The prospect that hydrogen gasoline cells will play a big function in highway transportation dims with each advance in battery tech and charging tech that’s introduced. The newest blow for hydrogen followers got here from Europe’s second-largest truck maker, MAN. In an interview with Austrian newspaper Der Commonplace (through Hydrogen Perception), MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp predicted that hydrogen-fueled vans will play solely a small function in Europe’s zero-emission transport future.

“E-mobility is coming now,” Vlaskamp instructed Der Commonplace. “The know-how is mature and most effective. In our estimation, 80% and even 90% of logistics vans shall be electrically pushed. We see right this moment that inexperienced hydrogen is way too costly.”

Vlaskamp estimates that inexperienced hydrogen (which is produced by electrolysis, in contrast to gray hydrogen, which is produced from fossil fuels) at present prices between 4 and 5 instances what prospects are keen to pay. “Due to this fact, hydrogen will solely be utilized in a small phase in Europe, similar to for particular transport,” Vlaskamp defined, including that hydrogen or biofuels is likely to be appropriate for autos carrying extraordinarily heavy masses, similar to big wind generators.

Munich-based MAN accounts for about 16% of the European heavy-duty automobile market. It has bought at the least 450 electrical buses to numerous European cities, and plans to roll out its first electrical truck in 2024.

MAN just lately obtained a subsidy package deal value round €25 million from the Bavarian state authorities to construct a battery manufacturing facility that’s scheduled to start manufacturing in 2025.

The corporate beforehand introduced that it might develop a gasoline cell truck for use in a pilot with 5 prospects by subsequent 12 months. It’s unclear whether or not this venture will proceed.

MAN’s dad or mum firm Traton (itself a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group), is a part of a three way partnership with Daimler and Volvo that plans to speculate €500 million to construct 1,700 public EV charging factors close to motorways and logistics hubs all through Europe.

“In Europe we see that we are going to want over 20,000 stations alongside trunk roads and motorways by 2030 as a way to perform round 30% of logistics transport electrically,” Vlaskamp stated. “That can price a number of billion euros. The benefit of these investments is that they’re worthwhile and efficient in the long run. The diesel engine is being pushed additional and additional again, and the electrical drive will stay the first answer.”

In associated information, a significant Australian mining agency introduced that it’s going to change its diesel heavy-duty vans with EVs, noting that hydrogen’s decrease effectivity and better price dominated it out as a viable possibility.

Anna Wiley, a VP at mining big BHP, introduced an in depth clarification of the relative effectivity of diesel, hydrogen and battery-electric vans (through The Pushed). On a fuel-to-wheel foundation, each diesel and hydrogen vans are about 30% environment friendly, whereas for BEVs, the determine is 80% (calculating the relative effectivity on a wells-to-wheels foundation would possible give BEVs a fair better benefit, says The Pushed).

Maybe MAN’s Vlaskamp and BHP’s Wiley may give some physics classes to politicians in Australia, Germany, the UK and the US, who stay eager to divert taxpayer cash to assist for hydrogen.

Supply: Hydrogen Perception