Hydrogen Powered Trucks Coming Soon

Our recent federal budget offers a substantial rebate and/or tax deduction for those who buy electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles... that would tend to help them become more common. (I must admit, I didn't even know that hydrogen vehicles were on the market - not available in my end of the country.)

https://www.wheels.ca/news/2019-federal-budget-includes-rebate-for-electric-vehicles/

Sales of electric vehicles are not very substantial as it is.. nowhere to go but up I guess. If I was in the market for a vehicle, I would be tempted by the rebate - but I would probably be looking for a zev anyway.

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/03/18/analysis/canadian-zev-update-fuel-cells-gain-foothold

I think Hydrogen vehicles are a long ways off. Likewise with batteries. Fuel density of petroleum is a tough act to follow. Insofar as batteries for big rigs,battery exchange depots would be the solution in my opinion. Industries that use lots of battery fork lifts swap their batteries every shift.The batteries are on rollers and are simply rolled into the charging station. Making the batteries universal and automating the process is key in a very large scale operation such as a truck stop. It will require large upgrades in electrical infrastructure to accommodate the immense power required to charge all of these vehicle batteries.The battery banks could also serve to provide demand leveling in certain cases by back feeding into the grid.I think large scale usage of battery vehicles are still at least a generation away. Perhaps hybrid could provide a stop gap measure.

Hybrids are the future.

I agree,the hybrids will probably dominate the market, for the near future,barring some game changing discoveries in battery technology,especially with regenerative braking reclaiming most of the energy now lost to friction brakes. This would be especially beneficial in cities with buses,taxis and lots of stop and go traffic.Also on clogged interstates,where thousands of cars form a miles long parking lot every day.Very little energy required to move a vehicle at 5 mph.A 1 hp motor could do that.A "creep mode" for traffic jams. Subway trains would be a good application for regenerative braking also,putting all of that energy back into the grid.Embedded transformers installed at intersections and bus stops could recharge the buses when needed,topping off the batteries as needed.Same for hybrid cars,with charging on-the-fly,with chargers embedded in the pavement and only sensor current required when not in use. This would be especially beneficial in smog reduction. Anyway,that's my $.02 worth,minus Federal,FICA,State,etc,etc,Net value -$02.

It's all about energy storage per unit weight and power available per unit weight.

And folks lost their minds the first time Pinto went boom....

I think Hydrogen is much farther away than battery. Oh, we'll put them out their because the oil industry thinks they can get a piece of this where as they are shut out of Electric by their business model.

All will be fine until that first 100 car pile up that turns into a massive conflagration killing dozens.

Zeppelins were a great idea too, until...

The issue will be all about containment of the fuel. If storage technology and reliability comes up to safe levels, then it will go. I would predict that at some point an odorant will end up mixed with hydrogen gas to make leaks noticeable as is done with natural gas for precisely the same reasons. Another prediction is that you will not find old hydrogen fueled vehicles around due to the reliability concerns.

They are currently experimenting with solids and chemicals that can store hydrogen and release it in a controlled manner.Perhaps this will increase the safety and viability of Hydrogen.

Ammonia (NH3) would appear to be a promising solution to the transport, storage and handling of hydrogen. Pretty safe to handle and hydrogen available at point of use.

Quote from the CSIRO - Australia- "Hydrogen can be extracted from ammonia, first by using a catalyst to help decompose the ammonia molecule into a mixture of nitrogen and hydrogen gas. Then, the hydrogen membrane allows hydrogen to pass through it while blocking any other gas.

Make your own fuel....$13k

Grainger ....

Yeah, I think that's natural gas....hydrogen is lighter than air,,,,goes up...↑↑↑

Along with the house. Think Fukushima.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9G0-4TWwew

https://youtu.be/q856uDZEhgM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwcBaG-S7UA

Hydrogen is the lightest element and is so small it is very hard to contain. Hydrogen will quickly dissipate through most building materials. It takes special tanks to contain it,and even then they are not 100% leak proof.That is another reason they are exploring using solid material and chemical storage for hydrogen. It is not heavier than air,and cannot accumulate from the bottom up,like natural gas. That is one reason natural gas and propane are so destructive,they build up until they hit an ignition source.By that time,there is a lot of gas already mixed with air.Then you have a fuel-air bomb,the 2nd most powerful bomb on Earth,next to nuclear.Does MOAB (GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast) ring a bell? It used more powerful ingredients,but the principle is the same. Notice the Hindenburg did not explode,it burned. Hydrogen has only about 1/16 of the combustion energy of LP or Propane,and would actually be safer than LP or Natural gas.

Air has an effective (average) molecular weight of about 29. Methane (main component of natural gas) is 16. I think natural gas is (slightly) lighter than air.

Natural gas is basically methane,and it is slightly lighter than air,but it is a much larger molecule than hydrogen,and can accumulate more readily in confined areas. As I stated before,hydrogen is very hard to contain due to it's small molecular size. Hydrogen is also a very low yield fuel,about 1/16 of the energy of propane or methane. The good part is the byproduct of combustion is water.

Isn't natural gas mostly methane, which is lighter than air?

Natural gas mixes freely with air, it's propane that's heavier than air....In an enclosed space it doesn't seem to make any difference...I suspect hydrogen won't be any different....

All of the explosions at Fukishima nuclear plant were hydrogen explosions at the reactors and adjoining structures connected by air ducting.

There is another drawback with hydrogen. it is a dry fuel, like CNG, it provides no lubrication so oil has to be added to the fuel stream and results in emissions beyond just the water and air they claim. It may be this might be a good fuel for a rotary since its lubrication needs in the combustion chamber are not as demanding as a piston engine and with gasoline its burn cycle took to long at high RPMs which is where rotaries shine.