Mercedes, Toyota, IVECO, Daimler Truck, Hyundai – the race is on for the major automotive manufacturers and concerns to deliver zero-emission heavy vehicle solutions. More projects and coalitions are underway, aiming to create the conditions for the development of a full hydrogen long-range transport market chain. Described as the best alternative for vehicles on long-haul and international routes, hydrogen has the potential to revolutionize the trucking industry and navigate it towards total zero-emission in the coming years.
Hydrogen transportation is one of the most common buzzwords about the global drive to decarbonize the economy. However, this is not a new concept. Research enabling the use of hydrogen in transport and industry has been carried out since the 19th century. They experienced their first major boom in the early 1970s. This had to do with the fuel crisis. At that time, the concept of “freeing hydrogen from water” was put forth by, among others, Prof. John Bockris, thus coining the term “hydrogen economy”. At the time, its definition was narrow and referred only to the replacement of conventional fossil fuels in transportation with hydrogen fuel. At present, the importance of hydrogen is growing, and the global development of the hydrogen economy is indicated as a remedy for the dynamically progressing dangerous climate changes and is becoming one of the most important objectives of the climate strategy of the European Union and the countries around the world.
Hydrogen trucking
Recently, the potential of using hydrogen in road haulage has been increasingly highlighted. Although the technology is still growing, experts predict that it will be the next area of rapid and, more importantly, effective deployment and we will soon be able to see hydrogen trucks on Europe’s roads. Major manufacturers such as Daimler Truck, Hyundai, Toyota, and IVECO are currently working on the project. This is a good sign because more action in this area is necessary and it is essential to switch to alternative fuels in heavy goods transport as soon as possible. According to the ICCT report “CO2 emissions and fuel consumption standards for heavy-duty vehicles in the European Union,” it is responsible for the highest level of carbon dioxide emissions (73. 2%) of all modes of transport in the European Union. Reducing this level will make a real contribution to the planned emission reductions across the transport sector.
H2Haul
One of the first projects to accelerate the transformation of heavy transportation is the H2Haul program, which began in February 2019 and is expected to be completed in 2024. The project is financed by EU funds and implemented in cooperation with IVECO and VDL. It aims to develop and deploy 16 heavy-duty vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells, as well as create an innovative refueling infrastructure for the large capacity. Under the program, manufacturers are focusing on developing and testing new types of hydrogen trucks – box trucks and tractors.
In the coming years, the solutions will be rolled out to the first four European locations (France, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium) and analyzed in terms of performance and life cycle costs according to use. The data obtained is expected to facilitate the implementation of solutions by other market players and ensure further development of zero-emission truck transport.
H2Accelerate
Last December, the largest private companies and automotive concerns – Daimler Truck AG, IVECO, OMV, Shell, and the Volvo Group – decided to work together on zero-emission trucking. The H2Accelerate co-op is expected to seek public support to fund early projects and ultimately activate a new market area. The companies’ activities will also include communicating the technical and commercial feasibility of hydrogen trucks and encouraging public authorities to develop policies that enable the rapid and sustainable activation of the zero-emission long-haul sector.
The coalition aims to bring heavy hydrogen transport to the market on a mass scale as soon as possible. According to those involved, synchronized investments over the next decade will enable a full hydrogen chain – from zero-carbon hydrogen production plants, large-scale hydrogen distribution systems, to a network of high-capacity refueling stations for liquid and gaseous hydrogen.
The project was divided into two key phases. The first includes preliminary projects: the implementation of about 100 hydrogen-powered trucks and the construction of about 20 high-capacity stations in selected locations and regional clusters, as well as testing the solution. The second phase involves networking the clusters and extending the project’s reach to the whole of Europe. It predicts that after 2025 the production volume of hydrogen trucks will increase to several thousand per year and in a short time more than 10,000 new vehicles will be on European roads, which will be served by an extensive network of refueling stations in the main transport corridors.
In July 2021, seven months after the collaboration was announced, H2Accelerate published a white paper, “The Demand for Hydrogen Transportation,” which discusses the evidence for key aspects of hydrogen use in transportation. First, hydrogen enables rapid and increased deployment of renewable energy through large-scale energy storage and distribution. The second is the ever-growing demand for hydrogen as the only zero-emission fuel that will provide fast refueling and long-range. The paper demonstrates that hydrogen is the best tool for decarbonizing long-haul transportation.
Why is hydrogen the best alternative to conventional fuels?
Freight transport is constantly evolving. In 2019 alone, 388,000 new trucks were sold in Europe (up 0. 9%), with a total of around 7 million vehicles on European roads. Unfortunately, as many as 98.3% of them are diesel-powered, and less than 1% are trucks with alternative propulsion systems. It is therefore hardly surprising that the sector is highly carbon-intensive and that the authorities are increasingly focused on the transition to green solutions. Thanks to its properties, hydrogen makes it possible to reduce emissions, especially for those vehicles that operate on long-distance and international routes. The only byproduct of the process is pure water, making the hydrogen environmentally friendly. The parameters of electric motors in hydrogen trucks are similar to electric vehicles (BEVs), but unlike BEVs, they eliminate the barrier of short-range, long charging times, and extra weight. Ballard Power data indicates that currently proposed solutions provide refueling to a full tank in about 10 minutes and up to 400 km of range on a single refueling. That’s performance compared to conventional internal combustion engine trucks. Hydrogen vehicles also guarantee higher energy efficiency and noise reduction, allowing deliveries in urban areas without affecting the comfort of residents and drivers.
Barriers to the development of hydrogen trucking
Lack of adequate hydrogen distribution infrastructure is currently the biggest barrier to the development of hydrogen transport in Poland and Europe. Especially when we are talking about long-distance transport. One mobile refueling station has recently been operating in Poland. And ambitions in this area are high. The Polish Hydrogen Strategy provides for the construction of up to 32 stations by 2030, and according to the European Commission’s objectives contained in the Fit for 55 packages, it is necessary to provide min. 1 charging station every 150 km of the TEN-T network and min. 1 station ensuring the availability of hydrogen in liquid form. Only if these conditions are met will there be a smooth transition to carbon-free solutions in a sector so important for decarbonization. The activities of bodies such as H2Accelerate and H2Haul, therefore, become crucial to the development of hydrogen trucking over the next decade.
