How do we expand infrastructure to operate hydrogen coach fleets across the UK, asks Jake Martin, EMEAI Hydrogen Business Development Manager at Haskel
The advantages of hydrogen as a fleet decarbonisation solution are numerous, but as fleet owners consider how best to decarbonise, it is important to consider how to expand infrastructure to meet the pending demand which is foreseen.
Hydrogen fuel cell technology is not new – local authorities across Europe have now been using hydrogen-powered buses for many years, demonstrating its advantages and reliability in practice. One of the most notable technological developments took place in Kittybrewster, Aberdeen, where 15 of the world’s first model of hydrogen-powered double-decker bus were introduced in 2021, following an £8.3 million grant from the EU and Scottish Government. These buses have now travelled more than one million miles, preventing 1,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions being released into the atmosphere.
These successes have been built on the advantages which fuel-cell buses (FCBs) offer over other decarbonisation alternatives. FCBs can travel up to 300 miles on a full tank of hydrogen and provide a quick refuelling experience which is remarkably close to that of diesel coaches. Furthermore, the refuelling infrastructure FCBs require is modular, allowing users to start with a small unit and scale up from there as their fleets grow.
[wlm_nonmember][…]By subscribing you will benefit from:
- Operator & Supplier Profiles
- Face-to-Face Interviews
- Lastest News
- Test Drives and Reviews
- Legal Updates
- Route Focus
- Industry Insider Opinions
- Passenger Perspective
- Vehicle Launches
- and much more!
An additional benefit for local authorities beginning their hydrogen-powered fleet conversion with buses is that buses generally involve large volumes, meaning that projects can feasibly get off the ground with just a couple of buses to start with.
More needed
However, more needs to be done to accelerate the roll-out of FCBs and accompanying refuelling infrastructure. The Climate Change Committee recently reported that surface transport remains the UK’s highest-emitting sector, contributing 23% (105m tCO2e) of total UK emissions in 2022.
Furthermore, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has shown the urgent need to accelerate the decarbonisation of road transport to avoid missing key net zero targets. It found that the UK does not have a single public electric charger or hydrogen refilling station dedicated to lorries and buses, with fewer than 12 years until the first ban on diesel engines comes into force. The SMMT has called on the Government to urgently set out a strategy to help the sector to decarbonise or risk missing the target to stop the sale of fossil fuel trucks by 2040. Currently, fleets can operate well on regular routes where they return to a set point within a 300-mile route. However, there needs to be a roadmap to deploy refuelling stations across country for coaches that travel longer distances.
Government has a key role to play in this, but industry and local authorities (LAs) should be aware of how best they can build on the advantages of hydrogen refuelling to accelerate the roll-out. If considering the switch over to FBCs, and the associated infrastructure, numerous factors need to be considered.
There are a range of refuelling infrastructure options available to local authorities and users wishing to install their first hydrogen station. You could start with a cost-effective, small-scale portable refuelling station. These types of small units are ideal for demonstration purposes and could be moved from depot to depot to allow a range of users the chance to trial and evaluate hydrogen coaches and the refuelling experience. Another alternative would be to fill 700bar vehicles to 350bar, which typically achieves around a 60% fill, often enough to allow for a reasonable demonstration of the fleet in normal operation.
Smaller refuelling units will typically fill up to 100kg per day, allowing them to be used as a permanent solution for small fleets of light vehicles, as well as for demonstration and evaluation of vehicles and refuelling systems.
Once you have made the decision to transition your fleet to hydrogen at scale, then a larger refuelling system will be required. This kind of station can refuel a mixed portfolio of vehicles such as buses, waste collection trucks, vans, cars and other light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles. They can dispense at both 350bar for larger vehicles and 700bar for smaller ones through multiple dispenser points and fuel a fleet of vehicles within a given timeframe or throughout the day.
Features such as fuel management systems and pay-at-pump systems can be added to enhance fuel usage monitoring and invoicing of fuel, enabling the systems to be deployed in either a private depot-based scenario or a public location.
Location, location
When upgrading the size of refuelling stations, the choice of location is particularly important. Hydrogen refuelling stations can be deployed within either a depot-based environment or on land dedicated for a refuelling hub, and it is likely that in a city-wide refuelling network both scenarios will be required.
A typical set of considerations for site selection would include:
- Available land for siting hydrogen infrastructure and mobile delivery assets;
- The availability of utilities and possibilities to upgrade power provision (especially if on-site hydrogen production is being considered);
- Site access and egress for hydrogen delivery vehicles, such as tube trailers;
- Locations available allowing existing traffic routes to pass the proposed station location;
- The ability to create safety distances between the hydrogen station and other areas of the site;
- The option of adding solar panels and wind turbines to produce green hydrogen via electrolysis and other generation processes.
Planning for growth
If planning on developing new depots in the future, consideration should be given to how a refuelling solution could be integrated as early as possible in the design phase. The other option is to acquire through purchase or lease third-party land which could be dedicated for the production and refuelling of hydrogen.
Overall, it’s important to keep four points in mind when implementing hydrogen as an emission-free alternative to diesel:
- Hydrogen fuel cell technology is not new – it is proven and reliable;
- The hydrogen refuelling experience is quick, simple, and virtually identical to the current experience;
- The main difference between refuelling cars and vans with hydrogen and doing the same with buses is the increased volume of fuel required for the latter, and;
- Current refuelling stations take up a similar footprint to conventional diesel stations and so can be located on existing traffic routes or within depots.
Hydrogen offers a simple and effective way to make emissions-free travel a reality for buses, and it is encouraging to see governments, local authorities, manufacturers, and infrastructure suppliers around the world backing hydrogen as a viable and sustainable fuel which can help to green the bus and local transport industry.
Given that the first fuel cell buses began running in in London in 2004, hydrogen has been helping cities to decarbonise their transport fleets for the best part of two decades. The demand we are seeing for hydrogen refuelling stations globally shows that the appetite is there and growing, so it is now time for the bus and local transport sector to step up and rise to the challenge.
Haskel
Haskel, a division of the Precision and Science Technologies Segment at Ingersoll Rand, is a specialist in high-pressure liquid and gas transfer and compression technology solutions for critical applications in hydrogen mobility, aerospace, defence, energy and other industries. The organisation’s Hydrogen Systems Group supports the development of global refuelling infrastructure, including hydrogen fuelling stations and hydrogen dispensing solutions. With over 70 years of expertise, the company says it prides itself on its reputation for safety, reliability and quality.
[/wlm_ismember]