Hydrogen – Fuel Cells or Fool Cells

According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk they are Fool Cells. Not surprisingly, he’s not a fan since his Tesla mega empire is firmly rooted in the use of lithium-ion batteries. Once he may have been believed but that belief is being savagely shaken by educational institutions, government and some of the world’s biggest and most prestigious multinational companies.

Australia’s Hydrogen Strategy according to government

The development of our hydrogen resources could enhance Australia’s energy security, create Australian jobs and build an export industry valued in the billions. We have all the pieces needed to create this new industry and supply clean hydrogen to the world: the energy resources, expertise and infrastructure. The National Hydrogen Strategy sets a path to build Australia’s hydrogen industry; a plan to accelerate the commercialisation of hydrogen, reduce technical uncertainties and build up our domestic supply chains and production capabilities. The Strategy looks to initially concentrate hydrogen use in niche hubs that will foster domestic demand. The Australian Government has committed more than $146 million to hydrogen projects that will help us learn more about how hydrogen can form part of Australia’s energy mix to help drive down prices and emissions, as well as provide a foundation of expertise to build a competitive export industry. Every state and territory has regions with excellent prospects for hydrogen production. Through this Strategy, all of Australia’s state governments are committing to remove barriers to industry development. This includes through nationally consistent and smart regulation, enhanced engagement with customer countries, and in ensuring safety concerns are addressed. The Australian Government will track progress and monitor emerging industry changes here and overseas so that all jurisdictions can respond to market developments. Clean hydrogen as a fuel is now poised to become a reality. The COAG Energy Council Hydrogen Working Group has found that Australian companies and investors are ready to apply their ingenuity and considerable experience to activating the supply of hydrogen. The challenge is to develop the early demand that will enable the suppliers to begin their journey down the cost curve. The best way to start this journey is for governments and industry to work together in the manner outlined in the Strategy. In late 2018 the Council of Australian Governments Energy Council agreed to establish a Hydrogen Working Group, chaired by Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel, to develop a National Hydrogen Strategy that can achieve this vision.

Electrifying shift to hydrogen

Australia has for years appeared to focus squarely on electric vehicles, or at least that was the appearance, but it has come to light – very rapidly – that the focus has shifted to hydrogen. Within a space of a month or so the media has been inundated with information about hydrogen hubs, hydrogen vehicles, hydrogen research … even the government, which is usually well behind embracing new technology, jumped in wholeheartedly with funding. In February 2021, National Energy Resources Australia (NERA) announced a $1.85M investment in 13 hydrogen clusters across all Australian states and territories as part of a drive to establish a nationwide hydrogen cluster, which will foster a multi-million-dollar globally competitive hydrogen industry. Led by NERA, the national cluster (which would operate as a virtual network) will establish a global identity and a recognised brand for Australian hydrogen technology and expertise. It will also aid the development of the hydrogen supply chain, reduce overlaps and identify gaps in the development, deployment, and commercialisation of new hydrogen focussed technologies. The establishment of the regional hydrogen clusters follows the conclusion of the selection process of Regional Hydrogen Technology Cluster Seed Funding Program announced in September 2020. NERA was also able to leverage a range of funding commitments from state and territory governments around the country, as well as industry financial support. “These regional clusters, all of which have the support of their state and territory governments, have been established around key, existing hydrogen projects and technology supply chains in strategic locations that have a demonstrated capacity to support them. This will ensure long-term local cohesion and sustainable capability across the emerging hydrogen value chain,” Miranda Taylor, NERA CEO said. NERA implemented the Regional Hydrogen Technology Clusters Program to help build the skills, capacities and commercialisation opportunities necessary to unlock Australia’s enormous potential to create a globally competitive hydrogen industry. Ms Taylor said this was a crucial step and necessary to unlock Australia’s enormous potential to create a globally competitive hydrogen industry that, according to a 2019 Deloitte report, could increase Australia’s GDP up to $26 billion. In November 2019, the Council for Australian Governments (COAG) released the National Hydrogen Strategy, which detailed the development of a national cluster, to be led by NERA. In February and March 2020, NERA held 11 workshops across Australia, consulting with almost 300 hydrogen industry professionals and interested stakeholders. In September 2020, it called for expressions of interest (EOIs) to the Regional Hydrogen Technology Clusters Seed Funding Program from businesses and consortiums with a clear focus on commercial outcomes, that demonstrated a commitment and capability to establish and/or grow a hydrogen technology cluster in a specified region within Australia. EOIs closed in October 2020. g

Deakin to develop with Paccar

A Hydrogen Test Bed project is up and running at Deakin University’s Warrnambool campus. The five-year, $2.3 million industryled research project is being delivered in partnership with Future Fuels CRC and is a key step in establishing South West Victoria as a hub of hydrogen expertise. Deakin already has a strong energy focus, establishing its own microgrid on the Waurn Ponds campus using solar power to generate around 7.3 megawatts, coupled with a 1MW/2MWh LiFePO4 battery for use onsite. “Hydrogen was seen as the next type of fuel, so we’ve been developing this Hycel facility at Warrnambool to leverage what Deakin is good at, which is manufacturing and materials,” said Bernard Rolfe – Deakin University’s Professor of Advanced Manufacturing (Mechanical Engineering) and Director of 3DEC (Deakin Digital Design and Engineering Centre) in the School of Engineering. “We’ve been looking at setting up facilities to manufacture fuel cells, looking at safety issues and also distribution, materials and processes for hydrogen. “We’ve been investigating ways to manufacture fuel cells and how we can make them larger, more robust and affordable.” In the transport industry, local passenger cars are likely to be electric but with heavy haulage, the requirement is that trucks will drive for long periods without recharging while carrying a load and that doesn’t suit an electric set-up. Large batteries are “non-revenue cargo”. Average refuelling time for diesel is around five minutes and hydrogen is around 15 minutes at current estimates but a battery recharge would take about three to four hours. Time is money in the transport industry. Underlining the fuel cell development underway at Deakin University is a relationship that has been forged between Deakin and Kenworth/PACCAR. Kenworth has 10 hydrogen fuel cell trucks in Los Angeles, and one is said to be arriving in Australia late this year. “We’ll be doing some performance analysis on that with Kenworth. The idea is to look at the performance to determine what we need from a fuel cell and how to improve it,” Professor Rolfe said. “Currently they are using two passenger vehicle fuel cells, each about 90-kW, but a single cell over 200kW would be ideal to reduce complexity and take up minimum space for the powertrain with maximum space for payload. “For us there’s a global competition to develop a high-powered fuel cell; there’s very few out there in the order of 200kW. We want to be part of that competition and have Australia manufacturing things. Without the Hycel facility to prove innovation at scale, Australian research has barriers to entry into global supply chains.” Mercedes is also investing in hydrogen fuel cell trucks and there’ve been moves in the US with some start-ups looking at hydrogen fuel cell trucks. There is definitely a move in heavy haulage to hydrogen fuel cells. The Hydrogen Test Bed facility is another piece of the puzzle – how to use existing and new pipe networks to efficiently transport hydrogen. Deakin University Vice-Chancellor Professor Iain Martin said the installation of the Hydrogen Test Bed facility is a vital step in the establishment of a hydrogen hub of expertise in the region. “Deakin is responding to the needs of governments and industry to deliver research that unlocks the potential of hydrogen and regional Victoria,” Professor Martin said. The establishment phase of the Hycel Technology Hub was backed with $2 million in Commonwealth Government funding, announced by Education Minister the Hon Dan Tehan in December 2019. Deakin’s Hycel is a ground-breaking hydrogen research, testing and training initiative in South West Victoria and the new Training Testbed will see South West TAFE and industry partners start to prepare a workforce ready to embrace Australia’s hydrogen economy. Plumbers, engineers and technicians, regulatory bodies and first responder agencies will soon begin training in hydrogen at Hycel. In the initial stages, four Deakin University staff are located at the Hycel facility and more will be located there in the future. “Initially in the tens, but looking at 100 people in the medium term,” Professor Rolfe said. “Part of it is bringing in people not necessarily on the university side. We’ve been setting up relationships with the local TAFE so they are onboard with how hydrogen can be used safely. There’s a lot to learn about hydrogen.” Engineers of all types, from chemical to mechanical engineers and mechatronic engineers, will find a niche at Hycel because a lot of what the fuel cell involves is power management, system integration and better regulation of the cell itself. There will be materials and manufacturing engineers as well. In terms of looking at the infrastructure, there will be civil and materials engineering involvement. Professor Martin said Hycel’s industry-led approach focuses on developing hydrogen technologies and training that support Australia’s burgeoning hydrogen industry. Hydrogen fuel cells are currently very costly, but Professor Rolfe said that drawing on the University’s expertise in materials and manufacturing would get those costs down and make hydrogen cells very attractive for heavy haulage. Others can also see that, which is why most major truck manufacturers are also powering down that road.

Member for Wannon Dan Tehan and Deakin Vice-Chancellor Proffesor Ian Martin.

Swinburne powers up with CSIRO

CSIRO welcomed Victorian government funding that will enable it to partner with Swinburne University of Technology to establish the Victorian Hydrogen Hub (VH2). VH2 is designed to bring researchers, industry partners and businesses together to test, trial and demonstrate new and emerging hydrogen technologies. Under the partnership, CSIRO will receive more than $1 million towards the development of a refuelling station to fuel and test hydrogen vehicles. The refuelling station, to be located at CSIRO’s Clayton campus in Victoria, is a key milestone in the development of CSIRO’s national Hydrogen Industry Mission, which aims to support Australia’s clean hydrogen industry. Swinburne University of Technology has received a $10 million injection from the Victorian Government to build the Victorian Hydrogen Hub with the CSIRO. Swinburne’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Pascale Quester said the Victorian Hydrogen Hub would house a demonstration hydrogen refuelling station with hydrogen production and storage facilities. “As Australia considers energy alternatives, we know hydrogen is clean and will be cost-competitive but a major barrier to it becoming a fuel source for cars and trucks is how to refuel, and the lack of refuelling infrastructure,” CSIRO Executive Director, Growth, Nigel Warren said. “The refueller is a significant step towards removing that barrier.” Professor Quester said the University was excited by the development. “Swinburne’s strong partnership with CSIRO means that we will be able to build on our focus of digitalisation and Industry 4.0, and support industry to enhance its understanding of what hydrogen can deliver.” The refueller project will demonstrate a fleet trial for CSIRO hydrogen vehicles with the potential for expansion, providing refuelling opportunities to other zero emission Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) in the local area. CSIRO is engaging with vehicle companies such as Toyota Australia to support the future adoption and supply of FCEVs in Australia. “Toyota Australia is delighted to support the development of this new hydrogen refuelling station in Victoria with next-generation Mirai FCEVs,” Toyota Australia’s Manager of Future Technologies, Matt MacLeod said. “This is a significant step towards having the necessary refuelling infrastructure to help grow hydrogen opportunities in Australia.” Construction of the Victorian Hydrogen Hub is expected to take 18 months. Swinburne has also partnered with Germany’s ARENA 2036, a research facility that brings industry on campus at the University of Stuttgart, to engage the global hydrogen economy. Working together since 2016, joint research projects focusing on light weighting and digitalisation have facilitated new business partnerships between Australia and Germany. “The Victorian Hydrogen Hub will be connected to a matching facility to be built by ARENA 2036 in Germany, to bring together more than 40 industry partners in Stuttgart. “This is a unique opportunity to work across continents to create scalable, global solutions. Australia will be at the forefront in this important research, led by the team at Swinburne and CSIRO,” Professor Bronwyn Fox, Swinburne Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise said. “The international partnership connects the largest industry players in the hydrogen sector in both countries, as well as some of the largest users of hydrogen expected to drive future demand. Our deep partnership with the CSIRO and the Hydrogen Mission connects VH2 into the wider Australian hydrogen ecosystem.” g

CSIRO Lead, Hydrogen Industry Mission Dr Patrick Hartley; Director, Swinburne Manufacturing Futures Research Institute, Professor Sally McArthur; Swinburne Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) Professor Bronwyn Fox; Swinburne Vice-Chancellor Professor Pascale Quester, CSIRO Director, Manufacturing Business Unit Dr Marcus Zipper; CSIRO Executive Director, Growth Nigel Warren at the Victorian Government’s funding announcement.

Hydrogen cars and trucks on Australian roads

Already hydrogen vehicles are on the road in Australia, although the general public is largely unaware of them and probably not understanding their future potential. Just this month 20 zero-emission Hyundai NEXO hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles were registered as part of the ACT government fleet. The NEXO fleet represents the first deployment of fully certified, ADR-approved Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) in Australia, as well as the first use of hydrogen vehicles by a Government in Australia. The arrival of NEXO on ACT roads is a milestone in the march towards a new era of vehicle transport. Australia’s first publicly available hydrogen station is scheduled to open in Canberra in March 2021 and will provide the capability for 700-bar rapid refuelling of the NEXO fleet. The Lennock Hyundai dealership in the ACT suburb of Phillip is the first dealership in Australia capable of servicing hydrogenpowered vehicles, as the provider of service and support for the government NEXO fleet. The initial 20 ACT government NEXO vehicles will be followed by a fleet of five of the FCEVs for the QLD government, which are presently on a ship to Australia. Queensland Treasurer, Cameron Dick MP said the aim is to demonstrate the viability of an FCEV for normal road use, whether for private motorists or the government. “We want to demonstrate to the Queensland community that these vehicles can be on the road like any other vehicle,” Mr Dick said. “They’ll be seamlessly introduced into the QFleet range of vehicles to show the public that hydrogen can be used safely.”. NEXO is Hyundai’s second-generation mass-produced fuel cell electric vehicle from one of the companies that is pioneering mass production FCEV. NEXO has a range of 666km (WLTP), with a refuelling time of three to five minutes, in an SUV that emits only water vapour from its exhaust and purifies the air as it drives. With drive from a near-silent electric drivetrain, NEXO creates far less external noise than a conventional vehicle, which is an especially important benefit in urban environments. NEXO features the latest autonomous driving capabilities and is extremely safe, as the first FCEV to score the ANCAP maximum five-star safety rating. “As part of a line-up that includes the hybrid and plug-in hybrid IONIQ, and the pure electric IONIQ and Kona models, NEXO also underscores Hyundai’s leadership in ecomobility,” Hyundai Motor Company Australia Chief Executive Officer, Jun Heo said. “As a co-founder of the Australian Hydrogen Council, Hyundai is proud of the work carried out to date, to help develop and grow a sustainable hydrogen industry in Australia.”

Hyundai XCIENT trucks settle in Switzerland

Hyundai is not just blowing water out of its tailpipe; the company is forging ahead on hydrogen with gusto and has delivered hydrogen trucks for customers in Switzerland. This is the world’s first mass-produced fuel cell electric heavy-duty truck, which has now been delivered to customers in Switzerland, with a total of 50 hitting the roads there this year. This delivery marks the official entry of Hyundai’s commercial vehicles in the European market, a touchstone for the company’s expansion into the North American and Chinese commercial markets. Production capacity of the XCIENT Fuel Cell will reach 2000 units this year to support its expansion into Europe, the US and China. The increase in capacity will be backed by a US$1.3 billion investment in addition to a previously announced US$6.4 billion. In the US, Hyundai is collaborating with logistics leaders to supply mass-produced fuel cell heavy-duty trucks. To back this plan, Hyundai is partnering with companies to build a complete hydrogen value chain covering everything from hydrogen production and charging stations to service and maintenance. By 2030, Hyundai expects more than 12,000 fuel cell trucks to hit the US roads. Hyundai also is working with various parties in China, which the aim of getting one million hydrogen vehicles on its roads by 2030 as

the country’s hydrogen industry is on a sharp growth trend. Three fuel cell electric trucks are scheduled for launch in China: a medium-duty truck in 2022, a heavy-duty truck in in a couple of years, and another heavy-duty truck strategically designed for the China market. With these models, Hyundai’s goal is to achieve aggregate sales volume of 27,000 units by 2030. A key to Hyundai’s global expansion of fuel cell trucks will be the successful launch of XCIENT Fuel Cell in Europe. Why Switzerland? In 2019, Hyundai Motor Company formed Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility (HHM), a joint venture with Swiss company H2 Energy. HHM also is partnering with Hydrospider, a joint venture of H2 Energy, Alpiq and Linde. The customers will be leasing XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks from HHM on a pay-per-use basis that does not require an initial investment. As part of its production expansion plan, Hyundai expects to supply 1600 commercial fuel cell trucks by 2025. Currently, Coop, Migros, Traveco, Galliker Logistics, Camion Transport AG, F. Murpf AG and G. Leclerc Transport AG along with others have placed orders for XCIENT Fuel Cell. They will be utilizing the trucks to haul everything from food to cars around Europe. To support the growing hydrogen ecosystem, Hyundai has a business case for more than 100 hydrogen fuelling stations in Switzerland, which is enough not only for commercial vehicles, but also passenger fuel cell electric vehicles. XCIENT is powered by a 190-kW hydrogen fuel cell system with dual 95-kW fuel cell stacks. Seven large hydrogen tanks offer a combined storage capacity of around 32.09 kg of hydrogen. The driving range per charge for XCIENT Fuel Cell is about 400km, which was developed with an optimal balance between the specific requirements from the potential commercial fleet customers and the charging infrastructure in Switzerland. Refuelling time for each truck is around 20 minutes. It has been touted that XCIENT trucks designed for our conditions will be coming to Australia in 2024. Other truck manufacturers are also charging into the sector with Daimler and Volvo announcing they would work together to develop a basic fuel cell technology to be fitted into various brands. IVECO has joined Nikola to develop the technology for its trucks and Paccar is working with Toyota to procure the technology for its Kenworth fleet in the US.

Fuel cell development continues at Toyota

Toyota has developed a product that packages a fuel cell (FC) system into a compact module and plans to begin selling it sometime in 2021. The new module will be easily utilized by companies developing and manufacturing FC products including mobility such as trucks, buses, trains and ships, as well as stationary generators (FC). In addition to its effort to popularize FCEVs, Toyota will continue to strengthen its initiatives as an FC system supplier to promote hydrogen utilization. Toyota has been taking various initiatives, such as selling the “Mirai” FCEV and the “SORA” FCEV bus, selling FC systems to FC product companies, as well as allowing royalty-free use of its FCEV-related patent licenses. Through these experiences, the company has learned that many companies involved in FC products in a variety of industries are looking for FC systems that can be easily adapted to their own products. To address these needs, Toyota developed a product that packages individual FC systemrelated products of second-generation Toyota Mirai with enhanced performance, such as the FC stack, as well as components that handle air supply, hydrogen supply, cooling, and power control, into a single compact module. The new module is available in four models; a vertical type (Type I) and a horizontal type (Type II), with rated output of either 60 kW or 80 kW. The new module has a wide voltage range (400 to 750 V) and can be directly connected to an existing electrical instrument provided with a motor, inverter, and battery, etc, thanks to a built in, dedicated FC boost converter that simplifies the development and manufacture of FC products. In addition, the system’s modularization greatly improves convenience. The four module models can be combined thereby adapting to the output level and amount of installation space available. Modularization eliminates the need to create designs for individually installing FC system related components and to connect individual components. It also integrates and decreases the number of locations the module must be connected to a device, allowing for easy installation. To ensure safety the counter measures cultivated during the development of electrified vehicles such as FCEVs and HEVs were implemented. These are based on the basic approach of ensuring that hydrogen does not leak and, in the unlikely event that any leaks should occur, ensuring their immediate detection and stoppage. The module is designed to work in a broad range of operating environments; at low or high temperatures, at higher altitude where the oxygen level is lower, and under applications involving vibration. Capitalizing on the characteristics of the compact Toyota FC system, which eliminated the humidifier by circulating the water generated during power generation inside the FC stack, the new module has achieved a world-class, top level output density per unit volume. The maintenance requirements of the new module are simple and infrequent, helping to reduce the total cost, from procurement and usage, to disposal.