Hydrogen Cars - Folly or Common Sense?
California’s experience with hydrogen fueling stations holds lessons that can help Hawaii avoid waste and accelerate its transition to clean energy. It is on track to spend over $400,000,000 on a network of 100 hydrogen fueling stations. The rationale seems to be built on the axiom “build it, and they will come.”
The reality is that it’s unlikely that ‘they’ (fuel-cell electric cars) will come fast enough to play a meaningful role in the decarbonization of ground transportation. Many factors are playing against it, including the following:
The lack of affordable renewable electricity. Green hydrogen requires electricity to produce, and electricity is expensive in Hawaii. Without abundant clean electricity, hydrogen will be very costly. Importantly, efforts to expand our renewable energy capacity must first be directed at the expected electricity demand of our economy.
Hydrogen fueling infrastructure is costly. Stations cost upward of $2,000,000.
Lack of manufacturer and dealer support. There are just a few fuel-cell cars available on the market today. Most manufacturers have pursued battery electric vehicles (BEVs) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
There are more compelling solutions that are available today. BEVs and PHEVs are abundant, come in many forms and across a wide range of prices. They are also more readily supported - dealer service stations abound, and fueling is done with readily available home and public charging systems.
The California Experiment
This Canary Media article explains the hydrogen network experiment in California, one of 2 markets in the US that have installed hydrogen fueling stations in the nation. It has installed 52 fueling stations. Hawaii is the other one, with one retail fueling station.
The article is worth a review as it outlines several key lessons. It also spotlights the $8B federal initiative to establish clean hydrogen hubs. “Clean hydrogen is expected to play a role in cutting emissions from hard-to-decarbonize industries such as ammonia, shipping and steel.”
Difficult = Opportunity
Hydrogen (the green kind) will play a critical role in marine and air transport. These transport sectors are difficult to electrify but can be powered by renewable liquid fuels. Creating renewable liquid fuels requires abundant, cheap, clean energy to produce green hydrogen, capture CO2, and generate the fuels.
Companies that can bring this solution to market (at scale and a competitive price) will succeed in helping to make sustainable marine and aviation happen. Hawaii has great potential to enable this - it has access to abundant renewable energy and is at a literal crossroads of critical transoceanic transport. With the proper focus and investment, the Aloha State can not only decarbonize its economy, but it can help satiate the globe’s growing appetite for green fuels.
