Hydrogen availability

[jimbouk]

Not sure if anyone else on here has a hydrogen car....

If so have you been suffering a lack of availability of hydrogen?

Not been able to get any since March.... expensive car park ornament!

[Mikehig]

I assume you mean that the filling station(s) that you use are out of service?

It seems a bit bizarre because huge amounts of Hydrogen are produced world-wide for all sorts of major industrial processes - about 80 million tons per year. Many/most of those will have kept running.

As I understand it, filling stations are supplied by local electrolysis plants. Maybe the supplier/operator has suspended operations due to Covid? Otherwise it should be possible to bring in supplies and hook them up to the plant - cylinder packs or tube trailers.

Have you contacted the supplier - I think it's a company called ITM?

[jimbouk]

Indeed.

I have a meeting with their MD next week.

Just trying to understand the scale of the issue from ‘users’ perspective.

[jjwilde]

Babes we told you what would happen, and when did we tell you? A long time ago.

Hydrogen is a dead end fuel for cars, they already closed down the stations in Norway and looks like the UK is next.

People in American managed to get their leases ended early when it happened there.

Get your money back and move on.

[Pica-Pica]

jimbouk said:

Indeed.

I have a meeting with their MD next week.

Just trying to understand the scale of the issue from ‘users’ perspective.

A virtual meeting, I assume.

[jimbouk]

Well I’m not driving it there

[granada203028]

I thought you could get electrolysers for home use?

[Evanivitch]

Out of interest OP, where in the country are you? I know there's sites in Port Talbot and Pontypridd but I've no idea their availability.

granada203028 said:

I thought you could get electrolysers for home use?

45p/kWh of hydrogen sounds a tad expensive...

[Mikehig]

jimbouk said:

Indeed.

I have a meeting with their MD next week.

Just trying to understand the scale of the issue from ‘users’ perspective.

It would be very interesting to hear the feedback, if you are able to report what is said.
It seems unlikely that there is any market shortage of the gas so it's a puzzler.

[JonnyVTEC]

Nightmare really cos filling stations are easy to change to hydrogen where as we need loads of infrastructure to charge electric cars...

Oh wait.

Beaconsfield not got any? Come to think of it how do you move one that’s empty? I know there’s a joke of a generator for an electric car but Atleast it an option!

[jjwilde]

Can't wait for James May to update his ownership of one of these!

No fuel for March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October.

Will probably still not admit defeat. Ridiculous fuel for a car.

Seriously tho, what are Toyota (or whoever) saying?

[GT119]

Tis but a scratch!

[MrB.]

Gosh, how interesting. I had a Hyundai Nexo on test last week, but I have to admit, I didn’t try and fuel it. My local station would be Cobham services on the M25, but I hadn’t heard of the shortages.

Whereabouts are you based?

[thecremeegg]

jjwilde said:

Can't wait for James May to update his ownership of one of these!

No fuel for March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October.

Will probably still not admit defeat. Ridiculous fuel for a car.

Seriously tho, what are Toyota (or whoever) saying?

It's a great fuel for a car, like leccy cars it just needs investment!

[leef44]

MrB. said:

Gosh, how interesting. I had a Hyundai Nexo on test last week, but I have to admit, I didn’t try and fuel it. My local station would be Cobham services on the M25, but I hadn’t heard of the shortages.

Whereabouts are you based?

That's interesting, I didn't realise that it was available in Cobham.

[Polite M135 driver]

thecremeegg said:

jjwilde said:

Can't wait for James May to update his ownership of one of these!

No fuel for March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October.

Will probably still not admit defeat. Ridiculous fuel for a car.

Seriously tho, what are Toyota (or whoever) saying?

It's a great fuel for a car, like leccy cars it just needs investment!

It’s a crap fuel for a car, it’s about the least energy dense chemical fuel you can get, and currently it’s not really made renewably. Should we get to a point where we can generate it on scale from renewably generated electricity then it becomes worthwhile putting up with that limitation. As long as the majority is generated from fossil fuels, as it is now, then it’s no good.

Edited by Polite M135 driver on Saturday 17th October 20:12

[leef44]

Polite M135 driver said:

thecremeegg said:

jjwilde said:

Can't wait for James May to update his ownership of one of these!

No fuel for March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October.

Will probably still not admit defeat. Ridiculous fuel for a car.

Seriously tho, what are Toyota (or whoever) saying?

It's a great fuel for a car, like leccy cars it just needs investment!

It’s a crap fuel for a car, it’s about the least energy dense chemical fuel you can get, and currently it’s not really made renewably. Should we get to a point where we can generate it on scale from renewably generated electricity then it becomes worthwhile putting up with that limitation. As long as the majority is generated from fossil fuels, as it is now, then it’s no good.

Edited by Polite M135 driver on Saturday 17th October 20:12

It seems very country specific. I don't know about much renewable energy generation for electrolysis plants in the UK but the Netherlands seems to be going big on this with tidal wave/wind farm energy for Chlorine/H2 electrolysis plant.

[jjwilde]

thecremeegg said:

It's a great fuel for a car, like leccy cars it just needs investment!

It is an absurd fuel for a car, hence why it isn't working (and never will).

[ruggedscotty]

Oh people are not going to use hydrocarbons.... we need something fast...

Ahhhh Hydrogen, lets make hyrdogen and sell it for hydrogen engines.

we can still make internal combustion engines run on hydrogen, yasssss ! we get to service them, the need oil and filters and lots of money spent on them can keep our dealers happy busy and rich.

Fuel companies we can make the car you make the fuel, you get to keep your refulling stations and profitable forecourt shops M&S Waitrose branded outlets.... yessssss !

So how do we make hydrogen, electrolysis... thats energy intensive ? yeah but we have plenty of water.... we need to compress it transport it and sell it... so we keep our distribution.... rubs hands together this is the fuel to save.... fuel stations and car makers...

energy intensive to make hydrogen, its got to be distribututed, and it has a low energy density...

it is just sooooo bad...

battery has this so beaten before its even out the pen.

[Polite M135 driver]

Hydrogen isn’t made (mostly) by electrolysis, it’s made from methane.