Would Converting To Hydrogen Fueled Semis Benefit Trucking Industry?

Freight carriers, fleet owners, and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers may be viewing the recent hydrogen fuel revival with cautious optimism. The emphasis may lean more toward caution because hydrogen fueling station initiatives have been on the table before and never fully materialized.

Back when champion bodybuilder and Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger became California’s “Governator,” he signed legislation intended to eventually blanket the Golden State with zero-emission hydrogen stations. The state law he signed required 50 to 100 such stations by 2010. Less than 50 are reportedly operational more than a decade later. That being said, California’s recently renewed commitment to powering up passenger vehicles has attracted the attention of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle users and manufacturers.

“These announcements have created an unprecedented outlook for hydrogen fueling station network development in California,” a recent California Air Resources Board (CARB) report states. “By 2026, the total hydrogen fueling capacity in the state would be sufficient for cumulative deployment of approximately 250,000 FCEVs in California.”

California’s officials are focused on transitioning passenger vehicles in an effort to get the most bang for their zero-emissions buck. But some trucking industry insiders believe that hydrogen fuel technology is better suited for use in medium- and heavy-duty vehicles than small-engine cars.

“Hydrogen, which never made sense to me as a consumer powertrain, makes complete sense as a heavy-duty commercial powertrain,” iSeeCars.com analyst Karl Brauer reportedly said regarding engine capabilities.

That’s one of the reasons manufacturers may prefer to roll out hydrogen trucks rather than passenger vehicles. Automakers also consider the public’s enthusiasm for EVs as a potential deterrent to hydrogen vehicles. It’s no secret that Tesla ranks among the household name cars while few consumers even know hydrogen cars are available. California, for example, led the hydrogen initiative under Gov. Schwarzenegger and only has approximately 8,000 on the road today. Those low numbers are not necessarily an indicator that semi numbers couldn’t be far more robust if the fuel station infrastructure came to fruition.

Sustainable hydrogen fuel could reportedly cost less than half of what truckers are paying at the pump for diesel if mass-produced. Miles per gallon benefits could also prove four times better than their fossil fuel counterparts. However, the current realities of low hydrogen production and demand peg cost around $16 per kilogram, with about three kilograms adding up to one gallon.

By that same token, lowering the cost of hydrogen fuel is not necessarily out of the question. Should government intervene and provide incentives to ramp up production, a cost tipping point could come into play. Manufacturers appear to be wagering on the sustainable energy trend and Hyundai recently announced its plans to emerge as “the world’s first company to mass-produce heavy-duty fuel cell trucks.”

With reduced hydrogen costs and fewer refueling pit stops, truckers would also see benefits such as noise reduction and exposure to fewer harmful emissions, among others. No one denies the technologies and environmental benefits of hydrogen-powered semis. But can government and industry follow through this time and deliver the cost-effective infrastructure to make it a reality?

Sources: freightwaves.com, usatoday.com