1. Light-Duty Vehicles
Transport by road, which includes automobiles, buses and trucks, accounts for three-quarters of the greenhouse gas emissions attributed to the transportation sector
[1]. Today, hydrogen fuel-cell light-duty vehicles are in the early stages of commercialization, with the launching of several models developed by different automakers across the world in order to replace internal combustion engine models. Nonetheless, the selling cost of these vehicles is not yet competitive, and infrastructure issues such as the lack of a diffuse hydrogen refueling station network act as constraints for widespread FC vehicle commercialization
[2].
Toyota, Hyundai and Honda are the leading manufacturers of passenger FC vehicles
[3], and
Table 1 compares various technical specifications of their best-seller models. All of them employ tanks composed of composite materials (type IV classification, as illustrated in
Figure 1), which have shown the proven ability to answer to technological issues raised by on-board compressed hydrogen storage, and are currently the industry’s choice when taking into consideration the degree of maturity of the technology, its weight efficiency and its costs
[4][5][6][7]. This configuration is composed of a thin polymer liner fully overwrapped with fiber wound layers. The state-of-the-art on-board hydrogen storage technology operates at high pressures, with compressed hydrogen gas typically stored at 35 or 70 MPa
[8].
Table 1.
Comparison of specifications for the three best-seller models of FC vehicles
.
With the scheduled banning of diesel trucks by many major city centers
[14], several vehicle suppliers, such as MAN, Scania, VDL and Hyundai, have developed hydrogen FC trucks
[15]. The design space assessment of hydrogen onboard storage for fuel cell electric trucks demonstrated the feasibility of employing type IV tanks to meet the range demands of various market sectors, while exploring different operating pressures and vehicle packages
[16].
Fuel cell buses have likewise attracted great attention and become a public demonstration tool and R&D source of data for full-scale validation
[17][18], especially due to the implementation of several government actions and funding projects. This includes the European CUTE (Clean Urban Transport for Europe) bus program
[19], US National Fuel Cell Bus Program
[20], Korean hydrogen economy roadmap
[21], among others. On-board tanks are typically stored in the bus’s roof and a higher space availability allows for storage at 35 MPa, reducing tank and compression costs
[13].
Table 2 depicts the technical specifications of FC buses developed by different key manufacturers.
Table 2.
Overview of major characteristics of FC buses currently used in European cities
.
Figure 1. (
a) Schematic cross-section of a hydrogen tank for Hyundai Nexo
[10]; (
b) Photograph of a sectioned Hyundai Nexo hydrogen tank
[11].
2. Heavy-Duty Vehicles
The heavy-duty market also shows considerable potential for hydrogen fuel cell adoption, even though it presents different operating conditions and driving cycles. These vehicles present higher power output needs as well as requirements of improved durability and fuel efficiency
[12]. While light-duty passenger vehicles used for typical short low-speed journeys could be managed with electric batteries and range-extender devices, long-haul heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses call for a higher utilization and are likely to require hydrogen
[13].
The Belgium company Van Hool has established itself as the market leader with the A330 model, with buses in operation in both Europe and the US
[23]. Toyota, in cooperation with Hino Motors, developed the Sora, introducing more than 100 buses in the Japanese public transport fleet ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games
[24]. In South Korea, Hyundai has been commercializing the Elec City Fuel cell since 2019, with more than 100 units put into operation and in-service trials having been conducted by different European bus operators
[25]. Wrightbus has developed the world’s first double-decker FC bus in England
[26]. VDL Bus & Coach delivered FCs in 2011 as part of its demonstration activities, and, since 2020, deployed vehicles in the Netherlands, adding a trailer to battery buses, housing the fuel technology for range extension
[27].
3. Tube Trailers
High-pressure tube trailers are a vital part of hydrogen transportation logistics. With the rollout of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, a wide availability of refueling stations becomes a key issue for an efficient operation. Today, the available infrastructure of pipelines is very limited, mainly focused on large industrial users, such as petroleum refineries and fertilizer plants
[28]. The utilization of tube trailers allows for a more economical delivery mode for lower-demand customers and refueling stations at reasonable distances from production sites (less than 100 miles). This strategy has played a major role in enabling an early and widespread deployment of hydrogen refueling stations once it required a lower initial capital investment, granting an optimization of costs associated with gaseous compression and storage
[29][30].
Typical tube trailers utilize long pressure vessels bundled together into packs of between 6 and 15, and their outlets are manifolded together
[31]. These pressure vessels can be composed of steel or composites. Steel-made tube trailers (using type I tanks) are a more common configuration, although on-road weight restrictions limiting their capacity may be applied. Their maximum hydrogen payload is approximately 250 kg per trailer. On the other hand, tube trailers using composite pressure vessels provide a higher strength and lower weight solution, albeit at a higher cost. Both type III and type IV configurations have been employed, and they can deliver more than a 1000 kg payload
[29].
On a global basis, there are several key industrial players involved in the delivery of gaseous hydrogen by tube trailers. Air Products and Chemical Inc. is probably the leading company, having joined programs to develop and validate composite tube trailers in association with the US Department of Transport (DOT), as well as with the Hydrogen Transport in European Cities (HyTEC) project
[32][33][34]. It operates an ever-growing tube trailer fleet, delivering large volumes of hydrogen at high pressure. ILJIN HYSOLUS, the executive supplier of hydrogen tanks for the Hyundai Nexo, has received global accreditation for its type IV hydrogen tube trailers
[35][36]. The Kawasaki Group has developed Japan’s first hydrogen tube trailer with type III composite cylinders, backed by its national research and development agency NEDO. Its hydrogen tube trailer operates at a pressure of 45 MPa
[37][38].
4. Fuel Station
The development of a reliable fueling infrastructure is a cornerstone for the use of hydrogen energy in transportation. Compression, storage and dispensing are key stages of the gaseous hydrogen refueling process, with direct implications to the final fuel cost paid by customers. In hydrogen refueling stations, the storage system not only locally stores the compressed gas, addressing the mismatch between fuel supply and demand during daily operations, but also plays a role in accelerating the filling process and avoiding frequent starts/stops of the compressor
[39][40].
There are different possible approaches to a hydrogen station design, and the storage system, in particular, may assume two types, namely, buffer and cascade storage
[41]. Both usually employ several banks of pressure vessels, although single-tank configurations can also be found. In buffer storage, all fuel reservoir cylinders are connected together and maintained at the same pressure at all times. In cascade storage, the gas is usually divided between three reservoirs under low-, medium- and high-pressure levels, and during the filling of the vehicles, the on-board tank is alternately connected to different reservoirs in an ascending order of pressures. Cascade storage systems have showed a lower energy consumption in high-pressure refueling scenarios, whilst buffer storage may present shorter refueling times
[40][42].
Storage tanks are core elements of hydrogen refueling stations. Considering dispensing for light-duty vehicles operating at 70 MPa, high-pressure storage in a cascade system may be typically performed at 90–100 MPa, thus, ensuring the charging pressure difference needed for a short refueling time. Type II (usually steel-reinforced with carbon fibers) or type IV tanks are frequent configurations of choice for storage at such elevated working pressures once type I tanks become an uneconomical and heavy option and type III may be prone to fatigue due to the large number of fueling cycles
[39][43]. Low- (approximately 20 MPa) and medium-pressure storage (approximately 40 MPa) may employ type I steel tanks.
5. Railway
Conventional locomotives employing diesel-based propulsion systems have been the basis of the rail transportation of industrialized countries, whether for the transport of commodities or passengers. Fuel-cell-powered locomotives, however, have been considered promising environmentally friendly options for achieving a fast and consistent decarbonization. FC trains and trams are expected to perform particularly well for long-range and high-power demand scenarios, and can present lower infrastructure costs in comparison with catenary electric and hybrid diesel–electric configurations
[44][45].
The first functional hydrogen-fueled locomotive was a 3.6 ton/17 kW underground mining vehicle demonstrated in Val-d’Or, Quebec, in 2002. Using 3 kg of metal hydride storage, it was developed as part of a joint project by the governments of the US and Canada, together with a private company later called Vehicle Projects LLC
[46]. As initial key development milestones, in 2006/2008, the East Japan Railway Company trialed a hybrid passenger car on an actual service line (one railcar, 130 kW FC system/19 kWh battery, gaseous hydrogen stored at 35 MPa
[47]); in 2006, the Railway Technical Research Institute, also in Japan, implemented running tests of its FC railcars, manufactured by US/Italian-based Nuvera Fuel Cells (two railcars, 120 kW FC system, 36 kWh battery/18kg of gaseous H
2 stored at 35 MPa)
[48]. A North American partnership funded by the BNSF Railway Company and the US Department of Defense rolled out a prototype fuel cell battery hybrid switch locomotive for urban rail applications (130 ton, 240 kW FC system/maximum power of 1.2 MW, 70 kg of H
2 at 35 MPa)
[48].
Most recently, Alston pioneered sustainable mobility solutions by presenting the world’s first passenger train powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, the Coradia iLint. In 2018, the two-car model entered into commercial service in Germany and, since then, the iLint has run successful test runs in Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden
[49]. JR-East announced in 2019 that it was developing a two-car train using the hydrogen FC technology from Toyota, with trials expected by 2021 and commercialization by 2024
[50]. Siemens is developing Mireo, a fuel cell variant planned in cooperation with Ballard. Ballard plans to supply two 200 kW fuel cell modules to be installed in a two-car passenger train for a trial operation in Bavaria
[51]. Stadler is producing the first US hydrogen-powered train that is expected to enter service in 2024 in San Bernardino County, California
[52]. TIG/m is currently supplying the world’s first municipal trams to use hydrogen fuel cell technology for propulsion to the governments of Dubai and Aruba. Three hybrid battery/fuel cell vehicles have been delivered since 2012
[53]. Hyundai Rotem has announced its entry into the hydrogen train market with the current development of Korea’s first hydrogen-powered light rail vehicle for the urban rail network in the city of Ulsam
[54].
Current projects of hydrogen-powered passenger trains employ different solutions for the on-board storage systems. Compressed gaseous hydrogen systems are the most common, with working pressure values ranging from 30 to 70 MPa. Market availability and the successful application of heavy-duty vehicles with lower costs makes the 35 MPa system the most frequent configuration employed in railways, achieving ranges of approximately 1000 km
[55]. For instance, Alstom’s Coradia iLint uses twenty-four roof-mounted 35 MPa type IV cylinders fabricated by Xperion
[56]. Stadler’s project will have 35 MPa type IV tanks provided by Hexagon
[56]. Thirty-six Luxer type III hydrogen tanks have been used in the HydroFLEX project, the UK’s first full-sized hydrogen powered demonstrator train
[57]. The JR-East and Toyota partnership intends to utilize 70 MPa type IV tanks
[50].
6. Maritime
Advanced hydrogen mobility has also started its penetration into the maritime sector with the development of several demonstration programs. A wide variety of maritime fuel cell projects has been tested across Europe in the last 20 years. These projects have approached the applicability of fuel cell technology to maritime transportation from different research perspectives, including feasibility investigations, design concept development and prototype demonstrations (Table 3).
Table 3.
Noticeable demonstration ship projects of marine fuel cell systems using H
2
as fuel since 2000 (adapted from
).
Among the challenges posed by the maritime sector are the harsh working environment and limitations related to onboard energy storage space that ultimately affect the payload
[59]. The applicable power range demands for maritime vehicles may be situated from a few kW to several MW, so the employment of hydrogen, a low volumetric energy density fuel, may not be ideal for long-distance travels, being viable for inland and short-sea shipping instead
[60].
Hydrogen FC for underwater applications has also gathered attention for commercial and military purposes
[3][61]. Fuel cell systems for undersea vehicles must store not only hydrogen as fuel, but also oxygen so that they can be catalytically combined to produce water, heat and useful electricity
[62]. HELION, an AREWA renewable subsidiary, tested its fuel cell technology for the propulsion of the Idef
x, an autonomous undersea vehicle operated by the French marine science research institute Ifremer. It carried 100 L of H
2 at 30 MPa and 50 L of O
2 at 25 MPa
[63]. The US Navy has an ongoing project in partnership with General Motor to adapt its hydrogen fuel cell technology to an autonomous robotic submarine
[64]. A British start-up, Oceanways, is currently developing a hydrogen-fueled autonomous cargo submarine to collect microplastics from the oceans, an effort towards clean-shipping research
[65]. Type 212 is a new generation of German submarine intended to be used as a reconnaissance boat and ship hunter that uses hydrogen fuel cells for its air-independent propulsion system. It features a nearly silently submerged cruise that could last for three weeks, and it is virtually undetectable. Hydrogen fuel is stored in between the outer and inner pressure hulls
[66].
7. Aviation
The global civil aviation industry has establish a long-term climate commitment to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and sustainable aviation fuels such as hydrogen play a major role in its energetic transition strategy, once batteries remain far too heavy for aviation purposes
[67]. The forecasted applications of hydrogen in aviation can be categorized into two main directions: the first involves the combustion of hydrogen as a replacement of kerosene for large airplanes, while the second employs hydrogen and fuel cell systems for the propulsion of small airplanes. Fuel cells also have the potential to replace diesel as fuel for auxiliary power units of aircraft and to replace batteries that power other devices and systems. Powering ground support equipment in the airport is also considered a viable way of integrating fuel cell technology in the aviation industry
[68].
Major milestones of hydrogen and fuel cell use in manned aircrafts date back to the last two decades. In 2008, Boeing Research and Technology conducted flight tests for the first manned fuel cell airplane, a Diamond DA20 (a modified two-seater motor glider, hybrid: H
2 fuel cell/Li-ion battery
[69]). Airbus followed with a successful application of a fuel cell system to power auxiliary hydraulic and electric systems of an Airbus 320, activating ailerons, rudders and other flight control systems
[70]. In 2009, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) developed the motor glider Antares, the world’s first manned aircraft to take-off by only employing power from high-performance fuel cells (25 kW, 5kg of H
2 @ 35 bar)
[71]. The RAPID 200-Fuel Cell, an airplane developed within the European Union’s ENFICA-FC project coordinated by the Politecnico di Torino, completed several flight tests using a completely electrical hybrid power system (20 kW FC, 35 MPa H
2 storage and a 20 kW Li–Po battery), breaking the world speed record for electrically powered airplanes
[72]. HY4, a four-seater powered with an hydrogen fuel cell, also developed by DLR, completed its maiden flight in 2016 (9 kg of H
2, 4 × 11 kW FC and 2 × 10 kWh batteries)
[73].
Today, several R&D groups are committed to further developing fuel cell propulsion systems for aviation. The HyFlyer project intends to decarbonize medium/small passenger aircrafts by optimizing a high-power fuel cell. Led by ZeroAvia, a California-based startup, in partnership with the UK Government’s Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) program, completed the first flight of a commercial-grade aircraft powered by hydrogen-fueled fuel cells, a modified propeller Piper M-class six-seat plane coupled with an FC and batteries. The project will conclude with a groundbreaking 19-seat hydrogen–electric aircraft with a 350 mile flight in early 2023
[74][75]. In 2021, General Motors and Liebherr-Aerospace started the joint development of a hydrogen fuel cell power system for aircraft applications. Focusing on commercial airplanes, this project does not focus on propulsion, but intends to replace the auxiliary power unit that runs the electrical systems of aircraft for a fuel-cell-powered one
[76]. The Airbus ZEROe program has unveiled three concepts for the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft, employing hydrogen as the primary power source. They are designed to utilize hydrogen fuel cells to complementarily power modified gas turbines, providing a highly efficient hybrid electric propulsion system that could be placed into service by 2035
[77].
The use of FCs as a major energy propulsion source has also become very popular for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and autonomous and remote-controlled aircrafts, capable of executing increasingly difficult and varied missions
[78][79][80]. Fuel cell adoption reduces the weight of conventional UAV propulsion systems, and lowers the noise and vibration while addressing environmental concerns. For instance, the weight of a hydrogen FC UAV can be 3.5 times lower than that of the lithium-based battery counterpart with the same energy capacity
[81].
Table 4 summarizes the applications of hydrogen FC UAVs developed. While early research has mainly focused on fixed-wing configurations, multi-rotor and helicopter drones are being investigated today
[82].
Table 4.
Examples of FC-powered UAVs.