Green hydrogen in vehicles maturing to commercial scale

From huge ships to flights, trains and automobiles using green hydrogen as fuel will be the norm in future mobility, if the ongoing research and development transform into large commercial-scale operations to power a green hydrogen economy.

India is also part of that transition. As part of a sea shuttle project, construction of the world's first hydrogen-powered short-sea containership, powered by 3.2 megawatts (MW) hydrogen fuel cells, began in February 2024 at the Cochin shipyard in India, says the International Energy Agency (IEA)'s Global Hydrogen Review 2024.

Shipping

The report says the first wave of change to hydrogen fuel is going to happen in the shipping sector. The global order book for alternative-fuel-ready vessels has been growing, with over 290 methanol-fuelled vessels, almost 30 ammonia-fuelled vessels, and around 30 hydrogen vessels on order as of September 2024.

In January 2024, the world's largest methanol-powered vessel, the 'Ane Maersk' container ship capable of carrying 16,592 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) made its maiden call at Tanger Med Port, Morocco. Two similar vessels, the 'Astrid Maersk' and the 'Antonia Mærsk', have since set sail. In April 2024, marine engines specialist Wartsila secured China's largest methanol newbuild order for twelve 24,000 TEU containerships, which are expected to be delivered to two shipping lines by 2026.

Wartsila has also developed a four-stroke ammonia-fuelled marine engine for smaller vessels in November 2023 and has already signed a contract with Norwegian ship owner Eidesvik to retrofit an already operating vessel. The retrofit is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026, meaning the vessel could become the world’s first ammonia-fuelled in-service
ship.

China launched its first hydrogen fuel cell ship in 2023, and a liquefied hydrogen ferry has been commercially operating in Norway since 2023.

A hydrogen fuel cell barge was launched in 2023 in the Netherlands and another completed trials in March 2024. A US hydrogen-powered ferry has begun commercial operations following successful tests for a 6-month pilot. In Japan, a hybrid hydrogen and biodiesel vessel completed a certification voyage in April 2024.

According to the recent International Maritime Organization (IMO) strategy, zero or 'near-zero' emissions fuels should account for 5-10% of international shipping fuel consumption by 2030. A significant fraction of those fuels is expected to be biofuels, but if all this demand were met with hydrogen-based fuels, it could represent 4-9.3 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) in hydrogen equivalent. Most methanol vessels on order are container ships, whereas bulk carriers and tankers dominate orders for ammonia-fuelled vessels.

Road and rail

Hydrogen Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) across all road modes across the globe stand at around 93,000, as of the end of June 2024, says IEA.

Hydrogen use in road transport increased by around 55% in 2023, with heavy-duty vehicles accounting for almost 85% of this growth. Consumption of hydrogen for road transport grew almost twice as fast as in the United States, and over three times as fast as in Europe. In Korea and Japan, the light-duty vehicle segment continues to be a focus for FCEVs, although growth in this segment is slowing down. Korea, the United States and Japan continue to lead the deployment of fuel cell cars, with over 50%, more than 25%, and over 10%, respectively, of the global stock.

Honda has released a fuel cell version of their best-selling CR-V in California, competing with the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo. In China, sales of passenger cars are increasing, with sales of the Maxus Euniq 7 and Hongqi H5 reached over 500 and 150 units, respectively, though China remains unusual in that the car segment makes up the smallest share of the hydrogen fleet. BMW has been piloting their fuel-cell car prototype in Japan, the United States and Europe, and is planning to begin mass-producing fuel-cell cars in 2028.

As of June 2024, the global stock of fuel cell-powered trucks stands at more than 12,000, around 95% in China. If there were around 135 fuel cell trucks in Europe at the end of 2022, that had increased to around 350 as of June 2024. In the United States, over the same period, fuel cell trucks increased from just 10 to around 170.

Fuel cell bus stock increased by almost 25% in 2023 compared to 2022. China again accounted for the majority of new additions, deploying over 75% of the more than 1 500 fuel cell buses added in 2023, thereby constituting a similar share of the global stock of more than 9,100 fuel cell buses as of June 2024. In terms of year-on-year stock growth, Europe and Japan have similar rates to China, between 20% and 25%, while Korea experienced an annual growth rate of 130%.

The IEA study also says there are now close to 1200 hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS) in operation globally, but the overall total grew only marginally in the past year, as the number of new HRS being opened was partially offset by station closures around the world.

IEA says hydrogen fuel cell trains are being trialled in a diverse range of settings, and a recent review includes 15 hydrogen rail trials announced between 2018 and 2024 to assess their suitability for local (Japan), intercity (India), and freight trains (Austria). Hydrogen trains also continue to set records for distance travelled on a single refuel – 2 803 km versus 244 km for a battery-powered version –demonstrating their potential advantages. In addition, rail operators in France, Italy and the United States have placed orders for battery-hydrogen trains in the past year.

Aviation

IEA says in the short to medium term, hydrogen-related activity in aviation is expected to be concentrated in the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). The uptake of these fuels is easier than less advanced technologies (like the direct use of hydrogen) as they can be dropped in with relatively minimal changes to fuel storage infrastructure and aircraft.

In November 2023, Air France-KLM invested USD 4.7 million in DG Fuels, including an option to purchase 75 ktpa of SAF over several years starting in 2029. In January 2024, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Cargolux Airlines International S.A. committed to purchasing 140 kt in a total of synthetic fuels from Norsk e-Fuel. In February, IAG reached an agreement with e-fuels producer Twelve to purchase 785 kilo tonnes of SAF in total, with first deliveries as early as 2025.

One of the best-known hydrogen aircraft development programmes is Airbus ZEROe, which investigates hydrogen combustion and fuel cells, and in January 2024 they opened a centre in Germany focusing on cryogenic liquefied hydrogen storage and delivery. Airbus also partners with other companies working to advance fuel cells for use in aviation.

However, most announcements in this space come from start-ups such as Fokker Next Gen, which aims to build liquefied hydrogen-powered narrow-body jets, or hydrogen aircraft propulsion manufacturer ZeroAvia. Though still at the business development stage, ZeroAvia have demonstrated sufficient progress to generate development orders for their fuel cell-based powertrains, which currently target retrofits of the 10-20- and 40–80-seater aircraft sizes.