Oct 02 2020
IRU outlines fuel and technology landscape on road to hydrogen
Speaking today at a webinar organised by ACEA, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, and Hydrogen Europe, IRU Advocacy Director Matthias Maedge outlined the landscape for commercial road transport firms on the long term road to hydrogen as an alternative fuel.
As the voice of over 3.5 million transport operators, including both goods and passenger transport companies, IRU considers renewable green hydrogen as one of the best long term solutions to meet 2050 emissions targets.
A key question is the medium term transitional fuels that will help reduce emissions over the next decade, and be practically, operationally and financially feasible, especially for long distance heavy vehicle transports.
Clarity needed for vehicle investment plans
Transport operators need clarity on what they should be planning to invest in over the coming decade, especially given the state of the industry’s finances due to the pandemic. Forecast revenue losses globally for goods transport firms in 2020 are now expected to reach EUR 580 billion due the impacts of COVID-19.
In the EU, road transport operators purchase up to 1,000 trucks per day (prior to the pandemic). The view of an operator is very simple: the product has to be available, flexible and competitive in price. There is still not a market offering that can meet these requirements. And most importantly, operators can’t plan and finance investments based on promises and hopes.
Battery electric vehicles are clearly a good solution for short distances and urban environments, and possibly for medium ranges (500 km+) in the future, but even that remains questionable due to its very low energy storage ability.
CNG is a solution for medium ranges and LNG for long haul (1,000km+). Hydrogen has an even higher energy content than natural gas or diesel, but a low energy density, which makes gaseous hydrogen a good medium range fuel. Longer ranges can be achieved via liquefaction which poses an additional but possible challenge.
This is why IRU signed a declaration with ACEA and Hydrogen Europe last year to promote hydrogen in the revision of the EU Directive on Alternative Fuel Infrastructure, including pushing for the addition of mandatory hydrogen targets for long distance commercial transport.
From an operator perspective, it makes more sense to focus on hydrogen for heavier loads and longer distances than putting hopes on battery technology. Practical real-life use cases will determine the solution. Now, operators buy LNG/CNG trucks, as they are available, competitive in price, deliver on the purpose and refuelling is fast. Hydrogen can achieve this too, but it will take some time. Read more
Source: IRU