Supply Chain Scanner - Week of October 14, 2024
Weekly blog by Emily Atkins
Planes, Trains and Trucks: How Hydrogen Could Fuel Future Transport
Hydrogen fuel cell technology is not new but it is still far from mainstream when it comes to commercial transportation. However, there is a lot happening in the space, with numerous companies working to electrify aviation, rail and trucking using the technology.
This is the first in a series of blogs that will look at different applications for alternative fuel technology in different modes of transportation.
How it works
In fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen atoms. This process produces clean energy, with water and a little heat being the principal byproducts. The electricity generated is used to charge a battery pack which in turn powers electric motors that move the vehicle.
Refueling is done at a pump, similar to what you find at a conventional gas station. However, fueling infrastructure is one of the hurdles currently limiting the adoption of FCEVs for over-the-road trucking.
Because hydrogen requires very specific infrastructure for dispensing, it has so far been largely confined to use cases where the vehicles don’t leave a confined area. Warehouses can use hydrogen-powered fork trucks, for example, because they never have to leave the premises, and the cost of installing fueling infrastructure can be offset by savings on conventional fuels along with other benefits, like their ability to work in the cold.
In the trucking sector, numerous FCEVs are being used and tested at port terminals as shunt tractors. In British Columbia, a pilot project is testing four fuel-cell electric yard trucks, as well as two Class 8 drayage trucks. The vehicles are being operated by Harbour Link Container Services, Tidewater Container Services and BC Ferries Commercial Services, which operate throughout the Port of Vancouver.
Ports are ideal candidates for the use of FCEVs as they are significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and hydrogen vehicles can go a long way to reducing that output. The Vancouver test is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 110 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year – the amount of energy used annually by about 21,400 homes.
In California, FCEVs are seeing wider adoption as companies try to comply with new regulations limiting emissions. Transportation providers, like JB Hunt, which recently added 20 FCEV vehicles to its fleet, are catering to shippers which need to reduce the emissions footprint of their operations. The truck manufacturer, Nikola, is providing the fueling infrastructure.
Drawbacks
Aside from the need for new fueling infrastructure before long-haul FCEVs will be practical, hydrogen itself is seen as problematic from an environmental standpoint. Hydrogen comes from two sources, natural gas conversion and electrolysis, which involves splitting water molecules. At the moment hydrogen production through electrolysis is an energy-intensive and expensive process. And almost all the natural gas used for hydrogen production is extracted via fracking, which is itself a controversial method. The process of separating the hydrogen atoms from natural gas produces greenhouse gas emissions, so the claim that all hydrogen is a green fuel is a matter for debate.
And, once it is produced the gas must be compressed and stored in high-pressure tanks. The infrastructure needed to do this is also incredibly expensive.
Where do we go from here?
The drive to decarbonize commercial transportation is an extremely important element in our efforts to slow climate change. Electric vehicles do offer some promise on this front, especially if they can be shown to have a low-carbon lifecycle impact.
That’s where hydrogen fuel cells look to be lacking. It’s ironic that hydrogen, one of the most abundant elements in our world, and one which can create clean energy, is also implicated as a carbon criminal in its extraction.
This is a complicated topic and one that we will continue to explore in future blogs. But in the meantime, has your company looked at using FCEVs? Whether either as a service provider or shipper, are ‘green’ mandates tipping your hand toward the technology? Join the discussion on LinkedIn, and weigh in!
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Emily Atkins
President
Emily Atkins Group
Emily Atkins is president of Emily Atkins Group and was editor of Inside Logistics from 2002 to 2024. She has lived and worked around the world as a journalist and writer for hire, with experience in several sectors besides supply chain, including automotive, insurance and waste management. Based in Southern Ontario, when she’s not researching or writing a story she can be found on her bike, in a kayak, singing in the band or at the wheel of her race car. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyatkinsgroup/