How Do Hydrogen Cells Work in Heavy Machinery?
What are hydrogen fuel cells and how do they work in heavy machinery?
Hydrogen fuel cells are considered to be a cleaner, greener way to fuel vehicles, as opposed to more traditional methods such as internal combustion engines. As the sector moves towards zero and low carbon technologies major manufacturers such as Caterpillar, Volvo and JCB are developing hydrogen fuel cell technologies to power construction and earthmoving equipment.
Hydrogen fuel cells essentially work like batteries to generate power, except they do not run down or need charging, and can continue to produce electricity if fuel is supplied.
The fuel cells contain two electrodes and an electrolyte which work with the hydrogen fuel to power heavy machinery. Hydrogen is fed to the anode, the positive electrode, and air is fed to the cathode, its negative counterpart. A catalyst at the anode separates the hydrogen fuel into protons and electrons, and the protons pass through the electrolyte between the electrodes to the cathode, while the electrons take a different path through a circuit, generating a flow of electricity. The electrons and protons finally meet at the cathode and when they combine with oxygen they produce their clean by-products, water and heat.
It's only in the past decade or so that hydrogen fuel cells have become a real possibility for fuelling heavy machinery, and the technology is still developing. Earlier this year, Cummins and Komatsu announced that they would be collaborating on the development of innovative, industry leading hydrogen fuel cell solutions for heavy machinery in the mining industry, making use of hydrogen’s ability to be used in remote locations without the need for access to power grids.
How do hydrogen cells compare to diesel engines?
Aside from the relatively well known differences in the ways that fuel cells and diesel engines work, with the former relying on an electrical circuit and the latter on a four stroke cycle, both sources of power generation have a number of different advantages and drawbacks for usage with heavy duty machinery.
Efficiency
While diesel engines are far more fuel efficient than petroleum engines, hydrogen fuel cells offer even greater efficiency properties. Hydrogen has an energy density of 120MJ/kg, three times greater than diesel. Furthermore, diesel engines lose around 50% of energy to heat, whereas the figure is only 10% with hydrogen fuel cells. This means that more energy can be generated per kilogram of fuel, delivering efficiency in terms of both cost and fuel savings.
Reliability
Diesel engines are regarded as one of the most reliable engineering inventions. The usage of diesel engine parts across multiple industries, from manufacturers such as Cummins, Komatsu, Volvo and Caterpillar for example, is testament to this. Yet hydrogen fuel cells are giving them a run for their money. Without any moving parts, fuel cells arguably boast greater reliability, mitigating the risk of mechanical failure and making maintenance a simpler task. Diesel engines do have the benefit of proven technology and a century of established supply chains.
Environmental Impact
A potential drawback to hydrogen fuel cell technology is the issue of fuel storage and what this means for hydrogen’s environmentally sustainable reputation. Hydrogen needs to be stored in huge tanks, and alternative methods such as liquefying or pressurising utilises energy sources which are not guaranteed to be renewable. This reduces the clean and green impact of the alternative to diesel’s carbon emissions, and is an issue which manufacturers will be looking to solve over the coming years.
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