News

The August 12, 2021 New York Times article by Hiroko Tabuchi leads off with a misleading and narrowly focused headline, “For Many, Hydrogen Is the Fuel of the Future. New Research Raises Doubts.”  The article reports on a paper by two university professors whose principal argument is critical of “blue hydrogen,” which is produced from reforming methane (i.e., natural gas) with the expectation that the CO2 generated by this process would be captured and sequestered underground in sealed caverns.

Hydrogen is indeed the fuel of the future, and there is a simple response to quell the doubts: Blue hydrogen is not the end state of hydrogen production that the industry is striving for. Green hydrogen—that is, hydrogen produced from renewable energy (solar and wind) or feedstocks like biogas or waste wood—is where the industry is aiming, although it is an admittedly somewhat nascent industry. But who among us is not striving for self-improvement? The hydrogen industry is no exception.

• Fuel cell vehicles could account for one-third of commercial trucks in China by 2050, predicts JPMorgan’s Elaine Wu.
• Major automakers such as Toyota, Honda and BMW are tapping into the hydrogen fuel cell market.
• China is currently leading the world in hydrogen production and accounts for a third of global output, according to Wu.

China is already pushing for the promotion of fuel cell vehicles, according to the JPMorgan analyst.

“The [Chinese] government is promoting something, what we call ‘city clusters’ so that there could be demonstrative cities telling successful stories of how fuel cell vehicles are implemented in various parts of the country,” Wu said.

The dual fuel cell modules, which are a key component of an overall FC kit, weigh approximately 1,400 pounds and can deliver up to 160kW of continuous power. The FC kit also includes a high voltage battery, electric motors, transmission and hydrogen storage assembly from top-tier suppliers. Toyota will also offer its powertrain integration expertise that will help truck manufacturers adapt these emissions-free drivetrain systems to a wide variety of applications in the heavy-duty trucking sector.

More than 20 provinces and 40 cities in China have published development plans worth trillions of yuan for hydrogen energy facilities, according to the state-run Economic Daily. The country delivered 558 fuel-cell buses in the first six months of 2021, compared with 17,000 battery electric buses deployed in the second quarter of this year alone, according to BNEF.