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There’s one thing everyone remembers about hydrogen: on May 6, 1937, the German Zeppelin Hindenburg, landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, USA, burst into flames, killing 36 passengers. The incident is immortalised in the words of radio reporter Herbert Morrison, who exclaimed “oh the humanity” as the airship exploded.
The Hindenburg was a lighter than most typical passenger aircrafts – its buoyancy achieved using hydrogen – the most common element in the universe. But hydrogen is flammable and this has given rise to many myths around its use as a clean fuel source for new energy vehicles.
Here, we bust the top 10 myths about hydrogen, which can be used in either combustion engines, or to generate electricity via a fuel cell. Hydrogen’s advantage? It’s zero emission, with pure water being the only waste product.
TOP TEN MYTHS
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There is not enough hydrogen to meet our needs: Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and can be produced in a variety of ways including water, biomass and natural gas.
Hydrogen is not efficient: In terms of energy density, hydrogen has other fuels beat. It can produce more energy per unit of weight than petrol or diesel.
Hydrogen is expensive: It’s true hydrogen costs more than other fuels right now. But as the technology to produce it improves, it’s expected to become cost competitive with petrol and diesel within the next few years.
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Hydrogen is difficult to store and transport: Conventional fuels come in one form: as liquids. Hydrogen is more versatile and, depending on how it’s processed, it can be stored and transported in a variety of ways, including as a gas, a liquid or even as a solid.
Hydrogen vehicles are not as environmentally friendly as electric: There’s an elephant in the room for battery-electric vehicles: they’re only as clean as the source of the electricity used to charge them. Hydrogen, whether it’s used in a fuel cell or combusted, produces only water as a by-product.
Hydrogen-fuelled vehicles have a short range: Hydrogen vehicles have a comparable range to fossil fuelled ones and because the hydrogen is generally stored under pressure in tanks, it generally only takes a few kilos of hydrogen to fuel a hydrogen powered vehicle the same distance as one using petrol or diesel.
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Hydrogen powered vehicles are expensive: The reality is new technology follows a price and adoption curve. Early on, it’s expensive but as volumes increase and the processes used to manufacture the new technology are refined, the cost comes down. It’s expected hydrogen vehicles will be cost-competitive with conventionally fuelled ones in the near future.
Hydrogen is dangerous: Sure, hydrogen is flammable, but so is petrol, diesel and even the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, if damaged. The reality is hydrogen is no more dangerous that other liquid fuels and, in fact, has a key advantage over them: because it’s lighter than air, it dissipates quickly if there’s a leak.
Hydrogen infrastructure is not developed: There’s a chicken-and-egg problem with any new fuel source, that being the need for demand to prompt supply, and vice versa. The reality is governments and private industry sees the benefits of hydrogen as a clean energy source, and the infrastructure is gradually being built out.
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Hydrogen-fuelled vehicles are not as powerful as petrol or diesel ones: Because hydrogen has more energy density than conventional fuels, it’s easier to extract power and performance. But the reality is most hydrogen vehicles use fuel cells, which convert hydrogen into electricity, which is then stored in a battery to power electric motors, rather than combusting it. And because electric motors produce maximum torque from zero RPM, it’s ideal for heavy transport.
While there are challenges around the infrastructure and supply of hydrogen, the reality is it’s a clean and abundant fuel that’s perfect for heavy vehicles, where the size and charging times of batteries for purely electric propulsion remain barriers to their use in decarbonising fleets. The Hindenburg might be the first thing that comes to mind when talking hydrogen, but if we’re going to get to net zero by 2050, hydrogen power will be an important part of the energy mix.