Hydrogen likely to fuel ag

Washington’s agriculture is a $12.8 billion business with 33,000 farms — and it runs on gasoline, diesel, and natural gas. The hundreds of big rigs hauling crops and food products are not electric.

Even though new trucks have reduced CO2 and other pollutants, some politicians are hastily charging ahead to replace fossil-fueled trucks with unproven technology.

According to 2021 Environmental Protection Agency data, transportation was responsible for 30 percent of greenhouse gases of which 80 percent comes from cars and trucks. A quarter of the CO2 emitted in the transportation sector comes from medium and heavy-duty trucks.

Replacing diesel engines in long-haul trucks (Class 8) is expensive and a mammoth task. The Bureau of Transportation estimates there are 4.5 million big rigs operating in the U.S. They are the trucks and trailers we commonly see on our highways carrying cargo hundreds of miles and needing short refueling times—15 minutes compared to an hour.

Specifically, long-distance haulers need a network of hydrogen fueling stations (like today’s truck stops) along with affordable trucks and fuel. Hub researchers’ added challenge is 95 percent of the hydrogen used in commercial vehicles comes from high-temperature steamed methane where CO2 is released.

Green hydrogen, absent from CO2, uses lots of electricity to break water into hydrogen and oxygen (electrolysis), but it is expensive. In 2021, the International Energy Agency calculated green hydrogen production costs are more than three times higher when compared to manufacturing methane derived hydrogen.

Our state has an abundance of low-cost hydropower generated primarily by Columbia and Snake rivers dams. Surplus electricity from renewable sources could be directed to electrolysis plants.

For example, Douglas County Public Utility District is spending $20 million to build a renewable hydrogen production plant near Wenatchee. It uses surplus power from Wells Dam and was funded by a grant from the Washington Legislature.

Hydrogen and battery powered trucks are expensive to purchase even with Washington state’s commercial vehicle tax credit covering up to $100,000 of the incremental cost for new alternative fuel vehicles. Even with those taxpayer subsidies, those rigs could be beyond what struggling farm families can afford.

According to the International Council on Clean Transportation, the purchase price of a Class 8 hydrogen was $359,500, compared to $474,900 for a battery operated, and $143,500 for diesels. The added research should benefit truck manufacturers as well. PACCAR’s Renton plant assembles Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks and Oregon is where Daimler Portland’s factory makes Freightliners.

Nikola Motors, a U.S. maker of hydrogen trucks, claims its vehicles get 12 to 15 miles per gallon (mpg), well above the average 6.4 mpg for a diesel truck. Two years ago, Nikola Motors, based in Phoenix, announced it launched a roadmap for 700 fueling stations across our country.

European Union leaders are already investing heavily in hydrogen fuel research believing it is key to eliminating CO2 discharges from vehicles.

For example, one innovative technology is called pyrolysis. Hopefully, it will allow Europeans to pipe hydrogen as natural gas now travels long distances across the country and under water. Hydrogen created by pyrolysis is an adaptation of an industrial process developed over the years. It was designed to remove CO2 from the process by creating charred wood and organic matter.

Developing hydrogen into a commercially viable fuel takes money — lots of it. Europeans are relying on hydrogen fuel technologies to lead the way to substantial greenhouse gas reductions and a sizable chunk of the European Union’s €11 billion ($13.3 billion) climate initiative centers on hydrogen.

Hopefully, now that hydrogen technology is growing in acceptance, there will be greater attention to accelerating research and development, scaling up production, finding ways to reduce costs, and it will be well-tested before it is mandated.

— Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer, and columnist. He can be contacted at [email protected].