End of March 2022, Lidl released a press statement saying they will be switching the entire battery-powered electric logistics vehicles to fuel cells powered by green hydrogen. This will make the supermarket chain the first in Europe to make this adventurous movement.
Climate change isn’t something happening here or there but everywhere, and all at once. And unless we choose to halt it, it will never stop- The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells.
True, it’s not possible to generalize where climate change may or may not happen. However, it is possible though to categorize the sectors and analyze which of them have the highest contribution. Looking at the world data, energy has the highest contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 of which transport shared 16.2%. This means the world leaders have pressure to move into an environmentally friendly alternative to diesel and petrol.
From the prospective greenhouse gas emissions data in the next 10-to-15 years, and studying which alternative will be more cost-effective and good for the environment, the solution everyone is looking at is ‘electrification’. Although the majority of the automobile companies are promoting electric battery and have already started making a switch from the internal combustion engine to electric cars, the crucial question is, whether batteries are good for multipurpose applications, or we should also consider green hydrogen fuel?
Green Hydrogen
The fuel is produced by breaking the water molecules using carbon-free electricity and extracting the dihydrogen H2. Hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements in the world, but its utilization still faces massive hindrance because of low efficiency in the production phase— the main reason hydrogen fuels are still struggling to compete with battery cars. Only in Germany, there are more than 130,000 battery cars but only 507 hydrogen cars on the road.
Europe’s largest car manufacturer, VW has stated a reason for choosing batteries over hydrogen fuel. The battery-powered car has an efficiency of between 70 and 80 percent whereas the hydrogen-powered car only achieves between 25 and 35 percent, as huge losses are claimed during the production of hydrogen and then converting it into electricity within the vehicle.
This means a hydrogen car consumes two to three times more electricity for the same distance as a battery car and clearly becomes more expensive. The German giant however offers a soft corner for hydrogen fuels. They believe hydrogen offers very promising prospects in heavy-duty transport, aviation, and shipping.
Hydrogen fuel or electric vehicle?
Most experts believe that future vehicles will prefer battery power because they are much more energy-efficient than hydrogen fuel cells. However, the benefit of hydrogen will have to be exercised in sectors that cannot be electrified directly. The battery-powered car has the advantage of mature technology that is ready for the mass market. With the number of models growing steadily every year, these vehicles are already at the price level of comparable combustion engine models.
In contrast, the hydrogen car still suffers from complex technology and high fuel costs. A hydrogen car would cost nine to twelve euros per 100 kilometers, while a battery car costs only two to seven euros for the same distance. However, green hydrogen is a more appealing option for heavy trucks that are based around moving goods efficiently around the country— an initiative Lidl has taken.
Only in the U.S., long-haul truck routes consume 29 billion gallons of diesel, and that accounts for approximately 330 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Fuel cell trucks use the same basic electric drivetrain as battery trucks, but due to their onboard hydrogen storage, they have a much longer range, require fewer stops on long routes, and can be fueled much faster.
A Class 8 truck with a hydrogen tank that is fit for 100-kilogram can be fueled about 15 times faster than charging a 1-2 MWh battery, required for the same distance. This means cross-country drive times can take up to 35 % less time due to decreased dwell time as well as the smaller number of stops required.
To enhance the technology further that requires fewer stops for refueling, Daimler is currently testing the GenH2 truck with operating ranges of 1000 km or more without any stop for refueling. The trucks will be ready for the customers at the beginning of 2023.
For long-haul heavy truck operations, such as in the case of Lidl, the weight of the battery is also crucial. Large vehicles need large batteries. A truck would require about 1-2 MWh battery, which will be much heavier than a full tank of diesel or a fuel cell. One analysis shows that a battery-powered electric vehicle would need five times more space than a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.
Green hydrogen around the world
Hydrogen fuels have been well understood and appreciated around the world. China is a major producer and consumer of hydrogen in the world, with a usage of 25 million tons. In South Korea, one of the biggest vehicle manufacturers, Hyundai has pledged to produce 500,000 hydrogen cars annually by 2030. In another part of Asia, Indian Prime Minister Modi hinted during the launch of the country’s National Hydrogen Mission that Green hydrogen could give India an energy independence by 2047.
The EU issued its national hydrogen strategy in 2020 and has a target to install emissions-free 40 GW capacity of green hydrogen electrolyzers by 2030 with 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen production. In North America, Canada holds the current record for the largest green hydrogen project, which is a 20 MW Becancour facility in Quebec, inaugurated at the beginning of 2021.
However, soon the record holder will be passed on to Egypt as the country is currently constructing a 100 MW green hydrogen plant, which is going to be a five times larger than Canada’s 20 MW plant. The plant facility is accelerated to exhibit it before the country hosts COP27 in November 2022.
With around 12 to 16 % of production, the USA is the world’s largest producer and consumer of hydrogen after China. President Joe Biden has made green hydrogen one of the priorities of his team’s innovation strategy for climate protection and has promised to deliver green hydrogen at the same cost as conventional hydrogen within a decade.
Besides these countries, other progressive countries are also joining hands to contribute toward the future of green hydrogen. The Chilean National Development agency has announced an investment of more than $ 1 billion on six green hydrogen production projects.
Future of green hydrogen
It is predicted that green hydrogen fuel will account for 24% of the world’s energy by 2050. That is a great motivation for us to find a solution to low efficiency and higher operating cost, but if we can learn a lesson from solar panels that saw a 90% reduction in price between 2010 and 2019, it is definitely possible.
The example set by Lidl shows that green hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can offer significant advantages in applications where charging times and cargo space are key, but with enough support from the government, funding opportunities, and intensive research, incredible perspectives can be explored in other applications as well.
