In

the coming decade, investors are betting that hydrogen will become a prominent

fuel that can eliminate carbon dioxide discharges from the vehicles it energizes.

According

to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the transportation sector has

dominated the growth in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions since 1990, accounting

for 69 percent of the total increase.

It

is important that hydrogen technology advances rapidly because cars, trucks and

buses are a growing contributor to greenhouse gas buildups in our atmosphere.

For example, Seattle-based Amazon alone doubled its truck fleet to 20,000 in

just a year, according to GeekWire.com. Its fleet runs on diesel.

In

2017, Amazon reached an agreement with Plug Power to use its fuel cells and

hydrogen technology in its fulfillment centers. Revenue associated with the

commercial agreements were estimated to be about $70 million.

Faced

with increasing numbers of vehicles on the road, many governments worldwide

have pegged hydrogen as another way to eliminate human generated carbon

dioxide. Just as enticing, the byproduct of hydrogen fuel cells is water.

Developing

hydrogen into a commercially viable fuel takes money – lots of it.

The

Hydrogen Council, whose 60 members represent total revenue of nearly $2.9

trillion and close to 4.2 million jobs, recently joined forces with European

Investment Bank to finance hydrogen projects. 

The council believes it will require $20 billion to $25 billion in

annual investments during the next decade.

The

council’s goal is not to diminish the importance of investments in battery

electric vehicle, or BEV, technology, or lower carbon fuels but believes

large-scale capital investments also need to go into developing other ways to

power vehicles.

For

example, China has made BEV development and production a primary objective of

its ambitious “Made in China 2025” initiative. With the help of the government,

it already makes nearly half of the world’s electric vehicles today and aims to

dominate that sector over the next five years.

The

key drawbacks of BEVs are driving range, lengthy charging time and recycling of

spent batteries, many of which end up in landfills. Hydrogen fuel cell electric

vehicles, or FCEVs, on the other hand, can cover similar distances, but drivers

can gas up with hydrogen instead of gasoline or diesel.

Many

automakers are investing heavily in hydrogen as well.  Hyundai, the South Korean auto giant, already

is devoting $6.3 billion to fuel cell technology and plans to ramp up

production from 3,000 units per year to 40,000 by 2022.

Washington-based

truck manufacturer Kenworth is developing 10 zero-emissions Kenworth T680s

powered by Toyota hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrains. Last April, Toyota

and Kenworth unveiled the jointly developed fuel cell electric heavy-duty

truck, the result of a collaboration with the California Air Resources Board

and the Port of Los Angeles. The trucks will be used at the Ports of Los

Angeles, throughout the Southern California and Central Coast areas, and in

Merced County.

“One

of the benefits of FCEVs is that hydrogen uses a fueling infrastructure that’s

similar to conventional trucks. This means that FCEVs could be refueled at

existing truck stops across the country and the fueling experience would be

similar. A truck can be filled with hydrogen in less than 15 minutes,” said

Patrick Molloy of the Rocky Mountain Institute in Denver.

Nikola

Motors, a U.S. maker of hydrogen trucks, claims its vehicles can get 12 to 15

miles per gallon, well above the average 6.4 mpg for a diesel truck. Nikola

Motors, based in Phoenix, just announced it also launched a road map for 700

fueling stations across the country.

The

bottom line is now that hydrogen technology is growing in acceptance, it is

starting to scale up, reduce production costs and accelerate infrastructure and

research. 

Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer and columnist. He retired as president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s oldest and largest business organization, and now lives in Vancouver. He can be contacted at [email protected].