The race towards zero-emissions freight trucking, specifically the use of hydrogen as a power source, will not succeed unless the industry is allowed by governmental authorities to first use blue hydrogen, Mahle CEO Arnd Franz told a small group of journalists at IAA Transportation 2024 in Hannover, Germany.
Blue hydrogen is produced mainly from natural gas, therefore it leaves a carbon foot print. Green hydrogen, by contrast, is produced by splitting water by electrolysis. Agencies like the California Air Resources Board (CARB) are aiming to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in any form, including natural gas and biofuels.
But you have to start from somewhere in order to push the market forward.
"We can't achieve any CO2 emission reductions if you use natural gas or any other fossil sources to produce hydrogen," Franz acknowledged. "Today, the overwhelming portion of hydrogen production worldwide is around 90 million tons. That number is going to go up to 130 million tons until 2030. Currently, we have a flourishing and growing portion of that being more sustainable. By more sustainable, I mean blue and, eventually, green hydrogen. In our opinion, [blue hydrogen production is needed] to get the infrastructure going in order to get the ecosystem."
In other words, blue hydrogen is a faster way to scale hydrogen use industry-wide, eventually leading to lower prices and even greater implementation.
"We will fail [with hydrogen technology] if we don't use blue hydrogen," Franz clarified. "Right now, hydrogen is produced from fossil sources with carbon capture, meaning we don't let the carbon reach the atmosphere. Eventually, we need to get to wind and solar as the sources of energy to make hydrogen, and we believe the US has a really impressive program [thanks to] subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act."
Mahle CEO Arnd FranzMahle
At present, the most significant green hydrogen projects are happening in Australia, South Africa, and Brazil, according to Franz. The EU is also a producer and he believes it could become a net hydrogen exporter.
Continuing to make his hydrogen case, Franz pointed out that "diesel prices will not go down from where they are at the moment in Europe, perhaps also not in the US. No matter whether it's hydrogen fuel cell technology or hydrogen combustion, this technology will beat diesel [fuel economy]."
At IAA Hannover, Mahle is displaying what it describes as its "systematic approach" to hydrogen technology with fuel cell peripherals, thermal management, as well as a fully functional heavy-duty electric axle that utilizes two Super Continuous Torque (SCT) electric motors with liquid management systems. The OEM says that its SCT motor can deliver high power for an unlimited amount of time, and it's small, lightweight and efficient.
