Interview with Prof. Uwe Clausen

»In long-distance transport, hydrogen trucks could stand a 

chance against electric vehicles«

 Prof. Uwe Clausen 

How important will hydrogen be as an energy carrier in the future? 

We are currently observing a transformation process above all in Europe in which electricity and hydrogen will become much more important. Hydrogen is especially needed as an energy carrier for the decarbonization of basic industries, such as the steel industry. The long-term objective here is to replace the use of coal and coke with “green hydrogen.” So far, hydrogen has also mainly been produced from the reforming of fossil fuels. Industry has promised a considerable increase in electrolyzer capacity, and the government has agreed to considerable direct and indirect subsidies in return. To recognize hydrogen as a renewable energy, the EU Commission has determined criteria in legal acts such as additionality (of renewable energy production) as well as its temporal and spatial correlation with electricity purchases of the electrolyzers. Special regulations to promote a “market ramp-up” are possible until the end of 2027. Whether this can be realized according to the ambitious schedule and in the desired scope will depend on the technical capacities of the manufacturers as well as the price development of CO2 certificates and the achievable cost digression in hydrogen production. In any case, the required hydrogen will have to be imported to a – presumably larger – extent. For example, with an increase to 10 GW of electrolyzer capacity by 2030 in Germany, this could mean an additional demand of 30 GW of global electrolyzer capacity. 

Hydrogen is also used for drive energy in transportation. For cars, the quantities have been negligible compared to combustion engines and battery-electric vehicles so far. In the case of trucks, the share is still also small, but high energy density could mean that hydrogen trucks stand a chance against battery-electric vehicles in long-distance transport. From practical experience at Mewa Textillogistik, for example, we are aware of the everyday usability, good feedback from the drivers and a satisfactory range of approx. 500 km. The purchasing costs are significantly higher compared to classic diesel vehicles, and diesel trucks are currently (still) more economical over their entire life cycle. 

Hydrogen drives are being tested for shipping and aviation as well. Innovative niche suppliers already put four-seat passenger airplanes with hydrogen fuel cell technology on the market many years ago, and Airbus, MTU and other manufacturers are developing airplane models that should be operational with hydrogen drives by 2035. MSC Cruises intends to bring a cruise ship with a hydrogen drive to market in cooperation with the Italian shipyard Fincantieri and the energy specialist Snam.

Currently, many applications are not yet profitable. In the future, this will depend on how inexpensively “green hydrogen” can actually be produced and what conditions will arise in global markets for reducing greenhouse gases for companies.

What are the greatest challenges of this future technology from a logistics point of view? 

In the future, hydrogen will have to be transported on a large scale and often over long distances. It can basically be transported in bulk by water, road and rail or in pipeline networks. The most economical option on land is pipeline-based transport. This will require considerable investments (as worked out for the “European hydrogen backbone”) and then a good utilization for low transport prices per tkm.

The use of natural gas pipelines has been discussed. Such a conversion, however, is only conceivable after retrofitting with other compressors as well as measurement and control devices. Every pipeline-based infrastructure is capital-intensive and cannot (initially) reach many recipients dispersed over a wide area.

What solutions can Fraunhofer IML contribute for these challenges as a logistics institute? 

For transport in individual containers, a high compression with pressures of 250 bar to 500 bar should be aimed for. Compression requires energy, and handling must be done with great care. At the IML, we deal with questions of infrastructure and transport chain planning as well as – e.g., in the H2LogisticsOnRail project – with container and handling solutions as a contribution to sustainable energy logistics.