One company says it has reached impressive new milestones in hydrogen power delivery, according to CleanTechnica.
Verne completed a lengthy test drive of a semi-truck powered by super-cooled, compressed hydrogen gas. Verne says cryo-compressed hydrogen (or CcH2) is 33% more dense than liquid hydrogen and 87% more dense than traditional compressed hydrogen. It also says cryo-compressed hydrogen is 40% cheaper to distribute.
Hydrogen is a promising fuel source, since using it only generates water as waste. Considering the amount of pollution produced from dirty fuels, alternatives such as this are sorely needed.
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Definitely 💅 Hydrogen has yet to take off for a few reasons. For one, the sustainability of hydrogen depends on how it's created. Hydrogen needs to be teased out of water by the application of energy. If that energy comes from a source such as solar panels, then the hydrogen can be deemed "green." If the energy comes from dirty fuels, then there are few (if any) sustainability benefits to using hydrogen over gas.
The other challenge with hydrogen is logistical. It's typically moved as a highly pressurized gas, meaning it takes up a lot of room and poses safety risks. This has hamstrung the advancement of hydrogen infrastructure.
Verne is attempting to address this with a solution that can increase density while maintaining stability. If green hydrogen could be reliably moved and consumed, we would have another arrow in the quiver of decarbonization.
Long-haul trucking is a significant source of pollution, but this technology has plenty of other remote, off-grid applications. Hydrogen is especially useful in aviation, wherein big, heavy batteries are not a viable energy source. In fact, the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund was one of the initial investors in Verne's technology. Other investors include the U.S. Army, Trucks Venture Capital, the Collaborative Fund, and Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund.
"Across sectors, decarbonization efforts are being hindered by limited access to clean energy and zero-emission alternatives that meet operational standards," Verne CEO Ted McKlveen said. "CcH2 can serve these customers and replace fossil fuels in some of the most demanding, most essential sectors of the economy."
Verne says it's following up on the successful technical demonstration of its CcH2 semi-truck with pilot programs, then moving onward to full commercialization.
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