An Encouraging Breakthrough in the Production of Hydrogen for Fueling Future Vehicles

[saforwardlook]

I saw this news item this afternoon that may well help address climate change effects more broadly with more options than we have seen so far. Besides batteries, fuel cell vehicles may well be much more likely given this breakthrough in producing H2 more inexpensively and more easily that fuel cells rely on for fueling them. I also posted a thread on Cummins late last month looking to develop diesel engine replacements fueled by hydrogen directly instead of diesel for its heavy duty engine architectures going forward: ( Future of Diesel in Heavy Duty Vehicles May Well Be Hydrogen - Cummins). Vehicle manufacturers such as Hyundai, Toyota and Honda as well as GM and others have developed very cost effective and reliable fuel cell power plants for motor vehicles that are refueled with H2 instead of battery technologies. So this appears to be a very encouraging breakthrough: Israeli scientists make breakthrough on producing ‘green’ hydrogen fuel

There remains the issue of developing an H2 refueling infrastructure for supplying it readily around the world since H2 embrittlement of pipes is a major problem with developing such an infrastructure but it seems that too could be overcome in time with some further effort too.

Israel has been notable as well as China in promoting more college education for its citizens by incentivizing it with grants to those who show promise in order to make it more affordable compared to the attitude in the U.S. where it has become so expensive to attend that only the very wealthy can afford it. By promoting and underwriting the cost of attendance particularly in the sciences is smart IMO since the advances in technology will pay for itself and promote a more powerful and economically sound nation as exemplified in this case with Israel. With China having usurped all of our manufacturing technology and continuing to gain ground in many ways economically, they are becoming a major concern going forward as their aggressive behavior to overtake Taiwan and thereby rule the traffic through the South China Seas in time, they are very likely to be our deepest military concern going forward. They are eying what is going on in Ukraine intently with a vision of applying the same maneuver relative to Taiwan.

Anyway, seeing some encouraging signs on the horizon relative to the growing weather effects such as Hurricane Ian in Florida last month brings hope going forward.

Also, I am not looking to make this into a political thread but only to show a ray of hope in a world increasingly overcome with pandemics, inflation, rising costs of fuel, unrest in general and many other problems that make life so much more difficult lately. Your opinions may vary as to the hope embedded in this new development.

 

[330dTA]

Yamaha has already built and tested a ”gasoline” V8 running directly on hydrogen. Those who had opportunity to drive the test vehicle were very enthusiastic about it. Porsche has made computer simulations with same goals.

I’d put my bet on those. The fuel cell technology is far too complicated, compared to running only slightly modified present ICE’s with just change in fuel.

 

[thethee]

I've often wondered why hydrogen tech hasn't developed sooner. There already are cars running LPG (and propane?) which is also a high pressure gas container. Maybe I'm oversimplifying things but it's pretty much the same working principle right?

 

[LocuMob]

It doesn't matter as long as the main production method for hydrogen is natural gas or other fossil fuels. There are other newer methods, but none that are cost effective. And they always tout using electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar, but it doesn't mean that's the source for electricity used to make hydrogen.

There are four main sources for the commercial production of hydrogen: natural gas, oil, coal, and electrolysis; which account for 48%, 30%, 18% and 4% of the world's hydrogen production respectively.[6] Fossil fuels are the dominant source of industrial hydrogen.[7] Carbon dioxide can be separated from natural gas with a 70–85% efficiency for hydrogen production and from other hydrocarbons to varying degrees of efficiency.[8] Specifically, bulk hydrogen is usually produced by the steam reforming of methane or natural gas.[9]


Steam methane reforming (SMR) is a method of producing hydrogen from natural gas, which is mostly methane (CH4). It is currently the cheapest source of industrial hydrogen. Nearly 50% of the world's hydrogen is being produced by this method.[10] The process consists of heating the gas to between 700–1,100 °C (1,292–2,012 °F) in the presence of steam and a nickel catalyst. The resulting endothermic reaction breaks up the methane molecules and forms carbon monoxide and molecular hydrogen (H2). The carbon monoxide gas can then be passed with steam over iron oxide or other oxides and undergo a water-gas shift reaction to obtain further quantities of H2. The downside to this process is that its byproducts are major atmospheric release of CO2, CO and other greenhouse gases.[6] Depending on the quality of the feedstock (natural gas, rich gases, naphtha, etc.), one ton of hydrogen produced will also produce 9 to 12 tons of CO2, a greenhouse gas that may be captured.[11]

9-12 tons of CO2 for a ton of hydrogen?

I'm still wondering where the environmentally friendly part comes in.

I'll keep driving my old cars and leave a negligible footprint on this planet my without feeling the least bit guilty, as oil will never go away.

 

[330dTA]

I suppose they plan on multiplying the production of electricity based on renewables... but in the light of numbers you show it seems like a steep road uphill. A very steep road indeed. Meanwhile, it would seem most logical to use the methane (CH4) as it is, and convert the gasoline engines to use it. That can be done very simply.

 

[LocuMob]

convert the gasoline engines to use it

Or just keep using gasoline. They will continue to make plastic, and that comes from oil. So if they will continue to refine oil, what will they do with the gasoline that is made as a result of refining? The desire to ban gasoline powered cars fails to address this elephant in the room.

 

[330dTA]

There are more and more businesses making renewable methane out of household waste, as well as out of cattle manure here in Finland. I think that is the way to go. No need for fossil fuels at all, in just a few years.

 

[LocuMob]

There are more and more businesses making renewable methane out of household waste, as well as out of cattle manure here in Finland. I think that is the way to go. No need for fossil fuels at all, in just a few years.

That still doesn't explain where the gasoline will go. You can't pick and choose what products you make with refining. And the world won't abandon their plastic obsession anytime soon. I'm all for having cheap renewable fuel, but we aren't anywhere near there. I work in the renewable industry and see what's coming down the pipe, things are still in their infancy, and have a lot of hurdles to become a driving force in the markets they are starting out in. And renewables are far less "green" than one might think.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

And the world won't abandon their plastic obsession anytime soon

This is a worse offender than ICE cars. Royal Dutch Shell just built a monstrosity of a plant right on the Ohio river west of Pittsburgh Pa. All to crack petroleum for the base for making plastics. This place makes the lighting at the airport look like a single bulb porch light. They built a huge fenced in area, looks like a cooling tower except no water flowing down over the fins. From across the river as you go up and down the road elevation at night you can see the giant flaring flame inside this building, all hidden away from sight. Just like the flaring stacks at refineries (which is what this plant is, but not called that), under wraps so it looks eco friendly. Plastics is what will do mankind in. I used to load out of a place by State College Pa. All they made were plastic shopping bags, 1,000,000+ bags on a 53' trailer. I probably loaded over 100,000,000 bags out of that place, all sent out to the west coast.