Echoing the voices of hydrogen critics everywhere, Mahle Chairman Arnd Franz says building a hydrogen infrastructure will not be possible without “blue” H made from fossil fuels.
If you don't know Mahle, they are a famous engineering firm perhaps best known (in my circles, at least) for their high performance piston designs. But it's big time, and their technology goes beyond the repetitive tricks of the VR38DETT.
With that in mind, I don't want to distort the words of Mr. Honorable Franz, who says he hopes that H puts fuel. What I intend to do here, then, is to shine a light in the space between Franz's lines, read whatever is there, and ask if you see what I see.
“We cannot achieve any reduction in CO2 emissions if we use natural gas or other fossil sources to produce hydrogen,” Franz is quoted as saying. “Today, most of the world's hydrogen production is about 90 million tons. That number will rise to 130 million tons by 2030. Currently, we have a thriving and growing segment of that which is more sustainable. By more sustainable, I mean blue and, ultimately, green hydrogen. In our view, [blue hydrogen production is needed] to keep the infrastructure going so that the ecosystem can be found.”
I read that as, today, there are no benefits to reducing carbon emissions by using hydrogen as a fuel, because most of those 90 million tons are produced by natural gas and fossil fuels.
Furthermore, everyone involved seems to be trying to justify it by claiming that fossil hydrogen is some kind of “necessary evil” (my words) to create a viable H ecosystem. See if you can hear it, too.
“We will fail [with hydrogen technology] if we don't use blue hydrogen,” explained Franz. “Currently, hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels and carbon capture, which means we don't allow carbon to reach the atmosphere. Ultimately, we need to get to wind and solar as energy sources to make hydrogen, and we believe the US has a really impressive program. [thanks to] funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.”
And, if you believe in those good intentions – well, read a little about Chevron's history of using patent law to block the development of nickel-hydride EV batteries in the 90s and early aughts and see if that changes your mind.
We don't know anything yet
Earlier this year, MAN Truck CEO Alexander Vlaskamp told reporters that “it is impossible for hydrogen to compete effectively with battery-electric trucks.”
He was right then, and he is right now. “It's one thing to have the technology and another for the technology to work,” Vlaskamp told the magazine. Expansion (translated from Spanish). “Green hydrogen is not available for transport and there is no point in switching from diesel to hydrogen if the energy source is not sustainable.”
Nevertheless, MAN continues to develop hydrogen technology with remarkable openness. And, by “open,” I mean: he just says he's developing hydrogen technology to absorb the subsidy money.
That's my take, anyway. Let us know what you think of my “reading between the lines” of Mahle's speech in the comments.
SOURCE | PHOTOS: Mahle, via CCJ.
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