Hydrogen combustion and hydrogen fuel cells are complementary, as they thrive in the same ecosystem

For both powertrains, the availability of hydrogen refuelling stations and the cost of hydrogen at the pump are the key factors that will determine success and are of the greatest concern today. However, both powertrains require (largely) the same infrastructure; thus, each H2-ICE vehicle will help to bring down the costs for hydrogen fuel cells, and vice versa. Similarly, both powertrains share the same hydrogen tank technology—a significant share of overall powertrain costs. Allowing OEMs and tank suppliers to amortize R&D and CAPEX over a larger number of vehicles will help bring down the cost curve for all hydrogen vehicles and support the competitiveness of both solutions. Finally, hybrid solutions with hydrogen combustion engines, fuel cells, and batteries are being actively developed by some players to maximize efficiencies for variable load profiles.

Achieving zero emissions across transportation segments globally is a tremendous challenge; nevertheless, H2-ICEs can play their part with multiple applications to provide complementary solutions to FCEVs and BEVs.

H2-ICE’s advantages include lower payload penalties and space requirements, faster refuelling times compared to BEV trucks, lower costs, and higher tolerances for heat and vibrations. Various vehicle segments could benefit from these advantages, including these:

• light-duty vehicles, such as tow trucks
• medium-duty vehicles, such as medium-haul and fire trucks
• heavy-duty vehicles, such as concrete trucks
• mining and construction vehicles, such as crawler dozers, excavators, and dump trucks
• agricultural vehicles, such as harvesting machinery and tractors

Several players, including vehicle OEMs, engine suppliers, engineering-service companies, and H2-ICE start-ups, are already investigating hydrogen combustion as part of their on- and off-highway zero-emissions solution offerings. Importantly, they are weighing this potential against the additional R&D resources required to develop the technology around batteries and fuel cells. China, notably, is creating momentum in relation to H2-ICE. The future portfolio of powertrains will be complex, but adding hydrogen combustion vehicles to the mix may be well worth the effort.