Hydrogen-Powered Trucks

The United State Department of Energy (DOE) is hoping to fuel a new commitment to the development of hydrogen power by investing $100 million in the research and development of hydrogen-powered, heavy-duty trucks. Although the concept has been around since the 1960s, efforts to commercialize emission-free vehicles in the U.S. have lagged behind those of Japan, China and Europe. But the proposed new partnership among national laboratories, universities and private companies — known as H2@Scale — is designed to jump-start the development of technologies that could finally form the infrastructure of a hydrogen economy.

Also referred to as “fuel-cell vehicles,” hydrogen-powered vehicles are totally emissions-free, with the only by-product being water. Compared to batteries, hydrogen weighs far less, making it an attractive fuel alternative for cargo-carrying vehicles. It also enables trucks to refuel more quickly and travel longer distances.

The government-funded research will focus on replacing current hydrogen-producing methods — which involve reacting natural gas and steam — with electrolyzers. These systems use solar and wind power to split hydrogen molecules out of water. Known as “green hydrogen,” fuel created in this way can be stored in underground reservoirs currently used for natural gas, and then converted back to electricity for use in a variety of applications, powering everything from fuel-cell vehicles to homes. The researchers contend that producing electricity in this way would be far more efficient than relying directly on lithium battery storage or large solar farms.

The aim is to drive down the cost of commercialization so that hydrogen becomes more economically viable for consumer vehicles as well. In Japan, hydrogen power will play a large part in next year’s summer Olympic Games, where athletes will be housed in a hydrogen-powered village and transported via hydrogen-powered buses.