This month we have had at least five press releases around hydrogen vehicles cross our desk (well our screen as they all come via email these days!) With most of the talk in mainstream media (and from the Government) around EV’s, hydrogen has got a bit lost, but it is potentially a better long-term option for New Zealand (and other countries) than EV’s.

EV’s have ben popular as it is a more production ready technology and suits private cars, in New Zealand both Toyota and Hyundai have (or have had) hydrogen vehicles on test (Mirai and Nexos respectively) and Hyundai has trial versions of its hydrogen XCIENT Truck heading this way by the end of 2022. There is an existing hydrogen refueling facility at Ports of Auckland. hydrogen would appear particularly suitable for trucks and larger vehicles as you save the bulk and weight of batteries needed for an EV version.

Hydrogen gives better range than electric and refueling times similar to petrol/diesel fueled vehicles. It is usually used to power a fuel cell stack(FCEV) to produce electricity for an electric motor. In the fuel cell hydrogen combines with oxygen from the air and the waste product is water!

Hydrogen can be sourced as a byproduct from natural gas wells, but longer-term green hydrogen is the buzz, where the hydrogen is produced from electrolysis of water using electricity generated from renewable (green resources) such as hydro, solar and wind. There is an energy loss with the need to produce hydrogen and then convert it back to electricity but there is a significant resource saving in not needing to manufacture (and eventually dispose of) large quantities of batteries. One suggestion is that NZ could produce green hydrogen with the power from Manapouri when Tiwai Point aluminum smelter shuts down.