Automotive Engineering - March 2023 - 30

READER
FEEDBACK
Time for Hydrogen
Good article on hydrogen. The level of investment being
made in fuel-cell development, the maturity of the FC technology,
the supplier commitments, and elevated OEM interest
all point to H2 finally arriving in production-vehicle applications
in the short term. The infrastructure support is already
starting. Putin's invasion of Ukraine has made industry and
energy utilities realize that a single solution for transportation
(and energy security) does not
exist. And as your article points
out, EVs aren't the right choice
for moving big payloads.
CG
Honda Motor Co.
While I appreciate the points
being made about the shortcomings
of BEVs as the complete
solution for the world's
low-carbon transportation
" fuel, " the article [February AE]
discounts the major disadvantages
of hydrogen as a potential
solution.
As described in the 2003
Bossel white paper on the
" Hydrogen Economy, " while
there is a way of distributing
hydrogen throughout a continent,
there is no foreseeable
efficient way of doing this due
to the basic physical and chemical
properties of H2. In addition,
the well-to-wheels CO2 efficiency
of hydrogen needs to
factor in the energy lost in electrolysis
and compression. Even with the Bossel paper updated
to reflect 80% electrolysis efficiency (instead of 60%) the
overall efficiency of getting hydrogen into a vehicle tank cannot
exceed 68%.
The idea that this is still a good solution if all of the energy
comes from renewable sources does not ring true to me.
Solar and wind power represent expensive investments. Does
the idea of wasting at least 32% of a clean energy source
seem sensible?
You may say that judging hydrogen based on a 20-year-old
study is unreasonable. But aside from the update on the potential
efficiency of electrolysis, the rest of the problems with distribution,
safety and efficiency are just based on the chemical
and physical properties of hydrogen which are not about to
change. There are myriad other problems like the required purity
of the air and fuel supplies for fuel cells, fuel cell precious
metal requirements, and a really big issue: liability. Since hydrogen
cannot be odorized (nothing is soluble in H2), how can H2
vehicles be safely parked in a garage or building? What about
tunnels? What are the insurance companies going to say about
this? If NASA can't eliminate hydrogen leaks in space-launch
vehicles, who really thinks that
leak-free hydrogen fleets, refueling
and distribution and storage
are likely to happen?
Carbon-neutral (or -negative)
liquid fuels are mentioned as a
transition solution, but based on
the above, it seems to be much
more robust and cost-effective
long-term solution than hydrogen.
Efficient vehicles with 4550%
efficient ICE and hybrid
systems can meet or exceed the
well-to-wheels CO2 efficiency of
proposed hydrogen fuel cell, if
run on carbon-neutral liquid
fuels, without requiring a new
and extremely expensive infrastructure.
It is apparent that
while a hydrogen infrastructure
can be created, it will be one
that we will regret due to investment
and operational cost
and hazards.
It is important to note that
modern clean-diesel engines running
carbon-neutral liquid fuels
are a more practical and beneficial
solution than either hydrogen or batteries. Perhaps AE can
do an article on this topic?
David Roth
Groton, New York
David, thanks for reading AE and for taking the time to write.
We appreciate your insights. I agree with the potential challenges,
including the infrastructure build-out, and noted in the
article that H2 molecules are indeed notorious 'escapees.' I
believe engineers will find solutions for the sealing issue. For
commercial applications, HFCs are a far more realistic solution
than 10,000-lb. slabs of lithium. And, NASA has proven it
doesn't have all the answers, as we know. - Lindsay Brooke
READERS: Let us know what you think about Automotive
Engineering magazine. Email the Editor at Lindsay.Brooke@
sae.org. We appreciate your comments and reserve the
right to edit for brevity and clarity.
30 March 2023
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/sae/23AE02/index.php http://Lindsay.Brooke@sae.org
Automotive Engineering - March 2023

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