By James Cross, Vice President, Technology and Product Development
Nuver Fuel Cells
The NHA Conference is a very impressive event, building on 18 years of experience. It brings together a diverse mix of stakeholders, spanning the spectrum from the impassioned to the cynical, the romantic to the practical, corporate executives to students, from industry as well as the general public, and from around the globe.
In honor of April “Fuels” Day, I wanted to take a moment to note a few points on which the industry perspective also exhibit some diversity!
How far does a fuel cell vehicle go on a tank full of hydrogen? One of the fuel cell vehicle information cards reports 290 miles, another a whopping 480 miles! DOE says 190 miles on the accepted duty cycle (if you don’t cheat in the backseat or trunk!).
How long can a customer accept to refuel? Automakers say 3 minutes –but for light tanks at 70 MPa, a full fill overheats the tank, so expensive and energy wasteful H2 precooling is needed. One company says if you go to 4 minutes, the precooling requirement goes away. DOE has a goal of 5 minutes.
What is the reference price of natural gas for hydrogen costing? One study used commercial rates and quoted $14+/MMBtu, another $6.50/MMBtu. One suggested coal should be looked at – guess which!
What is the penalty value for a vehicle when the refueling entails customer inconvenience? Several prior studies indicate that for hydrogen availability at 10% of existing fueling stations, the offset to vehicle pricing would be ~$1000. A new report says up to $5000!
What’s right and what isn’t? We can’t tell yet. This is an industry in the making, and while its architects are energetic in debate, particular to their individual analyses, and emphatic in their marketing claims, they and we remain largely aligned in spirit and sense of purpose.
Tomorrow morning is the keynote session where hydrogen companies and automakers share their perspectives on hydrogen infrastructure – Bill and I will be in the front row, ringside! Later in the afternoon, I’ll be moderating the session on Fuel Cells: Improvements & Analysis.
