Scientists have played around with the idea of utilizing hydrogen from the time motor vehicles were invented and became popular for use. Hydrogen is the most readily available element in the universe, and it would be a dream come true to use it to power our entire planet, wouldn’t it? We won’t have to rely on digging up our planet, using exhaustible sources such as fossil fuels and natural gas, making it the best way to move forward.
The best way to use hydrogen for fuel would be by extracting the fuel from sources such as natural gas, water, and fossil fuels and convert it into energy that can be transferred into fuel cells. These cells can be used to power engines, vehicles, aeroplanes, and more. Hydrogen fuel has been a growing topic of discussion for the last few decades because it has been cited as the most valuable alternative source of fuel.
What is all the hype around hydrogen fuel? Is it really a viable option? Will electric vehicles become obsolete in the next ten years? Will hydrogen fuel be the change to push us towards the greenest future we have possibly imagined?
Is Hydrogen the future of energy?
Potentially, hydrogen fuel could be extracted from the electrolysis of water. It is one of the lightest elements known to man, which would mean it becomes really easy to store as well. The energy density of hydrogen is also quite high. Hydrogen can carry over 3 times (Power Technology) as much energy as coal, fossil fuels, and even jet fuel.
Another comparison would be the amount of energy efficiency hydrogen fuel cells provide as compared to electric motor vehicles and other alternative energy sources. Battery-operated electric vehicles, or BEVs, have a much greater energy output when compared to those powered with hydrogen fuel. How does this work?
Fuel conversion in electric vehicles vs. fuel conversion in hydrogen-fuel powered vehicles
E-cars or any electric vehicles have a much higher energy output rate. This is because there is very little fuel lost in transportation. The conversion rate from the electricity produced is zero because the energy that has been extracted does not have to be converted into a usable fuel form. It just has to be transferred to the battery. Here, the loss of energy during the transportation is only 8%.
The second stage where electric vehicles lose energy output is while driving. Converting that electricity to the energy that can be used by vehicles causes a loss of another 18%. This means the energy efficiency of battery-powered electric cars is up to 80%.
Now, if you compare the same with hydrogen fuel, the numbers are a lot more disappointing. The production of hydrogen fuel itself causes energy loss. Nearly half, 45% to be exact, of the total energy output is lost while the electrolysis process takes place to extract hydrogen fuel. Out of the remaining 55% of the energy output of the fuel, another 55% is lost while hydrogen gets converted into electricity that can power vehicles. This means that hydrogen fuel-powered vehicles can only operate at a 25% – 30% (Volkswagen) energy efficiency capacity. Hydrogen logistics concept. Truck with gas tank trailer on the road lined with solar power plants. 3d rendering
So the myth about hydrogen fuel being the most energy-efficient alternative to fuel from natural gases is exactly that – a myth. Although, a separate point should be noted in this case. Hydrogen fuel still produces fuel at a higher rate than other alternative and renewable sources such as wind or solar. The alternative fuels have an energy efficiency rate of 10-20% only, making them the least viable option.
So, in terms of fuel efficiency, hydrogen fuel does have a chance when it is compared to solar or wind-powered vehicles. But when you compare it to battery operated electric vehicles, it offers nearly a 50% drop, which is highly infeasible today.
So then what’s all the hype about? What is the true potential of hydrogen that everyone seems to be bringing up?
The discussion around the potential of hydrogen today
The biggest benefit of using hydrogen fuel to power cars is the low emissions rate of the fuel. Hydrogen produces no CO2 emissions upon burning, so there are no direct emissions into the ozone. This makes hydrogen the most viable and zero waste option available on the market. The indirect emissions would come from the production plants, extraction facilities and fuel storage. These scenarios are present in electric motor vehicles as well. This is an extremely valid point.
Also, the second factor that turns people to hydrogen fuel is the sheer availability of the element. It is the most abundant element present in the identifiable universe, which makes it seem like there is going to be an endless supply of fuel once it has been synthesized. Also, water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen molecules, which means it is also vastly available in the oceans. So it should be a pretty easy choice right?
Wrong.
The most affordable way to extract hydrogen so far is through the land. Hydrogen makes up only 0.14% (Britannica) of the earth’s crust, and it is available in the highest quantities in natural gas. Natural gas is an exhaustible source of energy, so extracting hydrogen from it seems even more redundant because there is already a global shortage of the resource that exists today. The technological advancements to scale hydrogen fuel production at large to make it an easily available and feasible resource just isn’t there yet.
The current cost of producing hydrogen fuel through electrolysis, which is the process of it being extracted from water, is somewhere between $5 and $6 (DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Record) per kilogram. If it is extracted from fossil fuels, the price drops down to somewhere between $1.4 and $2.5 (Express Drivers), which is a more affordable option. But again, this defeats the entire purpose of generating hydrogen fuel. Sure, the emissions rate is significantly lower for transportation, but it still ends up depleting the planet of valuable resources and fossil fuels.
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So the next question that arises based on these arguments is…
Myth or fact? Is Hydrogen the future of fuel?
Clearly, hydrogen has great potential as the future of fuel; no one is contesting that. What is being strongly contested is the fact that people are assuming that it is a possibility today. There are discussions about how hydrogen fuel can soon replace the electric vehicle industry altogether. This is a remote possibility in the far away future, and there are no conclusive statements that prove that it could become the next alternative fuel option for electricity, transportation, and more by the next decade at least.
But, the hype is being created because major players are investing largely in the research and development of hydrogen fuel and its cells that can be used to power the entire planet. Companies such as Bosch, Cummins and Weichai Power have poured in more than $1 billion (Financial Times) into fuel cell companies around the world.
The stocks of companies linked to hydrogen fuel have skyrocketed recently, which only creates more of a buzz around this statement. Companies that make fuel cells globally are noticing a surge in their share prices and investments, even though they still have not managed to turn a profit. Organizations such as Ceres Power based in London, Peers Ballard Power based in Canada, and Plug Power based in the USA, have all observed a surge in their share prices recently.
Why hydrogen fuel is going to remain a myth… at least for another decade
The biggest problem is the lack of scalable infrastructure. There needs to be a lot more research done, which will require billions of USD in funding to be able to create a sustainable and affordable infrastructure that will help with the extraction of hydrogen at a large scale to make it a possibility. This infrastructure just isn’t there, and it won’t be for another two to three decades, according to experts.
Battery-powered electric vehicles are a lot more feasible option for today because there are already systems in place that can handle the scaling and production of the fuel, the motors, the vehicles, and the overall infrastructure of the BEVs. There are charging options, government grants and funding readily available for making this a reality.
Electric-powered vehicles are already a reality, and dismissing them as obsolete will only negatively impact the growth towards higher sustainability. The fuel efficiency rate is also a lot higher in e-cars than it is in hydrogen fuel cars, which means they operate at a higher functioning as well.
The affordability factor that makes hydrogen fuel a possibility today is also missing. The only green and sustainable way to create hydrogen fuel are through electrolysis, which is incredibly expensive when compared to using fossil fuels and electric vehicles. The hype around hydrogen fuel is highly optimistic because it won’t become a reality until much later.
Final Thoughts
Just because it seems improbable and impractical to invest in hydrogen fuel vehicles right now, it does not mean that it needs to be discarded as a possibility in the future. There is more scope now than there was ever before of sustainably using hydrogen fuel to power homes and vehicles around the world, which is why there needs to be continued research done in the field.
Market research services have estimated that the hype around hydrogen fuel and hydrogen fuel vehicles is exactly that – a hype, which means it will die out soon. But that does not mean that large corporations should drop their investments into research and building scalable means of actually making this a possibility.
Even if it is a myth, for now, it does not necessarily mean that it will remain a myth for life. Using hydrogen fuel to power the world might be our most sustainable and genius method, but for now, it is nothing but a hopeful dream.
