Hydrogen Fuel Cells: A Promising Green Alternative to Battery Electric Vehicles
Haley Zaremba

While the battery electric vehicle (BEV) market has been growing rapidly over the last decade, several automakers are also investing in research and development into an alternative green technology - hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Many believe that hydrogen could be the key to decarbonising heavy industry, providing clean heating, and running greener vehicles. Countries worldwide have invested heavily in renewable energy sources to generate electricity; however, this does not provide the fuel needed to power certain operations. By contrast, hydrogen can be used in a similar way to conventional oil and gas-derived fuels, making it possible to power cars with clean hydrogen rather than petrol or diesel. 

FCEVs are powered by hydrogen fuel. They are typically more efficient than conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and produce only water vapour and warm air rather than exhaust pipe emissions. Hydrogen can be produced in several ways; grey hydrogen is produced from natural gas, or methane, using steam methane reformation, while blue hydrogen is produced the same way but using carbon capture and storage (CCS) to reduce emissions. Green hydrogen is the cleanest form of the fuel, produced using clean electricity from surplus renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power, to electrolyse water. 

However, by the end of 2021, almost 47 percent of the global hydrogen production came from natural gas, 27 percent from coal, 22 percent from oil, and just 4 percent from electrolysis. 

FCEVs are powered using a propulsion system like those found in BEVs, where energy stored as hydrogen is converted to electricity by the fuel cell. Hydrogen is stored in a tank in the vehicle, just like in ICE vehicles. FCEVs can be refuelled in around 5 minutes and have a driving range of more than 300 miles. 

Despite being lesser known than BEVs by the average consumer, the market for FCEVs is beginning to grow. In 2009, the Obama administration claimed that fuel cell technology was over a decade away, and there has been significant progress in that time. The global FCEVs market is expected to grow from $2.5 billion in 2022 to more than $30 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of over 25 percent. This is largely being driven by government pressure on automakers to decarbonise and the introduction of bans on the sale of new ICE vehicles in several cities and countries in the 2030s. In 2022, Venture Capital firms invested an estimated $2.6 billion in 192 hydrogen startups, demonstrating the growing interest in the sector.

In Asia, it is believed that the introduction of FCEVs could help India significantly reduce its emissions, in support of its target for net-zero emissions by 2070. The transport sector contributes around 8.4 percent of India's carbon footprint at present. Despite an openness from the government to shift to electric, the widespread use of heavy vehicles like trucks and buses makes it difficult to run transport on batteries alone. This is why hydrogen fuel cells present a promising alternative. 

Extended driving ranges and quick refuelling times make FCEVs more suitable for use as public transport vehicles. The southwest state of Kerala has been an early adopter of BEVs in India, with EVs contributing 5.2 percent of passenger vehicles and 13.5 percent of two-wheelers. The Kerala Green Hydrogen Valley project, led by the Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT), aims to establish a fully integrated hydrogen ecosystem to power passenger, freight, and water transport using hydrogen. 

In the Middle East, the Saudi Transport General Authority (TGA) announced in October that the Kingdom intends to switch to hydrogen-powered vehicles for taxis in the private sector in a pilot program. The move aligns with the government’s Vision 2030 Saudi Green Initiative. If successful, the scheme could provide a blueprint for the wider rollout of fuel cell taxis and other passenger vehicles.

In Europe, the hydrogen company First Hydrogen Corp. announced plans in September to expand into the European market. The company will open offices in Germany, which launched a national hydrogen strategy in 2020. In 2023, Germany also drafted legislation for a 9,700-kilometer hydrogen highway, where existing natural gas infrastructure will be used to facilitate the movement of hydrogen transportation. First Hydrogen has already seen success in the U.K. market with the launch of its “First Hydrogen LCV Trial’, in which it tested the performance of FCEVs against BEVs. 

Despite significant technological progress and the growing interest in FCEVs, a 2024 report by IDTechEx estimated that just 4 percent of all zero-emission road vehicles (ZEVs) will be powered by hydrogen in two decades. However, it suggested that around one-fifth of ZEV trucks could be powered by hydrogen in 2044. The expansion of the blue, grey and green hydrogen markets could help encourage greater innovation in FCEVs, alongside new national hydrogen policies. 

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com 

  

 

 

Haley Zaremba is a writer and journalist based in Mexico City. She has extensive experience writing and editing environmental features, travel pieces, local news in the Bay Area, and music/culture reviews.

 

 

 

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