Push for Hydrogen Fueling Stations in the US

Paul Myles

TU-Editor

5th May 2022

An US service station company is hoping to push forward hydrogen refueling options as a way of advancing take-up for the climate friendly automotive technology.

Gilbarco Veeder-Root has announced its strategic mission by making available a suite of compression, dispensing and software solutions to enable the creation of a network of renewable or low-carbon hydrogen refueling stations around the world. The company says it is now at advanced stages of developing new technologies and creating partnerships to bring solutions to market that will allow existing fuel retailers and other stakeholders to offer gaseous hydrogen to serve an ever-increasing number of hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicles.

It sees hydrogen is the natural complement to its compressed gases and end-to-end electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The company, founded more than 150 years ago, claims expertise in designing, manufacturing, installing, and servicing refueling infrastructure globally. Its dedicated compressed gases division, ANGI Energy Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilbarco Veeder-Root, in Wisconsin, brings 30 years of experience in the design and manufacture of full-site solutions for compressed gases.

Many industry experts see hydrogen as being better suited for heavy-duty commercial vehicles than battery electric power thanks to the rapid refueling time, their lack of weight and duty cycles. Hydrogen fuel cell trucks and buses are currently being developed by most of the leading global truck manufacturers and it’s predicted that 15% of commercial fleets will be hydrogen powered by 2030.

Joel van Rensburg, general manager of hydrogen, Gilbarco Veeder-Root, said: “Energy and mobility are evolving rapidly and it’s clear that hydrogen is a key factor in helping us deliver on the low carbon, zero-emissions future that we are all working towards. It is the optimum solution for many commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and, in some cases, passenger cars. It’s crucial that we continue to deliver new, accessible, and safe solutions to meet our customers’ evolving energy needs. As leaders in alternative fuels, Gilbarco Veeder-Root remains at the forefront of rapid technological changes, and we’ll be announcing several new solutions and strategic partnerships over the coming months.”

— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in Europe. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_

2 comments

Dana Irwin 9th May 2022 @ 9:32 pm

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It is my understanding that hydrogen fuel cells vehicles are very clean. Hydrogen generation, capture, and distribution is very carbon dirty. Current technology requires the release of the equivalent amount of carbon released into the atmosphere in upfront generation as currently does the end use gasoline engine. Until there is a clear way to improve upon the current 1 to 1 technology, what is the point? This is not the case with electric vehicles which releases about 67% the amount of carbon into the atmosphere as does gasoline. The moment a clear path for hydrogen fuel cell technology will reduce carbon emissions by 40% per mile driven, the market value of that technology would rival that of Tesla, about $1 trillion. It doesn’t.
- TU-Editor 10th May 2022 @ 6:58 am
  
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  It is true most hydrogen so far is ‘blue’ and not produced very cleanly but, then, nor is the BEV CO2 credentials very good when considering the extra emissions in their production over their ICE siblings. Even Volvo admits its BEVs could be worse for the climate than ICE unless they are fed on renewable energy sources (report here). At the moment we waste huge amounts of energy from renewables such as wind farms which have to be switched off when they produce too much electricity for grids to handle. If all this energy was converted to ‘green’ hydrogen, it could be stored indefinitely, without the leakage/degeneration of batteries, and reconverted to electricity when the grids need it. This is the path Japan is on to replace its potentially dangerous nuclear facilities.

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