Electric cars have become the go-to option to help us transition from fossil fuels. Canada has mandated that by 2026, at least one in five cars sold need to be electric vehicles (EVs).
Even Danielle Smith has said she wants an electric car, but not the type you think… she wants a hydrogen-powered car.
Is this an option for the rest of us?
First, let’s look at some differences between electric and hydrogen vehicles.
Electric Vehicles
At this point, EVs are universally considered the best option for sustainable, non-carbon-emitting light vehicles. Hence, the growth in global sales and production of EVs.
There are improvements in options, range and cost every day.
But like every other technology, there are trade-offs.
- Like anything using battery power, EVs rely on unethical and environmentally harmful procedures for obtaining elements like cobalt and lithium used in batteries.
- EV batteries were nearly impossible to recycle until recently.
- EVs require more electrical power, potentially straining our grid, which already runs near its upper limits.
- EV charging stations have not grown as fast as required based on EV Sales.
These are all concerning issues, but extensive resources are being poured into solving the problems.
But, when EVs were first being adopted commercially, another zero-emissions vehicle was also pitched to the market, the hydrogen vehicle.
Hydrogen Vehicles
Hydrogen-powered cars sound like a great option in theory.
One advantage is hydrogen cars are “filled up” similarly to how you would fill your gas tank, so the existing gas station infrastructure could more easily be repurposed.
They are also much more fuel efficient than conventional petrol/diesel engines, but they emit only water vapour as a by-product, cutting CO2 emissions!
Imagine putting around in your vehicle and leaving only a little humidity in your wake!
Danielle Smith has recently advocated the adoption of hydrogen vehicles.
Superficially, this is a great idea, but there are some serious issues with hydrogen cars as passenger vehicles, ultimately leading to electric vehicles becoming the standard low-emission option in favour today.
How is the hydrogen produced?
The primary issue with classifying hydrogen vehicles as zero-emission is, in most cases – they’re not zero-emitters.
There are multiple ways of producing hydrogen. The methods used have hugely different pollution footprints.
“White-hydrogen” is one environmentally friendly option. It’s produced through the electrolysis of geothermal water reserves. The downside is it requires fracking, (which has a bad environmental rep) because it requires drilling similar to the SAG-D and CSS in-situ techniques used in the oil sands. The upside is that white hydrogen doesn’t create CO2 pollution in its production process.
“Green hydrogen” is another environmentally friendly option. Hydrogen is made using clean electricity from solar or wind power to electrolyze water. Electrolysis splits water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen, emitting zero-carbon dioxide. Green hydrogen, however, accounts for only four percent of global hydrogen production. Only one “green” hydrogen plant exists in Canada and operates out of Quebec.
The other 96 percent of globally produced hydrogen, including all the hydrogen currently made in Alberta, is categorized as “blue” or “grey” hydrogen.
These forms of hydrogen are produced from… you guessed it – refining natural gas.
Meaning we still need to produce oil and gas to create hydrogen.
“Blue hydrogen” uses steam reforming, which combines natural gas and heated water in the form of steam. The output is hydrogen, but carbon dioxide is produced as a by-product. So, blue hydrogen requires using carbon capture and storage (CCS) to trap and store this carbon.
One hydrogen project being funded in Alberta is set to open in 2024, but it does not involve carbon capture, so it is producing “grey” hydrogen.
“Grey hydrogen” is created from natural gas, or methane, using steam methane reformation but without capturing the greenhouse gases made in the process. Grey hydrogen is essentially the same as blue hydrogen but without carbon capture and storage”.
Alberta and hydrogen
Alberta is actively pursuing hydrogen production. It has created a hydrogen roadmap stating, “We have all the resources, expertise, and technology needed to quickly become a global supplier of clean, low-cost hydrogen.”
That’s perhaps true, but it all depends on how you define the word “clean.”
Yes, Alberta has lots of natural gas and can start steam-reforming hydrogen. But when you add up all the impacts and pollution needed to create blue or grey hydrogen, it ends up being not so clean.
There are other problems with using hydrogen as a transportation fuel.
It’s Explosive (or is it?)
Hydrogen is highly volatile and must be compressed for vehicle use because otherwise, a “full tank” would only provide enough energy to get you about 5 km max.
Hydrogen is the smallest and the lightest gas atom (H2). So, it’s also the hardest to compress and contain. Add to that, hydrogen does not burn; it explodes.
Most of us have seen black and white photos – or even movies – of the explosion of the Hindenberg zeppelin from last century.
Driving an automobile with the most explosive gas on board with you and your friends, family, or pets and doing it all at 100 kph – hmmm?
Marketing these new modern-day Hindenbergs might be a hard sell.
Now think what happens once that car, the pressurized tank ages and the maintenance and general upkeep required, necessitating high-level training and infrastructure to handle this complex system on a commercial scale.
But most of these concerns have been addressed through technological advancement and with safety measures built into hydrogen cars, making them about as dangerous to drive as gas or diesel vehicles.
This leads to the next point, which is…
It’s Expensive
All in, hydrogen vehicles are more expensive to drive and maintain than EVs.
In Canada, hydrogen costs roughly $13 per kilogram. The Toyota Mirai, the most commonly used hydrogen vehicle, holds 5.6 kilograms, which makes the full refill of a Mirai about $75.
It’s a lot more expensive than electric and about on par with a gas car.
Generally, in North America, it costs four times more to fill a hydrogen car than to charge an electric car.
Although it will probably come down over time, the cost of buying a hydrogen vehicle is higher than EVs.
Fueling Up
The biggest concern purchasers have with buying an EV or hydrogen car is range anxiety. Can I quickly refuel or charge when I need to?
The simple fact is that Alberta has very little infrastructure for filling up your hydrogen vehicle. You can recharge your EV at home, and new EV charging stations are rapidly coming online across Alberta and Canada and even in remote communities in the Yukon and Northwest Territories. In contrast, because of the dangers of compressed hydrogen, options for tapping into a hydrogen supply at home are unlikely.
So Where Does Hydrogen Fit?
While it may not be the best fit for passenger cars, nor economically or logistically plausible for consumers, that doesn’t mean there’s no place for hydrogen vehicles in Alberta.
Smith is on target with the idea that hydrogen is a more environmentally friendly option than gas overall, but only if blue hydrogen is used.
The provincial Hydrogen Roadmap does not champion hydrogen for your average family vehicle; it has a bigger fish to fry.
“Large captive vehicle fleets such as buses and commercial trucks are seen as having the highest potential for adoption in Alberta,” it reads.
Regarding long-haul trucks, trains, and buses, fleet-specific hydrogen fueling stations could be more efficient and carbon-friendly than diesel and easier to install and supply from a logistical point of view.
That makes sense, but only if white, green or blue hydrogen is used, and Alberta hasn’t committed the resources to make this happen.
The Government’s Priority
Premier Smith is keen on the hydrogen fleet option. The provincial agency Emissions Reduction Alberta dedicated $7.3 million toward an $18-million pilot project involving two zero-emission hydrogen trucks operating between Edmonton and Calgary and a similar trial for buses.
Given her government’s recent attacks on the renewable industry and federal policies designed to fast-track de-carbonization, it’s not a stretch to think that the Premier’s hydrogen plans are more about deliberately slow-rolling local, national, and international efforts to accelerate the global energy transition, much less get ahead of it.
The roadblocks Smith has created for renewables might be able to extend the life of Alberta’s legacy oil economy by a few extra years. Still, it will come at the cost of alienating the new investment and entrepreneurs who will help build Alberta’s de-carbonized future, to say nothing of the wealth they might create.
