Hydrogen has long been looked at as the ‘fuel of the future’. The general impression is that it will be a marketplace fuel in the future but not for a decade or more. Well, surprise, hydrogen is coming into the fuel marketplace today, albeit slowly.
Last week I attended the National Hydrogen Association annual convention in Columbia South Carolina. In addition to delivering a short keynote address and moderating a panel, I was there to learn as much as I could about this future fuel. I was fortunate to spend discussion time with, and listen to presentations by, some of the best and brightest from academia, corporations and governmental agencies on the subject of hydrogen.
There is no question that hydrogen is becoming and will be an integral part of our energy equation. Right now the problem confronting this source of energy is one of scale. Scale of production, scale of the infrastructure for distribution and scale of production of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. It is the fuel cell car that has the highest profile in this new energy area and is also the product that consumers are most interested in, particularly due to the recent history of oil prices and the state of the automotive industry. There were several hydrogen fuel cell cars and even a bus that were available for rides at the convention, and I will write about the wonderful experience of driving three of the cars in my next column.
What I found interesting was how much hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells are actually being used in the marketplace. Forklift vehicles are being used by companies at their large distribution centers replacing electric battery forklifts. Companies like WalMart and Sysco are using them as the hydrogen forklifts both increase productivity and lower costs. When such large companies, who hold efficiency and lowering costs in high regard are moving toward the use of hydrogen fuel cell forklifts it is something to note.
These hydrogen fuel cell forklifts are superior to their electric counterparts in several ways. Unlike batteries, which decline in power through a work shift, the fuel cells are like an internal combustion engine (ICE) in that they run until empty. This means maximum output until refueling is needed. The refueling takes minutes rather than the hours needed to recharge batteries. In addition there is no problem with any toxic waste spillage that can sometimes be present with batteries. Finally, as the fuel cell is producing power, the only waste or byproducts are water and some generated heat. They are very clean. The Linde Group, clearly a leader in this industry, has been working in partnership with companies on forklifts to develop best practices in distribution centers for the past four years. It sounds like the early discovery work is behind them and that a rapid ramp up of the customer base is at hand.
In addition to forklifts, there is a growing business in portable power units, hydrogen production equipment and more fun, hydrogen fuel cell Segways that are in use by the Columbia S.C. police department. The line to take a ride on these vehicles was always long.
The convention was held in Columbia S.C. in part because the city and the state are trying to take a lead in the development and use of hydrogen fuel cell technology. What was stunning to me was that on public day, when the public could visit the convention floor and seminars for free, the convention center was overrun by people, some of whom had driven long distances, to learn more about they all clearly see as something in their future. The excitement of the crowds about this future/present fuel was palpable and there was a clear feeling on the convention floor that we were all looking at the future.
When we reach that future on a large scale is the only question, one I will address in the next column.
April 10th, 2009 at 7:56 am
I’m looking forward to chapter two of this post.
Why did folks travel far and wide to visit this event? Curiosity – maybe: I think that the public at large recognizes that we need to think alternative and we need to think now.
April 10th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Nice post.
April 10th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Great post. It really is wonderful to see that while we figure out how to develop the variety of alternative fuels that will be powering our next vehicles, there are other ways to use alternative fuels which can make an impact today. I’m glad you were at the NHA Conference to experience this first hand.
April 10th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
This is the kind of innovation we need to hear more of. Where is the media on this topic? Good news is of interest to us all.
April 12th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
David,
Sometime soon songs about Hydrogen Cars and the Chevy Volt will appear? I still have yet to hear “Powershift My Prius!!” When will the cultural passion around the American Freedom represented by the Open Road return?
Warm Regards,
HJB
April 12th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Henry-
What a perfect comment! A hard rock song about a plug-in would be perfect. The Chevrolet Volt has a name that should work fine. Gettin’ a jolt, drivin’ my Volt!
David
April 14th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
David:
On April 6 (last week), the ClimateProgress.org blog had an article titled: The Breakthrough Technology Illusion. If you scan back to April 6, you can find it.
I have lifted a very small part of the article to make the point that hydrogen fuel cell cars are not likely to soon be even one percent of the global market:
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A critical historical fact was explained by Royal Dutch/Shell, in their 2001 scenarios for how energy use is likely to evolve over the next five decades (even with a carbon constraint):
“Typically it has taken 25 years after commercial introduction for a primary energy form to obtain a 1 percent share of the global market.”
Note that this tiny toe-hold comes 25 years after commercial introduction. The first transition from scientific breakthrough to commercial introduction may itself take decades. We still haven’t seen commercial introduction of a hydrogen fuel cell car and have barely seen any commercial fuel cells — over 160 years after they were first invented.
—-
Now perhaps things will not be quite as slow as in the future as they were in the past. That would be nice.
By the way, did anyone explain how we are manufacturing the hydrogen for hydrogen fuel cells?
The last that I remember, it was created by breaking apart hydrocarbons, which probably raises the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Not good for global warming. Very extensive systems (not computer systems) analysis needs to be done to make sure that some new initiative isn’t overwhelmed by the law of unintended consequences.
Sincerely,
Jonathan
April 15th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Hi Jonathan,
Your question about producing the hydrogen is a key question IMO. I just heard a talk by a scientist with a 30 year career at Haliburton. He said currently hydrogen is produced from methane, which is the cleanest of the hydrocarbons, and the carbon can be sequestered in the manufacturing. On a related note, crude oil has too high of a carbon content (relative to hydrogen), so extra hydrogen is also added from methane.
It is easy to make hydrogen from electricity, but then where is the electricity from? I know there are efforts to produce hydrogen via biological and/or solar methods but I don’t know how they are doing.
Aric
April 15th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Aric:
As you point out, inexpensive electricity is the key ingredient. My personal belief (and probably not a popular opinion) is that the (medium run or long run) answer is probably controlled nuclear fusion, which has been worked on for decades already.
By the way, I am not at all a fan of carbon sequestration (burying CO2). I think of leaking landfills and believe it to be a silly idea.
Jonathan