OAKLAND — The primary industrial hydrogen gas station for big-rig vans within the U.S. is up and operating on the Port of Oakland, a child step towards what hydrogen proponents see as a clear new future for long-haul trucking.
The small station, now serving 30 hydrogen fuel-cell vans, may mark the beginning of a nationwide community for fuel-cell truck refueling. It may additionally flop.
The challenges are immense. Hydrogen gas is costly — as a lot as 4 instances costlier than gasoline or diesel gas. The gas cells, which drive electrical motors to drive the truck, are enormously costly as effectively.
Making hydrogen itself is now a unclean, greenhouse-gas-generating course of, though inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing is an rising possibility, and much more costly. Hydrogen proponents are banking on the concept scaling up manufacturing will convey costs down
New diesel truck gross sales shall be outlawed in California by 2036. Solely zero-tailpipe-emission new vans shall be allowed. Already, zero-emission necessities are in place for vans that enter ocean ports. And solely two applied sciences can be found to realize that purpose: battery electrical vans and hydrogen fuel-cell vans. “We imagine a superb portion of these shall be hydrogen automobiles,” mentioned Matt Miyasato, chief of public coverage for hydrogen gas distributor FirstElement Gasoline.
FirstElement, by means of its True Zero model fueling stations, is the biggest hydrogen automobile gas distributor within the U.S. Miyasato spoke Tuesday at a ceremony to mark the station’s opening, attended by state officers together with Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Assets Board; and Tyson Eckerle, clear transportation advisor for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s enterprise growth workplace, Go-Biz. Major funding for the Oakland station is supplied by state cash channeled by means of the Air Assets Board and the California Power Fee.
A hydrogen pump at FirstElement’s True Zero hydrogen fueling station on the Port of Oakland.
(Russ Mitchell / Los Angeles Occasions)
Hydrogen gas holds nice promise for cleaner air. It’s not a fossil gas. A gas cell is a form of battery that takes in hydrogen and emits solely water vapor.
Nonetheless, producing hydrogen itself might be very soiled. Most hydrogen produced right now requires methane, which is a fossil gas and a powerful greenhouse gasoline contributor. The trade is engaged on manufacturing options, together with carbon seize and storage from the burning of methane, or quitting methane altogether to make inexperienced hydrogen, utilizing an electrolyzer to separate water’s hydrogen and oxygen. Each options are prohibitively costly with out authorities subsidies.
The federal authorities is handing out $8 billion to jump-start what it calls the “hydrogen financial system” by creating so-called hydrogen hubs. Certainly one of them shall be set in California, which is anticipated to soak up $1.2 billion for the mission.
Eckerle mentioned the hub funding will permit development of 60 extra hydrogen truck stations in California, sufficient to serve 5,000 vans and 1,000 buses.
The automobiles themselves are costly too. Each battery electrical and hydrogen fuel-cell vans can price 3 times as a lot or greater than a $120,000 diesel truck. These shopping for the vans can qualify for state and federal subsidies to make up a lot of the upfront prices.
Battery electrical is gaining a powerful foothold within the medium-sized supply truck market, however hydrogen may have a leg up for long-haul trucking. Whereas a gas cell is comparable in dimension to a diesel engine, a battery sufficiently big for long-haul vans provides weight and dimension and cuts down on the full freight load the truck can ship. And whereas an battery electrical truck can take hours to recharge, the refill time for hydrogen is extra akin to filling up with diesel gas.
