Hydrogen fuel cells are coming into their own as one of the most disruptive transportation technologies emerging today.  This month, we sit down with Nuvera CEO Lucien Robroek to discuss Nuvera, the fast-growing fuel cell industry and its impact on every form of mobility.

The forthcoming workshop at the Impulse Summit for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in Vancouver on hydrogen and fuel cells in port applications provides an opportunity to follow up on last month’s blog post by taking a deeper dive into port operations and the high-intensity equipment required at them. We identify limitations of battery technology by examining the duty cycles of port equipment, and how fuel cells can be an enabler for vehicle electrification.

Ports are vital components of US infrastructure and are some of the biggest drivers for the economy. They create jobs, provide critical entry points for goods used throughout the country, and enable the export of products around the world.

Port equipment is also the source of significant local air pollution and greenhouse gases (GHGs), compounded by emissions from heavy-duty trucks that travel within and beyond the port boundaries. In recognition of this, the International Maritime Organization recently established a goal of reducing GHG emissions from the shipping sector globally by 50 percent by 2050 from the 2008 level.[i]

It’s the simplest chemical element. It can store and deliver usable energy. With just one proton and one electron, hydrogen comprises about 90 percent of the universe.

So why does this matter to us? We all need electricity, ideally an unlimited supply of electricity wherever we are, on demand. Electricity can be made from diverse feed stocks like fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable sources. It is used primarily for stationary applications such as electric power distributed through the grid to homes, businesses, factories, and other industrial facilities. But what about mobility and the needs of the transportation industry?

In 2016, public transit in the U.S. provided almost 11 billion passenger trips via buses, light and heavy rail, commuter trains, and other transportation modes. Almost half of those trips were on buses traveling on more than 230,000 miles of streets and roads. Today, 42 percent of these buses are diesel-powered.[i]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that diesel fuel consumption accounted for 24 percent of the total CO₂ emissions from the U.S. transportation sector in 2017.[i] Overall, transportation accounts for 25 percent of global energy consumption, with the majority of that powered by carbon-based fuels.[ii] In California, transportation is responsible for half of the state’s greenhouse gases and 80 percent of its smog-forming NOx emissions.[iii] 

We recently talked about our milestones  and our role in changing the face of transportation at the global level.

Every day, we’re working toward our mission of making clean, convenient fuel cell power a mainstream transportation reality. We’re speaking at conferences and events across the world, earning industry recognition for our technology, and constantly growing our intellectual property and expertise, with more than 492 patents granted or pending worldwide.

At Nuvera, we like to say: “if it moves, it needs a fuel cell engine.” We’ve spent a lot of time working within the China transportation market in the last year to help solve this very real challenge. China wants to be a global leader for new energy vehicles, and the government is making a hard push, supplemented by a three-year subsidy, to introduce these new technologies into the market.

Nuvera is proud to present its Hydrogen Pioneer Award of 2018 to Wheeler Material Handling! This award denotes exceptional work in selling Nuvera’s hydrogen fuel cell products, and a valuable relationship sure to flourish. Nuvera is proud to work with Wheeler Material Handling as a fellow member of the Hyster-Yale team.

On June 26, 2018, the Massachusetts Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Commission met to discuss ways to promote the adoption of fuel cell and battery electric vehicles. Nuvera, Air Liquide, Toyota Motor Corporation and others shared their perspectives on the opportunities and challenges associated with operating fuel cell Electric Vehicles in the Commonwealth.  The topics included hydrogen infrastructure development, driving fuel cell vehicles in tunnels (currently prohibited), and hydrogen as a large-scale energy storage medium for renewable electricity. As a key member of the ZEV commission, Nuvera had the opportunity to share its thoughts and experience regarding hydrogen.

Massachusetts citizens pay a price for being at the end of the energy pipeline: increasing costs, supply volatility, and dependence on energy from outside the state and region. Massachusetts has the opportunity to significantly impact the local economy by leveraging the Commonwealth’s entrepreneurial know-how, venture capital, and quality workforce to bolster its leadership in the creation of advanced clean transportation solutions.

Hydrogen is an increasingly important part of the region’s current clean energy economy. Why? Simply put, hydrogen offers the benefits of electricity with the convenience of fuel. The result: Zero emissions. Zero compromise. 

In the past year, awareness around the use of hydrogen has continued to grow. In Massachusetts alone, where Nuvera is based, there are now several hydrogen stations which separately serve fuel cell vehicle demonstrations, industrial forklift operations, and most recently the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), which operates a fuel cell transit bus in revenue generating service.