Hydrogen Cars

[StereoNET]

 

Just spotted this on FB. Probably old news for some, but new to me.

 

Many years ago, in my previous career I worked as an engineer in the automotive techology manufacturing space. I was involved in the part of the company that did destructive and non-destructive (accelerated) testing on engines, components, and tech products, as well as Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) testing.

 

Anyway, long story short - one morning we came into work to discover that overnight, a new engine miraculously appeared in one of the dyno testing cells. It was all top secret, and it was all well above our pay grades. There were no NDAs or anything like that, we just had zero info, and the testing was all being done by external contractors. We were just told to keep a wide berth. 

 

It ran for around 3 weeks, virtually 24/7. Then as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared again and nothing was said. All we knew is that was a new Australian invented hydrogen engine, and apparently the proof of concept (which was what was being tested) was satisfactory, and a large "marine themed" oil company had purchased the IP, and all rights. Likely to put it on a shelf I guess, in hindsight!

 

This was back in ~1998-1999.

 

I know very little (nothing) about Hydrogen powered vehicles other than the odd article in the press in the last couple of years. But it seems the new era is upon us. 

[NonPlayableCharacter]

I would like to think hydrogen will become increasingly prevalent and form part of a multi-fuel market offering that also includes traditional ICE (including synthetic/green fuels), hybrids and EV. The entire market will be transitional for decades until it coalesces based on technology, sentiment, and also likely political pressures.

 

The crux of hydrogen's potential stems from producing it as a resource from its potential sources (electrolysis especially, although some other chemical processes we are yet to explore may reveal hitherto un-imagined processes too).

 

The same conundrum exists for hydrogen production through electrolysis of water, as exists for non-solar EV charging. It takes a lot of electrical energy to produce significant enough volume of hydrogen. It has the potential to green-wash every bit as much as the entire EV sector.

 

Andrew Forrest published a paper a couple of years ago that alluded to potential solutions by creating "run-of-river" hydro generation for hydrogen production. It was thin on detail, but seemed plausible if the infrastructure can be built in a cost-effective manner. It remains unknown ,due to specific locations not being identified, as to what other peripheral environmental impacts might eventuate (nature habitat for flora and fauna etc).

 

At the risk of putting the cat amongst the pigeons, nuclear could be a viable option at-scale for electrolysis too.

 

I am sure the transportation and storage concerns would be solved quickly if hydrogen production from efficient means becomes both viable and ultimately funded to get it to economic critical mass (no pun intended versus my previous paragraph).

 

Whilst there is already a thread dedicated to EVs ( @betty boop ) and I do not wish to promote thread dilution, for the purposes of discussing the increasing options for fuel that exist for private vehicles it is also worth noting that the advent of oil as a fuel saw over a century before it finally overtook coal as the primary fuel for industry and transportation. This is why I think we are going to be in transition for decades as per my opening paragraph. The take-away is that this multi-fuel, multiplayer field will likely take a long while to settle into its ultimate direction.

 

Fascinating.

[aussievintage]

17 hours ago, El Tel said:

The same conundrum exists for hydrogen production through electrolysis of water, as exists for non-solar EV charging. It takes a lot of electrical energy to produce significant enough volume of hydrogen. It has the potential to green-wash every bit as much as the entire EV sector.

 

 

Yes, we really really need to solve our major energy problems first.

 

17 hours ago, El Tel said:

At the risk of putting the cat amongst the pigeons, nuclear could be a viable option at-scale for electrolysis too.

 

uhuh definitely

 

17 hours ago, El Tel said:

I am sure the transportation and storage concerns would be solved quickly if hydrogen production from efficient means becomes both viable and ultimately funded to get it to economic critical mass

 

 

I read California is reporting  that hydrogen cars are "stalled by hydrogen shortages and soaring fuel prices".  https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/04/few-stations-and-200-to-fill-up-life-on-californias-hydrogen-highway/

Edited December 6, 2024 by aussievintage

[Briz Vegas]

The bat mobile was nuclear.  Just saying.