There is growing consensus that achieving the levels of cost needed for mass adoption will require Hydrogen production at scale. Supporting evidence for this is that many of the largest global electrolyser manufacturers (e.g. ITM Power) are no longer quoting for units smaller than 0.5 MW (~250 kg/day). At the other end of the scale, multiple projects are underway involving electrolyser schemes at >10 MW scale. A renewable energy consortium has just announced a project in development to produce 50,000 60,000 kgs per day of green hydrogen in Rotterdam by 2023 in a 200 MW electrolyser mega project8. PioneerTM is an example of an emerging trend in hydrogen refuelling: mobile hydrogen stations. These fit very well with the need to distribute hydrogen from a large centralised production plant. They enable quick setup of trials for new fleets and maximise the serviceable area for each production node. What distinguishes PioneerTM stations in this category of equipment is focus on low capital cost and low operational cost, as well as ease of deployment, given they are compressor free and therefore do not require an industrial power supply to be present to the refuelling sites..
Other approaches to mobile refuelling, have largely focused on modularising and mobilising much of the functionality of a conventional fixed HRS, with compression and sometimes precooling of the hydrogen at the dispensing site. This approach fails to address the issues of cost and reliability and also put significant responsibility on the end user to have an adequate industrial power supply available. In contrast, Pioneer™ station’s innovative, trailer mounted, design removes all rotating machines, pumps, compressors etc. making the station deployable almost anywhere and truly mobile, taking just 30 minutes to start up and be ready to refuel.
As well as helping to speed up the transition to hydrogen as a fuel in the highway mobility sector a clear, long-term future for this technology will be in supporting the decarbonisation of off-highway equipment. Non road mobile machinery (NRMM), such as construction equipment and static off-highway equipment such as diesel generators, currently have fuel brought to them. Battery technology has clear limitations in this heavy-duty sector, and we see companies such as JCB and Liebherr developing hydrogen ICE engines and equipment. Low power, cascade mobile hydrogen refuelling technology, such as that proven with the Pioneer™ will allow fuel to be brought to the equipment and facility a refuelling and operational experience much more akin to diesel, that battery solutions.
