General Motors (GM) and Honda have decided to start a new co-developed system to produce hydrogen fuel cells in its joint facility in Michigan, which is a turning point for both companies. Aiming for a more sustainable future and zero-emission vehicles, these manufacturers announced their intention to shift away from diesel engines and focus on hydrogen engines.
Hydrogen fuel cells are a big step in sustainable technology since they use compressed hydrogen as a fuel source. Besides its water vapor emissions, technology’s advantages in the construction of mobile power generators and heavy-duty vehicles, have caught several automakers’ attention.
Overcoming roadblocks to hydrogen engines production
Despite this zero-emission and hydrogen fuel cell technology, FCEVs have not been very successful in the market for passenger cars. This may be happening due to the almost complete lack of a refueling infrastructure. However, GM and Honda are confident in the fact that it will be simpler to develop hydrogen fuelling stations for automobiles that run in tight spaces.
Another challenge faced by automakers like GM and Honda is hydrogen storage. Due to its low energy content per volume, hydrogen is difficult to store as compact storages need low temperatures and high pressures, along with few chemical reactions. Overcoming this challenge is crucial to hydrogen engines’ success since passenger vehicles frequently have a limited weight and size capacity for fuel storage.
A point in favor of GM and Honda venture’s ambition is that recently, the Biden administration put forward a new tax legislation to lower the cost of producing hydrogen. These tax guidelines’ goal is to ease the process for companies to invest in hydrogen production and infrastructure. Also, the Biden administration wants to incentivize companies to claim a tax credit for up to 30% of the cost of creating hydrogen from renewable sources. The new tax guidelines will help GM and Honda to make more affordable and accessible hydrogen, and turn their switch into hydrogen engines a total success.
GM and Honda turn waste and old plastic into hydrogen
Besides switching tires from diesel to hydrogen engines, GM and Honda, want to develop a new technology that can turn waste and old plastic into hydrogen fuel. The process is called pyrolysis, which uses high temperatures and pressure to break down plastic into hydrogen. Making it a more sustainable method to produce hydrogen than traditional fossil fuel processes.
Developing this technology will mean a significant development for the FCEVs market, as it will not only provide a new green energy source but also reduce the impact of plastic pollution worldwide.
Waste to Hydrogen competitors
But GM and Honda are not the only ones behind the idea of turning waste into hydrogen. The South Korean Hyundai Motor Company is focusing on a resource-circulation strategy that incorporates plastic-to-hydrogen and waste-to-hydrogen.
While Plastic-to-Hydrogen melts waste plastics that cannot be recovered, eliminating byproducts along the process and producing hydrogen through gasification, Waste-to-Hydrogen uses the fermentation of organic waste to create biogas that is treated to capture carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
Hyundai has already begun testing waste-to-hydrogen in Indonesia. In the United States, the company is contributing to the creation of federally financed hydrogen hubs and is testing thirty Hyundai Xcient hydrogen fuel-cell semis at the Port of Oakland in California.
Despite these mentioned challenges GM and Honda face, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) have great potential for the future due to their high range, fast refilling, and zero emissions. In the upcoming years, the number of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) on the road is expected to increase, as the cost of hydrogen engines and fuel cell production reduces.