Hydrogen mobility

How to shape the future of mobility?

After the Dieselgate scandal, many cities such as Paris, Madrid, Oslo, Athens and Mexico have announced their intention to ban thermal engines. Hydrogen mobility could be the solution. By 2030, the market share of hybrid or electric vehicles is expected to increase from 1% to 30%. By 2035, 450 million electric cars will be on the market. For now, global hydrogen consumption is still low, less than 2% of global energy. But according to the Hydrogen Council, this consumption could reach 25% by 2050.

01. Benefits

Advantages and benefits of hydrogen

The prospects for the hydrogen economy are good. It could play a major role in the energy transition since it has a high energy efficiency, emits no pollutants locally and can contribute to massively reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

  • Zero emission: the only emission from a fuel cell vehicle using hydrogen is water steam. Hydrogen is thus a clean fuel for cars without emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
  • Fast refuelling: hydrogen charging stations are quite similar to the traditional filling stations. As hydrogen vehicles don’t need to be plugged in to charge - unlike battery powered electric cars - the process of refuelling is quick.
  • Long driving range: fuel-cell vehicles also have a longer range than battery powered electric cars. They now have a range of 500 to 800 km.

02. Definition

What is hydrogen?

Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical element in the universe. It is a simple, gaseous body that enters into the composition of water. It's not a direct source of energy but rather an energy carrier. It serves primarily as a means of storing energy, especially for renewable energy when all their production can not be consumed. It can also be used to produce energy, to power hybrid vehicles or autonomous energy production systems. The heat produced during the hydrogen production process can also be used locally to heat buildings for example.

05. Challenges

Challenges & disadvantages

  1. Polluting production process: today, most hydrogen is produced in a conventional way, resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels, which releases a large amount of CO2. The main challenge is therefore to produce hydrogen using renewable energy sources like wind turbines and solar panels. This is the huge step towards green hydrogen that needs to be taken.
  2. Lack of charging stations: there are only few charging stations in the world. Even if some governments have the will and invest in the construction of hydrogen charging stations, the demand is still low and these terminals do not generate enough profit for the moment.
  3. Costly and highly inflammable: compared with the production of hydrogen from natural gas, the production of hydrogen through renewable energies is very expensive and less efficient. Moreover, huge investments in lithium-ion battery technology are rapidly driving down the price of this segment of electric vehicles.

This causes a decline in the prices of conventional electric cars compared to electric hydrogen cars.In addition, hydrogen remains extremely explosive. It must be stored and transported under pressure in bulky containers. This poses problems of security, logistics and profitability that still hinder its use.

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