 billion yuan ($32 billion) through 2020 to increase tram tracks to more than 1,200 miles.[29]

In northern Germany in 2018 the first fuel-cell powered Coradia iLint trains were placed into service; excess power is stored in lithium-ion batteries.[30]

An experimental "Hydroflex" train, British Rail Class 799, began tests in Great Britain in June 2019.[31]

As of 2019 Hydrogen fuel cells are not suitable for propulsion in large long-distance ships, but they are being considered as a range-extender for smaller, short-distance, low-speed electric vessels, such as ferries.[32] Hydrogen in ammonia is being considered as a long-distance fuel.[33]

PHB hydrogen bicycle

In 2007, Pearl Hydrogen Power Source Technology Co of Shanghai, China, demonstrated a PHB hydrogen bicycle.[34][35] In 2014, Australian scientists from the University of New South Wales presented their Hy-Cycle model.[36] The same year, Canyon Bicycles started to work on the Eco Speed concept bicycle.[37]

In 2017, Pragma Industries of France developed a bicycle that was able to travel 100 km on a single hydrogen cylinder.[38] In 2019, Pragma announced that the product, "Alpha Bike", has been improved to offer an electrically-assisted pedalling range of 150 km, and the first 200 of the bikes are to be provided to journalists covering the 45th G7 summit in Biarritz, France. If successful,[39] Lloyd Alter of TreeHugger responded to the announcement, asking "why … go through the trouble of using electricity to make hydrogen, only to turn it back into electricity to charge a battery to run the e-bike [or] pick a fuel that needs an expensive filling station that can only handle 35 bikes a day, when you can charge a battery powered bike anywhere. [If] you were a captive fleet operator, why [not] just swap out batteries to get the range and the fast turnover?"[40]

General Motors' military division, GM Defense, focuses on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.[41] Its SURUS (Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure) is a flexible fuel cell electric platform with autonomous capabilities. Since April 2017, the U.S. Army has been testing the commercial Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 on its U.S. bases to determine the viability of hydrogen-powered vehicles in military mission tactical environments.[42]

ENV develops electric motorcycles powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, including the Crosscage and Biplane. Other manufacturers as Vectrix are working on hydrogen scooters.[43] Finally, hydrogen-fuel-cell-electric-hybrid scooters are being made such as the Suzuki Burgman fuel-cell scooter[44] and the FHybrid.[45] The Burgman received "whole vehicle type" approval in the EU.[46] The Taiwanese company APFCT conducted a live street test with 80 fuel-cell scooters for Taiwan's Bureau of Energy.[47]

Hydrogen auto rickshaw concept vehicles have been built by Mahindra HyAlfa and Bajaj Auto.[48][49]

Autostudi S.r.l's H-Due[50] is a hydrogen-powered quad, capable of transporting 1-3 passengers. A concept for a hydrogen-powered tractor has been proposed.[51]

The Boeing Fuel Cell Demonstrator powered by a hydrogen fuel cell

Companies such as Boeing, Lange Aviation, and the German Aerospace Center pursue hydrogen as fuel for manned and unmanned airplanes. In February 2008 Boeing tested a manned flight of a small aircraft powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. Unmanned hydrogen planes have also been tested.[52] For large passenger airplanes, The Times reported that "Boeing said that hydrogen fuel cells were unlikely to power the engines of large passenger jet airplanes but could be used as backup or auxiliary power units onboard."[53]

In July 2010, Boeing unveiled its hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye UAV, powered by two Ford internal-combustion engines that have been converted to run on hydrogen.[54]

In Britain, the Reaction Engines A2 has been proposed to use the thermodynamic properties of liquid hydrogen to achieve very high speed, long distance (antipodal) flight by burning it in a precooled jet engine.

A HICE forklift or HICE lift truck is a hydrogen fueled, internal combustion engine-powered industrial forklift truck used for lifting and transporting materials. The first production HICE forklift truck based on the Linde X39 Diesel was presented at an exposition in Hannover on May 27, 2008. It used a 2.0 litre, 43 kW (58 hp) diesel internal combustion engine converted to use hydrogen as a fuel with the use of a compressor and direct injection.[55][56]

A fuel cell forklift (also called a fuel cell lift truck) is a fuel cell powered industrial forklift truck. In 2013 there were over 4,000 fuel cell forklifts used in material handling in the US.[57] The global market was estimated at 1 million fuel cell powered forklifts per year for 2014–2016.[58] Fleets are being operated by companies around the world.[59] Pike Research stated in 2011 that fuel-cell-powered forklifts will be the largest driver of hydrogen fuel demand by 2020.[60]

Most companies in Europe and the US do not use petroleum powered forklifts, as these vehicles work indoors where emissions must be controlled and instead use electric forklifts.[58][61] Fuel-cell-powered forklifts can provide benefits over battery powered forklifts as they can be refueled in 3 minutes. They can be used in refrigerated warehouses, as their performance is not degraded by lower temperatures. The fuel cell units are often designed as drop-in replacements.[62][63]

Many large rockets use liquid hydrogen as fuel, with liquid oxygen as an oxidizer (LH2/LOX). An advantage of hydrogen rocket fuel is the high effective exhaust velocity compared to kerosene/LOX or UDMH/NTO engines. According to the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation, a rocket with higher exhaust velocity uses less propellant to accelerate. Also the energy density of hydrogen is greater than any other fuel.[64] LH2/LOX also yields the greatest efficiency in relation to the amount of propellant consumed, of any known rocket propellant.[65]

A disadvantage of LH2/LOX engines is the low density and low temperature of liquid hydrogen, which means bigger and insulated and thus heavier fuel tanks are needed. This increases the rocket's structural mass which reduces its delta-v significantly. Another disadvantage is the poor storability of LH2/LOX-powered rockets: Due to the constant hydrogen boil-off, the rocket must be fueled shortly before launch, which makes cryogenic engines unsuitable for ICBMs and other rocket applications with the need for short launch preparations.

Overall, the delta-v of a hydrogen stage is typically not much different from that of a dense fuelled stage, but the weight of a hydrogen stage is much less, which makes it particularly effective for upper stages, since they are carried by the lower stages. For first stages, dense fuelled rockets in studies may show a small advantage, due to the smaller vehicle size and lower air drag.[66]

LH2/LOX were also used in the Space Shuttle to run the fuel cells that power the electrical systems.[67] The byproduct of the fuel cell is water, which is used for drinking and other applications that require water in space.

In 2016 Nikola Motor Company introduced a hydrogen-powered Class 8 heavy truck powered by a 320 kWh EV battery. Nikola plans two versions of the hydrogen powered truck, long haul Nikola One and day cab Nikola Two.[68] United Parcel Service began testing of a hydrogen powered delivery vehicle in 2017.[69] US Hybrid, Toyota, and Kenworth have also announced plans to test Class 8 drayage hydrogen fuel cell trucks.[70]

Hydrogen fuel cells are relatively expensive to produce, as their designs require rare substances such as platinum as a catalyst,[75] In 2014, Toyota said it would introduce its Toyota Mirai in Japan for less than $70,000 in 2015.[16][76] Former European Parliament President Pat Cox estimates that Toyota will initially lose about $100,000 on each Mirai sold.[17]

The problems in early fuel-cell designs at low temperatures concerning range and cold start capabilities have been addressed so that they "cannot be seen as show-stoppers anymore".[77] Users in 2014 said that their fuel cell vehicles perform flawlessly in temperatures below zero, even with the heaters blasting, without significantly reducing range.[78] Studies using neutron radiography on unassisted cold-start indicate ice formation in the cathode,[79] three stages in cold start[80] and Nafion ionic conductivity.[81] A parameter, defined as coulomb of charge, was also defined to measure cold start capability.[82]

The service life of fuel cells is comparable to that of other vehicles.[83] PEM service life is 7,300 hours under cycling conditions.[84]

The molecular hydrogen needed as an onboard fuel for hydrogen vehicles can be obtained through many thermochemical methods utilizing natural gas, coal (by a process known as coal gasification), liquefied petroleum gas, biomass (biomass gasification), by a process called thermolysis, or as a microbial waste product called biohydrogen or Biological hydrogen production. 95% of hydrogen is produced using natural gas,[97] and 85% of hydrogen produced is used to remove sulfur from gasoline. Hydrogen can also be produced from water by electrolysis at working efficiencies in the 50–60% range for the smaller electrolysers and around 65–70% for the larger plants.[98] Hydrogen can also be made by chemical reduction using chemical hydrides or aluminum.[99] Current technologies for manufacturing hydrogen use energy in various forms, totaling between 25 and 50 percent of the higher heating value of the hydrogen fuel, used to produce, compress or liquefy, and transmit the hydrogen by pipeline or truck.[90]

Environmental consequences of the production of hydrogen from fossil energy resources include the emission of greenhouse gasses, a consequence that would also result from the on-board reforming of methanol into hydrogen.[92] Analyses comparing the environmental consequences of hydrogen production and use in fuel-cell vehicles to the refining of petroleum and combustion in conventional automobile engines do not agree on whether a net reduction of ozone and greenhouse gasses would result.[8][87] Hydrogen production using renewable energy resources would not create such emissions, but the scale of renewable energy production would need to be expanded to be used in producing hydrogen for a significant part of transportation needs.[100] As of 2016, 14.9 percent of U.S. electricity was produced from renewable sources.[101] In a few countries, renewable sources are being used more widely to produce energy and hydrogen. For example, Iceland is using geothermal power to produce hydrogen,[102] and Denmark is using wind.[103]

Compressed hydrogen storage mark

Compressed hydrogen in hydrogen tanks at 350 bar (5,000 psi) and 700 bar (10,000 psi) is used for hydrogen tank systems in vehicles, based on type IV carbon-composite technology.[104]

Hydrogen has a very low volumetric energy density at ambient conditions, compared with gasoline and other vehicle fuels.[105] It must be stored in a vehicle either as a super-cooled liquid or as highly compressed gas, which require additional energy to accomplish.[106] In 2018, researchers at CSIRO in Australia powered a Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo with hydrogen separated from ammonia using a membrane technology. Ammonia is easier to transport safely in tankers than pure hydrogen.[107]

Hydrogen car fueling

Hydrogen fueling

The hydrogen infrastructure consists of hydrogen-equipped filling stations, which are supplied with hydrogen via compressed hydrogen tube trailers, liquid hydrogen tank trucks or dedicated onsite production, and some industrial hydrogen pipeline transport. The distribution of hydrogen fuel for vehicles throughout the U.S. would require new hydrogen stations that would cost between 20 billion dollars in the US,[108] (4.6 billion in the EU).[109] and half trillion dollars in the US.[8][110]

As of 2018, there were 40 publicly accessible hydrogen refueling stations in the US, most of which are in located in California (compared with 19,000 electric charging stations).[111][112] By 2017, there were 91 hydrogen fueling stations in Japan.[113]

Hydrogen codes and standards, as well as codes and technical standards for hydrogen safety and the storage of hydrogen, have been identified as an institutional barrier to deploying hydrogen technologies and developing a hydrogen economy. To enable the commercialization of hydrogen in consumer products, new codes and standards must be developed and adopted by federal, state and local governments.[114]

In 2003, George W. Bush announced an initiative to promote hydrogen-powered vehicles.[115] In 2009, President Obama and his Energy Secretary Steven Chu stripped the funding of fuel cell technology due to their belief that the technology was still decades away. Under heavy criticism, the funding was partially restored.[116][117] In 2014 the Obama administration announced they want to speed up production and development of hydrogen powered vehicles. The Department of Energy planned to spread a $7.2 million investment among the states of Georgia, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee to support projects that fuel vehicles and support power systems. The Center for Transportation and The Environment, FedEx Express, Air Products and Chemicals, and Sprint have invested in the development of fuel cells. Fuel cells could also be used in handling equipment such as forklifts as well as telecommunications infrastructure.[118]

In 2013, Senator Byron L. Dorgan said that “The Energy and Water Appropriations bill makes investments in our nation’s efforts to develop safe, homegrown energy sources that will reduce our reliance on foreign oil. And, because ongoing research and development is necessary to develop game-changing technologies, this bill also restores funding for Hydrogen energy research”. In June 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy gave 9 million dollars in grants to speed up technology development, 4.5 million for advanced fuel cell membranes, $3 million to 3M to work on membranes with improved durability and performance, and 1.5 million to the Colorado School of Mines for work on simpler and more affordable fuel cell membranes.[119]

In Japan, hydrogen is mainly to be sourced from outside Japan.[86][120]

Norway plans a series of hydrogen refueling stations along the main roads.[121][122]

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, are hybrid vehicles that can be plugged into the electric grid and contain an electric motor and also an internal combustion engine. The PHEV concept augments standard hybrid electric vehicles with the ability to recharge their batteries from an external source, enabling increased use of the vehicle's electric motors while reducing their reliance on internal combustion engines. The infrastructure required to charge PHEVs is already in place,[148] and transmission of power from grid to car is about 93% efficient. This, however, is not the only energy loss in transferring power from grid to wheels. AC/DC conversion must take place from the grid's AC supply to the PHEV's DC. This is roughly 98% efficient.[149] The battery then must be charged. As of 2007, the Lithium iron phosphate battery was between 80-90% efficient in charging/discharging.[150] The battery needs to be cooled.[151] As of 2009, "the total well-to-wheels efficiency with which a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle might utilize renewable electricity is roughly 20%. ... The well-to-wheels efficiency of charging an onboard battery and then discharging it to run an electric motor in a PHEV or EV, however, is 80%... four times more efficient than current hydrogen fuel cell vehicle pathways."[94] A December 2009 study at UC Davis found that, over their lifetimes, PHEVs will emit less carbon than current vehicles, while hydrogen cars will emit more carbon than gasoline vehicles.[129]

Internal combustion engine-based compressed natural gas(CNG), HCNG, LPG or LNG vehicles (Natural gas vehicles or NGVs) use methane (Natural gas or Biogas) directly as a fuel source. Natural gas has a higher energy density than hydrogen gas. NGVs using biogas are nearly carbon neutral.[152] Unlike hydrogen vehicles, CNG vehicles have been available for many years, and there is sufficient infrastructure to provide both commercial and home refueling stations. Worldwide, there were 14.8 million natural gas vehicles by the end of 2011.[153] The other use for natural gas is in steam reforming which is the common way to produce hydrogen gas for use in electric cars with fuel cells.

A 2008 Technology Review article stated, "Electric cars—and plug-in hybrid cars—have an enormous advantage over hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles in utilizing low-carbon electricity. That is because of the inherent inefficiency of the entire hydrogen fueling process, from generating the hydrogen with that electricity to transporting this diffuse gas long distances, getting the hydrogen in the car, and then running it through a fuel cell—all for the purpose of converting the hydrogen back into electricity to drive the same exact electric motor you'll find in an electric car."[154] Thermodynamically, each additional step in the conversion process decreases the overall efficiency of the process.[155][156]

A 2013 comparison of hydrogen and battery electric vehicles agreed with the 25% figure from Ulf Bossel in 2006 and stated that the cost of an electric vehicle battery "is rapidly coming down, and the gap will widen further", while there is little "existing infrastructure to transport, store and deliver hydrogen to vehicles and would cost billions of dollars to put into place, everyone's household power sockets are "electric vehicle refueling" station and the "cost of electricity (depending on the source) is at least 75% cheaper than hydrogen."[157] By 2018, the cost of EV batteries had fallen to below $150 per kWh.[158]

Some electric car designs offer limited driving range causing range anxiety. For example, the 2013 Nissan Leaf had a range of 75 mi (121 km),[159] Other EVs, such as the Tesla Model S, have a range of more than 300 mi (480 km).[160] Most US commutes are 30–40 miles (48–64 km) per day round trip,[161] and in Europe, most commutes are around 20 kilometres (12 mi) round-trip[162]

In 2013 John Swanton of the California Air Resources Board, who sees EVs and hydrogen vehicles as complementary technologies, stated that EVs have the jump on fuel-cell autos, which "are like electric vehicles were 10 years ago. EVs are for real consumers, no strings attached. With EVs you have a lot of infrastructure in place.[163] The Business Insider, in 2013 commented that if the energy to produce hydrogen "does not come from renewable sources, then fuel-cell cars are not as clean as they seem. ... Gas stations need to invest in the ability to refuel hydrogen tanks before FCEVs become practical, and it's unlikely many will do that while there are so few customers on the road today. ... Compounding the lack of infrastructure is the high cost of the technology. Fuel cells are "still very, very expensive", even compared to battery-powered EVs.[132]