13 years to limitless energy...

[Departed]

Heliogen and Bloom Energy Lead the Way to Produce Low-Cost, Green Hydrogen Following Successful Demonstration


2021-11-16 08:00 ET - News Release


Longer run time and steam generation through concentrated solar, combined with high-temperature electrolysis, unlock low-cost hydrogen production

Company Website: https://heliogen.com/
PASADENA, Calif. & SAN JOSE, Calif. -- (Business Wire)
Heliogen, Inc. and Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE: BE) today announced the generation of green hydrogen by integrating the companies’ technologies – Heliogen’s concentrated solar energy system and the Bloom Electrolyzer. The successful demonstration in Lancaster, California produced hydrogen and showcased the many benefits of combining the companies’ complementary technologies to achieve low-cost green hydrogen production.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211116005579/en/
Heliogen’s AI-enabled concentrated solar energy system is designed to create carbon-free steam, electricity, and heat from abundant and renewable sunlight. When combined with Bloom’s proprietary solid oxide, high-temperature electrolyzer, hydrogen can be produced 45 percent more efficiently than low-temperature PEM and alkaline electrolyzers. Electricity accounts for nearly 80 percent of the cost of hydrogen from electrolysis. By using less electricity, hydrogen production is more economical and accelerates adoption. In addition, the ability to use heat, which is a much lower cost source of energy than electricity, further improves the economics of green hydrogen production.
Heliogen’s concentrated solar technology is different than traditional photovoltaic solar; it facilitates hydrogen generation for longer periods of time, operating near 24/7 by storing the solar energy, resulting in more compact and lower cost production. The extended operating time of Heliogen’s technology and Bloom Energy’s ability to efficiently utilize heat is designed to reduce the cost of green hydrogen production compared to competing solutions.
Hydrogen use is forecast to grow from 115 million metric tonnes currently to 500-800 million metric tonnes a year by 2050, accounting for 15 to 20 percent of total global energy demand. Hydrogen projects already announced represent over $300 billion in spending across the value chain, and McKinsey & Company analysts expect at least $150 billion of that spend to be related to hydrogen production, which Heliogen and Bloom Energy are addressing through their collaboration.
The successful demonstration is an important step forward towards the goal of replacing fossil-derived fuels with green hydrogen in commercial and industrial applications. Responsible for more than one-third of the world’s energy consumption and a quarter of global CO2 emissions, industrial companies are particularly well-suited for low-cost, large-scale hydrogen utilization given their substantial energy requirements and notable carbon emissions. Further, the integration of Heliogen and Bloom Energy is a significant milestone for the hydrogen economy, as it is expected to unlock a future of economically viable green hydrogen production on par with hydrogen produced from photovoltaic solar generation.
“Our demonstration project with Bloom Energy represents a significant leap toward full commercial-scale green hydrogen production, which will play an important role in decarbonizing heavy industry,” said Bill Gross, founder and CEO of Heliogen. “Following this successful integration of Heliogen’s near-24/7 solar steam generation with the Bloom Electrolyzer, we expect that commercial projects will use Heliogen technology to supply their electric power as well, providing 100 percent of the thermal and electrical energy required to produce green hydrogen.”
“This integration with Heliogen underscores the value that strategic collaborations and industry-leading innovation can bring to driving change and making positive impacts for our climate,” said Venkat Venkataraman, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Bloom Energy. “With a focus on providing highly efficient and low-cost green hydrogen at scale, we will be a leader in low-cost hydrogen.”
Heliogen and Bloom Energy plan to continue their testing efforts and look forward to sharing further information at a future date.
Additional information on the companies’ integrated solution can be found here: https://bit.ly/heliogen-bloom-energy-green-hydrogen-demo.
About Heliogen
Heliogen is a renewable energy technology company focused on eliminating the need for fossil fuels in heavy industry and powering a sustainable future. The company’s AI-enabled, modular concentrated solar technology aims to cost-effectively deliver near 24/7 carbon-free energy in the form of heat, power, or green hydrogen fuel at scale – for the first time in history. Heliogen was created at Idealab, the leading technology incubator founded by Bill Gross in 1996. For more information about Heliogen, please visit heliogen.com.
On July 6, 2021, Heliogen entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: ATHN). Upon the closing of the business combination, Heliogen will become publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol "HLGN". Additional information about the transaction can be viewed here: www.heliogen.com/investor-center/.

 

[Departed]

Bloom Energy, Conrad Energy and Electricity North West Construction & Maintenance Bring Hydrogen-Ready Power to the United Kingdom
Reliable, future-proof and cost-predictable technology platform helps commercial and energy-intensive organisations meet net-zero carbon goals
November 30, 2021, 8:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
SAN JOSE, Calif. & ABINGDON, UK & MIDDLESBOROUGH, UK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE), Conrad Energy, and Electricity North West (Construction and Maintenance) Limited (ENWCML) today announced plans to collaborate on the development, construction and operation of behind-the-meter (BtM) projects to bring Bloom Energy’s solid oxide power generation platform to the UK market. Orders are expected to commence in December 2021.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211130005472/en/
Bloom’s fuel-flexible, non-combustion Energy Servers combine ambient air and biogas, hydrogen, or natural gas to create electricity through an electrochemical process without combustion at high efficiency. The result is a reduction in carbon emissions, air pollutants, and water usage. When hydrogen or biogas are used as the fuel source, the Energy Servers deliver on-site, 24/7, zero-carbon electricity - all in a simple, modular and flexible design.
Hydrogen is well-suited for an array of applications and unlocks a net-zero emissions future for hard-to-decarbonize heavy industries. Industrial stakeholders in the UK will be able to transition toward a green energy supply as hydrogen production infrastructure continues to mature with the support of aggressive UK government targets. The collaboration creates a strong foundation that will help the UK achieve its net zero carbon emissions goals by 2050, including a hydrogen strategy that aims for five gigawatts of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030.
As part of the collaboration, Bloom Energy expects to supply its Energy Servers along with local servicing. Conrad Energy, a UK-based owner, operator and optimiser of energy assets, with a strong focus on behind the meter (BtM) energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions, will be the lead project financer and act as the primary energy supplier. Electricity North West (Construction and Maintenance) Ltd, a private electricity network asset service provider with over 1,000 commercial and industrial users in its maintenance portfolio, will lead the installation and offer the BtM solution to its commercial and industrial customers.
Fully financed by Conrad Energy, Bloom’s Energy Servers bring additional value to customers in terms of energy savings and the ability to support microgrid configurations, ensuring continuity of operations for mission critical loads with continuous inverter-based power. The technology will be offered to customers under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) structure, removing upfront capital costs while providing cost predictability across the term of the contract.


https://apple.news/AObKM_UqCQJi9DBPz2ka2Cg

 

[Departed]

BP Plans Green Hydrogen Base in U.K. as Energy Transition Speeds Up

Laura Hurst
Sun, November 28, 2021, 7:01 PM·2 min read

1 / 2
BP Plans Green Hydrogen Base in U.K. as Energy Transition Speeds Up
In this article:

• 
  

(Bloomberg) --
Most Read from Bloomberg

• China Cash Flowed Through Congo Bank to Former President’s Cronies
• ‘Pension Poachers’ Are Targeting America’s Elderly Veterans

BP Plc plans to build a green hydrogen facility in northeast England that could start producing the gas by 2025, part of a massive project to help the oil major transition toward cleaner sources of energy.

The HyGreen Teesside proposal follows one made earlier this year to develop a blue hydrogen facility in the same location. That would produce 1 gigawatt of hydrogen by 2030 and capture 2 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.
BP mapped out a strategy last year to scale back its fossil-fuel business in favor of alternatives as the U.K. targets net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Beyond solar and wind, London-based BP wants to capture a 10% share of “core” hydrogen markets over the next decade. Oil-and-gas companies are pouring money into the hydrogen business with expectations it could displace hydrocarbons in power generation, heavy industry and transportation such as trucking and shipping.
“Low-carbon hydrogen will be essential in decarbonizing hard-to-abate industrial sectors,” said Louise Jacobson-Plutt, BP’s senior vice president for hydrogen and carbon capture.
It won’t be difficult to place the 60 megawatts of green hydrogen expected to be produced at HyGreen by 2025, Matt Williamson, vice president of BP’s blue hydrogen operations, said in an interview.
“Customers are coming to us all the time wanting to get hydrogen,” he said.
The facility plans to boost its output to 500MW by 2030, a target that should be achievable given the “enormous” amount of renewable power coming online in the U.K. by then, Williamson said. BP didn’t disclose the expected cost of the plant, which relies on receiving some government funding, and a final decision is expected in 2023.
BP also is considering green hydrogen production at refineries in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.

Con't

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bp-plans-green-hydrogen-u-000100048.html

 

[meee93]

80, do you have any details on what the source of their Green Hydrogen is? I presume since it is green rather than blue that it is from the electrolysis of water. But my understanding of that (from working on a semi related project 5 years ago so probably out dated) is that it's such an energy intensive process that it significantly impacts the large scale viability. From some of your recent posts you seem to be more up to date so it would be greatly appreciated if you could send any info/articles my way.

 

[Nick Real Deal]

80, do you have any details on what the source of their Green Hydrogen is? I presume since it is green rather than blue that it is from the electrolysis of water. But my understanding of that (from working on a semi related project 5 years ago so probably out dated) is that it's such an energy intensive process that it significantly impacts the large scale viability. From some of your recent posts you seem to be more up to date so it would be greatly appreciated if you could send any info/articles my way.

Ask him on the Good Morning thread.

 

[Departed]

80, do you have any details on what the source of their Green Hydrogen is? I presume since it is green rather than blue that it is from the electrolysis of water. But my understanding of that (from working on a semi related project 5 years ago so probably out dated) is that it's such an energy intensive process that it significantly impacts the large scale viability. From some of your recent posts you seem to be more up to date so it would be greatly appreciated if you could send any info/articles my way.

Hydro, wind and solar to power the process. From what I have read it's what is used to power the creation process that defines green or blue. Although, as in all things that don't have clear definitions those terms are being used more loosely. SGH2 is a good example. https://www.sgh2energy.com/

 

[Spursex]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/02/09/britain-takes-huge-step-towards-nuclear-fusion-power/

Britain takes 'huge step' towards nuclear fusion power

Oxfordshire facility conducts record-breaking experiment, raising hopes that clean energy could soon be a reality

By Joe Pinkstone, Science Correspondent 9 February 2022 • 1:25pm



Britain has taken a “meaningful” and “important” step towards nuclear fusion power after breaking the world record for the amount of energy produced from the process in one go.
A total of 59 megajoules (MJ) of energy was created at the Joint European Torus (JET) at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire, more than twice the 22 MJ record set at the same facility in 1997.
The average fusion power — energy per second — was around 11 Megawatts (Megajoules per second). A total of 59MJ is enough to run a standard domestic kettle non-stop for around eleven hours.
The experiment consumed far more energy than it produced, but it is a major step forward towards sustainable nuclear fusion reactors.
Despite the modest production, the development after decades of stagnation is cause for optimism, experts say.
“The production of 59 Megajoules of heat energy from fusion over a period of five seconds is a landmark in fusion research,” said Prof Ian Fells, an Emeritus professor of energy conversion at the University of Newcastle.
He added that it may take between 10 and 20 years before the technology is ready for commercialisation.
Dr Amy Gandy, a senior lecturer in nuclear materials engineering at the University of Sheffield, said: “These results really do represent exciting and meaningful strides forward in adopting fusion as a source of power.”
Nuclear fusion is the same process which powers the sun and the so-called hydrogen bombs first tested in the 1950s.
It has long been touted as a panacea for the world’s energy crisis, as it produces an enormous amount of energy without the need to raid natural resources and produces only a small amount of short-lived radioactive waste.
Pound for pound it releases nearly four million times more energy than burning coal, oil or gas.

How nuclear fusion works
JET takes an atom of deuterium and tritium (two slightly different forms of hydrogen), heats them into a 100 million degree Celsius plasma (ten times hotter than the centre of the sun), and merges them to produce a helium nucleus, a spare neutron and vast amounts of energy.
No material on Earth can withstand this heat, so JET’s tokamak, the doughnut-shaped crucible, instead creates a magnetic field to contain the plasma.
The experiment can only run for five seconds because the magnets would start to fail if left to run for much longer.
Britain leading the way
George Freeman MP, a minister for science, research and innovation, said: “These milestone results are testament to the UK’s role as a global leader in fusion energy research.
“They are evidence that the ground-breaking research and innovation being done here in the UK, and via collaboration with our partners across Europe, is making fusion power a reality."
Prof Ian Chapman, the CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, said: “These landmark results have taken us a huge step closer to conquering one of the biggest scientific and engineering challenges of them all.
“It’s clear we must make significant changes to address the effects of climate change, and fusion offers so much potential.”
The Prince of Wales visited the JET last month, and was “very keen to understand more about how fusion can be a critical piece of the future global energy puzzle”, according to Prof Chapman.

The Prince of Wales meets employees at the Joint European Torus (JET) control room during a visit to the UK Atomic Energy Authority in Culham, near Abingdon, Oxon Credit: Reuters
Mr Tony Roulstone, an engineer at the University of Cambridge, said: “This is pretty important. JET held the fusion duration and temperature records for many years but has been closed down for upgrades.”
One of the upgrades was to replace the carbon coating inside the tokamak with one made of beryllium and titanium, which makes the process more efficient.
While the rewards of fusion are vast, so too are the demands. JET’s record-breaking run, for example, consumed more power than it produced.
JET will soon be succeeded as the world’s premier nuclear fusion site by ITER, a fusion mega-project supported by China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the USA.

It will start experiments in 2025, has ten times the internal volume of JET and be able to run for longer than five seconds.
It is hoped that ITER, in the south of France, will be able to break even in terms of its energy input/output.
Dr Bernard Bigot, the director general of ITER, said: “A sustained pulse of deuterium-tritium fusion at this power level – nearly industrial scale – delivers a resounding confirmation to all of those involved in the global fusion quest.
“For the ITER Project, the JET results are a strong confidence builder that we are on the right track as we move forward toward demonstrating full fusion power.”

 

[Nick Real Deal]

I was talking about wind turbines as they spun in the strong wind as I drive past them today.
I have heard opinions from some doubters that they are not as good as some think.
They don't provide electricity when there is no wind, they can't store the energy etc.

At night when no power is required could they be used to charge car batteries ready for the day ?
I did hear that batteries could be developed to hold charge instead of straight into the grid.
Will climate change mean more windy weather? Would it make sense to build more wind turbines ?

 

[Nick Real Deal]

Any thoughts on Fracking ?

 

[Spursex]

Any thoughts on Fracking ?

Yes. We should do it. Strategically we're too vulnerable to the Russians and this would help relieve that dependency.

Of course, it may cause some underground issues; but we're well placed to deal with them; we take a different extraction course - far more enviromentally friendly then the Canadians and the US.

It's crazy to turn our backs on such a ready source when we're in such a huge energy deficit.

Over time - next 20-30 years we will hopefully become a non-carbon economy, but until then, we need to use every last piece of carbon we can lay our hands on.

 

[Departed]

Yes. We should do it. Strategically we're too vulnerable to the Russians and this would help relieve that dependency.

Of course, it may cause some underground issues; but we're well placed to deal with them; we take a different extraction course - far more enviromentally friendly then the Canadians and the US.

It's crazy to turn our backs on such a ready source when we're in such a huge energy deficit.

Over time - next 20-30 years we will hopefully become a non-carbon economy, but until then, we need to use every last piece of carbon we can lay our hands on.

What you should do is help finance the building of an oil and a LNG pipeline to the east coast of Canada and rely on us.

Secondly, hydrogen which you are doing. All the vehicles at the winter olympics are powered by hydrogen.

 

[Nick Real Deal]

We have to import 50 % of our gas but only 5 % of that is from Russia apparently. If fracking has no underground ramifications I am leaning towards it. The science needs to be proven and communicated to the public. But what is the government's stance and have we got British companies able to extract it.?

 

[Nick Real Deal]

With the news today reporting the wind blowing a turbine over that cost 22 mil.
I heard the question asked by a radio presenter....how long does it take one of these things to pay for itself.
Initial findings were some estimates were 20 plus years which is wrong.
6 to 9 months is the estimated time. I don't know the average cost of wind turbines to install. 22 mil seemed a bit high.
I was impressed with 6 to 9 months though.

 

[Nick Real Deal]

Electric cars and lack of charging points was discussed on the radio today.
Then came the prediction that Hydrogen will be with us in 10 years. Is it prudent to invest in Electric cars , batteries and charge points when in 10 years they will be outmoded by Hydrogen power ?

 

[Nick Real Deal]

With the news today reporting the wind blowing a turbine over that cost 22 mil.
I heard the question asked by a radio presenter....how long does it take one of these things to pay for itself.
Initial findings were some estimates were 20 plus years which is wrong.
6 to 9 months is the estimated time. I don't know the average cost of wind turbines to install. 22 mil seemed a bit high.
I was impressed with 6 to 9 months though.

It broke apart at the main stem towards the base. Checking other collapses they seem to give way at roughly the same point. Bit worrying, design review required maybe ?

 

[Departed]

Electric cars and lack of charging points was discussed on the radio today.
Then came the prediction that Hydrogen will be with us in 10 years. Is it prudent to invest in Electric cars , batteries and charge points when in 10 years they will be outmoded by Hydrogen power ?

No. It is politically expedient.

 

[Spursex]

Electric cars and lack of charging points was discussed on the radio today.
Then came the prediction that Hydrogen will be with us in 10 years. Is it prudent to invest in Electric cars , batteries and charge points when in 10 years they will be outmoded by Hydrogen power ?

Why Hydrogen Will Never Be The Future Of Electric Cars

James Morris
Contributor

Sustainability

A decade ago, it seemed like there were two potential contenders to replace fossil fuel for personal transportation – electricity and hydrogen. The hydrogen option had a lot going for it. You could fill your car up just like fossil fuel, but instead of noxious gases coming out of the tailpipe, the exhaust would just be pure water vapour. It sounded like the perfect step forward towards a greener future where we could carry on using our vehicles as before, only without the environmental downsides. Compared to waiting around for an EV’s battery to recharge, hydrogen appeared to be the much more convenient option.

Why hasn't hyrdogen delivered on its promise of being the green car fuel of the future?
Getty


But ten years later, it’s very clear that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are dominating the shift towards more environmentally friendly transport instead. By the end of 2019, only 7,500 hydrogen cars had been sold around the world. But by the end of 2018, there were already over 5 million plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) globally, and sales have been accelerating considerably since then. The BEV segment within this has never been less than 55% and is now more like 75%. In the UK, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, BEVs were up to 4.3% of the overall car market year-on-year by May 2020, representing a 131.8% increase since 2019. The BEV is starting to challenge fossil fuel cars, and their fuel cell alternatives are getting nowhere.

The new Toyota Mirai, a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, on display at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto ... [+]
AFP via Getty Images
Toyota was one company that truly believed in the hydrogen future, and produced the very credible FCV-R concept in 2011 that developed into the Mirai, which became commercially available in 2015. A second generation will be released in 2021. Honda has also produced a couple of fuel cell vehicles, the Clarity Fuel Cell and FCX Clarity. Hyundai has the Tucson Fuel Cell. So there are some choices available, and these vehicles are all quite viable for everyday usage, with the Mirai offering a range of 312 miles on a tank, and the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell managing a very healthy 366 miles.

So why haven’t hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) taken off in the same way as BEVs, considering their convenience? June 2019 could be the month that scrawled the writing on the wall. No sooner had a chemical plant producing hyrdogen in Santa Clara exploded, leaving FCV users in California short of fuel, but just a few days later a refuelling station in Sandvika, Norway also went up in flames. This really brought home the truth that hydrogen can be a dangerously explosive gas – as if we didn’t know it already. I haven’t heard of any cases of the cars themselves detonating, and the fuel tanks are now Kevlar-lined to protect against this explosive possibility. But it was hardly a confidence-inspiring series of events.

 

[Spursex]

Hydrogen cars won’t overtake electric vehicles because they’re hampered by the laws of science
June 3, 2020 12.17pm BST

Author

1. Tom Baxter
   Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, University of Aberdeen

Disclosure statement

Tom Baxter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Partners

View attachment 1645098928627.gif

University of Aberdeen provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK.

The Conversation UK receives funding from these organisations
View the full list

We believe in the free flow of information

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under Creative Commons licence.

Hydrogen may bomb. Eillen


Hydrogen has long been touted as the future for passenger cars. The hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), which simply runs on pressurised hydrogen from a fuelling station, produces zero carbon emissions from its exhaust. It can be filled as quickly as a fossil-fuel equivalent and offers a similar driving distance to petrol. It has some heavyweight backing, with Toyota for instance launching the second-generation Mirai later in 2020.
The Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association recently produced a report extolling hydrogen vehicles. Among other points, it said that the carbon footprint is an order of magnitude better than electric vehicles: 2.7g of carbon dioxide per kilometre compared to 20.9g.
All the same, I think hydrogen fuel cells are a flawed concept. I do think hydrogen will play a significant role in achieving net zero carbon emissions by replacing natural gas in industrial and domestic heating. But I struggle to see how hydrogen can compete with electric vehicles, and this view has been reinforced by two recent pronouncements
A report by BloombergNEF concluded:
Disinformation is dangerous. We fight it with facts and expertise

The bulk of the car, bus and light-truck market looks set to adopt [battery electric technology], which are a cheaper solution than fuel cells.​

Volkswagen, meanwhile, made a statement comparing the energy efficiency of the technologies. “The conclusion is clear” said the company. “In the case of the passenger car, everything speaks in favour of the battery and practically nothing speaks in favour of hydrogen.”
Hydrogen’s efficiency problem

The reason why hydrogen is inefficient is because the energy must move from wire to gas to wire in order to power a car. This is sometimes called the energy vector transition.

Let’s take 100 watts of electricity produced by a renewable source such as a wind turbine. To power an FCEV, that energy has to be converted into hydrogen, possibly by passing it through water (the electrolysis process). This is around 75% energy-efficient, so around one-quarter of the electricity is automatically lost.

The hydrogen produced has to be compressed, chilled and transported to the hydrogen station, a process that is around 90% efficient. Once inside the vehicle, the hydrogen needs converted into electricity, which is 60% efficient. Finally the electricity used in the motor to move the vehicle is is around 95% efficient. Put together, only 38% of the original electricity – 38 watts out of 100 – are used.





With electric vehicles, the energy runs on wires all the way from the source to the car. The same 100 watts of power from the same turbine loses about 5% of efficiency in this journey through the grid (in the case of hydrogen, I’m assuming the conversion takes place onsite at the wind farm).



Energy efficiency in electric vehicles.

You lose a further 10% of energy from charging and discharging the lithium-ion battery, plus another 5% from using the electricity to make the vehicle move. So you are down to 80 watts – as shown in the figure opposite.

In other words, the hydrogen fuel cell requires double the amount of energy. To quote BMW: “The overall efficiency in the power-to-vehicle-drive energy chain is therefore only half the level of [an electric vehicle].”

 

[Spursex]

Swap shops

There are around 5 million electric vehicles on the roads, and sales have been rising strongly. This is at best only around 0.5% of the global total, though still in a different league to hydrogen, which had achieved around 7,500 car sales worldwide by the end of 2019.

Hydrogen still has very few refuelling stations and building them is hardly going to be a priority during the coronavirus pandemic, yet enthusiasts for the longer term point to several benefits over electric vehicles: drivers can refuel much more quickly and drive much further per “tank”. Like me, many people remain reluctant to buy an electric car for these reasons.

China, with electric vehicle sales of more than one million a year, is demonstrating how these issues can be addressed. The infrastructure is being built for owners to be able to drive into forecourts and swap batteries quickly. NIO, the Shanghai-based car manufacturer, claims a three-minute swap time at these stations.



China is planning to build a large number of them. BJEV, the electric-car subsidiary of motor manufacturer BAIC, is investing €1.3 billion (£1.2 billion) to build 3,000 battery charging stations across the country in the next couple of years.

Not only is this an answer to the “range anxiety” of prospective electric car owners, it also addresses their high cost. Batteries make up about 25% of the average sale price of electric vehicles, which is still some way higher than petrol or diesel equivalents.

By using the swap concept, the battery could be rented, with part of the swap cost being a fee for rental. That would reduce the purchase cost and incentivise public uptake. The swap batteries could also be charged using surplus renewable electricity – a huge environmental positive.

Admittedly, this concept would require a degree of standardisation in battery technology that may not be to the liking of European car manufacturers. The fact that battery technology could soon make it possible to power cars for a million miles might make the business model more attractive.

It may not be workable with heavier vehicles such as vans or trucks, since they need very big batteries. Here, hydrogen may indeed come out on top – as BloombergNEF predicted in its recent report.

Finally a word on the claims on carbon emissions from that Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association report I mentioned earlier. I checked the source of the statistics, which revealed they were comparing hydrogen made from purely renwewable electricity with electric vehicles powered by electricity from fossil fuels.

If both were charged using renewable electricity, the carbon footprint would be similar. The original report was funded by industry consortium H2 Mobility, so it’s a good example of the need to be careful with information in this area.

 

[Spursex]

Published 28 February 2021

By Sunday Times Driving
James May has written the best battery vs hydrogen electric car summary we've read
He owns both types and still believes we need hydrogen fuel cells




THE GRAND Tour host James May has written about his love of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in a piece for the Sunday Times Magazine, summarising superbly the advantages and disadvantages of them versus battery-electric vehicles from the likes of Tesla. As an owner of both types of electric car (and they are both electric, as the wheels are turned by electric motors), he should know.
The 58-year old — now sporting a lockdown goatee, incidentally — is one of fewer than 200 Toyota Mirai owners in the UK. The Mirai, launched in 2014, is Toyota’s FCEV, and one of only two hydrogen-powered cars currently offered in the UK (the other is the Hyundai Nexo).
May’s article in The Sunday Times is ostensibly a review of the Mirai, a new version of which is due for imminent release, though actually it’s an article that argues for the continued investment in hydrogen fuel cell technology — not just for cars but for factories, homes and all our power needs.
In many respects, the Mirai is a typical Toyota saloon and not terribly exciting, May begins. It produces 152bhp, is well-built — in the manner one would expect from Toyota — is sufficiently insulated from wind noise and has a pleasantly smooth ride. He even likes its looks, which he thinks represent its progressive nature.
The TV star goes as far as to say that it might be “the nicest car [he has] ever owned”. Now in a more mature period of his life, he tends to view exuberant Italian V8s as an occasional treat rather than something for everyday use.
“In normal use there’s something deeply satisfying about a car so civilised and silent in operation that I can fully appreciate the noise I now make when I get in,” he says.
However, May admits that what excited him most about the car is what it represents, rather than the car itself. Hydrogen is often seen to many (especially the “Teslerati” — devout worshippers at the church of Elon Musk, who calls them “fool cell” cars) as inferior to battery-electric power.
May can understand why, he says: while charging a battery-electric car means plugging in, either at a public charging station or at home, they can make use of an existing, extensive refuelling infrastructure — the national grid. To refuel a hydrogen car today, it requires the driver to find a hydrogen refuelling station, of which there are only 12 in the UK — and half of those are in the south-east.
What’s more a tank of hydrogen that’s good for around 300 miles costs approximately £60, he says, which is a lot more expensive than 300 miles in a battery electric car. And most commercial hydrogen available at the moment is made by reforming fossil fuels, such as gas, which is not exactly great for the environment.
Furthermore, while people occasionally undertake long journeys, most do not touch the full capability of their battery on a daily basis, he points out.
Battery-electrics are also efficient, with between 70% and 80% of the energy that leaves the power station making it to the car’s battery. That figure plummets to 35%-40% for hydrogen, thanks to the energy needed to extract and compress it.
Hydrogen, and the fuel cell that converts it into energy, are also extremely expensive to produce: the Mirai costs £66,000, and as he says, it’s not terribly quick or exciting.
However, May is all too aware of the disadvantages of battery electric cars. Major advances in battery technology will be slow, he says, while their heft (lithium ion battery packs are heavy) means that they are “useless in shipping freight or aviation”.
Meanwhile, even with Tesla’s superchargers, the time difference between refilling a tank of hydrogen and recharging a battery is difficult to ignore. And while most journeys are well within the capability of a single charge, some are simply not.
And May highlights concerns about the provenance of some of the raw materials used in battery manufacture, such as cobalt and nickel.
As progress is made, hydrogen could pose a solution to all of these issues, argues May. It’s suitable not just for aviation and freight but also the factories that build electric vehicles, and hydrogen will one day be “cracked” from water by electrolysis, using almost unlimited renewable energy, “in which case efficiency is not such an issue” and becomes a storable and transportable fuel.
“Hydrogen could also replace the gas used in the existing national network, which is three times bigger than the electricity grid,” he says.
May is not alone in his belief: just three days ago the charity Climate Action held the 2021 Hydrogen Transition Summit, which was attended by car makers including Hyundai. The South Korean car company has already shown itself to be a serious player in the hydrogen landscape: it delivered ten units of the first hydrogen-powered lorry to Europe last year, and is working with British SUV maker Ineos on improving Europe’s hydrogen infrastructure.
Concluding, May wrote that he believes hydrogen is a big-picture solution to the world’s renewable energy problem, while batteries only solve the issues with cars: “[Hydrogen] is not a very good solution to decarbonising the car. Battery cars are much better for that. Rather, the fuel-cell car is merely the car element of a much bigger energy vision to decarbonise everything. For that reason I think it’s worth pursuing.”
You can read James May’s full piece about hydrogen (and a bit about his Toyota Mirai) on The Sunday Times website, or in today’s Sunday Times Magazine.