{"id":4156,"date":"2020-03-30T15:25:25","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T19:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.respectmyplanet.org\/publications\/?p=4156"},"modified":"2020-09-13T17:52:03","modified_gmt":"2020-09-13T21:52:03","slug":"usa-canada-quarterly-h2-infrastructure-update-2020-q1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.respectmyplanet.org\/publications\/fuel-cells\/usa-canada-quarterly-h2-infrastructure-update-2020-q1","title":{"rendered":"USA & CANADA QUARTERLY H2 INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE 2020-Q1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome new readers of RMP\u2019s quarterly H2 infrastructure report.\u00a0 <\/span>Each quarter we look back on the major stories related to hydrogen infrastructure advancements and we compare the current AFDC database to the AFDC database in the prior quarter to see what has changed.\u00a0 <\/span>The AFDC database is updated by the US Dept of Energy & can be found by clicking here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span>Canada does not have a centralized database of alternative fuel vehicle information so we collect Canadian data by hand.\u00a0 <\/span>Ok, on with the report\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

The opening quarter in 2020 has many important headlines but there are two major events for hydrogen infrastructure in North America that will be the focus of this article:\u00a0 <\/span>1) On March 5, 2020 the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved the Fuel Cell Energy & Toyota collaboration micro grid project that will use directed biogas from cow manure to produce 100% renewable #hydrogen for Class 8 trucks at the Port of Long Beach & the Port of Los Angeles. 2) On January 31, 2020 Air Products & the Orange County Transit Authority opened the largest fast fill hydrogen refueling station in America at OCTA\u2019s Santa Ana Bus Base on the banks of the Santa Ana River in Southern Los Angeles. <\/span><\/p>\n

The significance of the Project Portal approval is well conceptualized with a famous economic analogy.\u00a0 One of my favorite authors, Reed Jacobson, once wrote something in a computer programming book that has stuck with me for over 20 years:\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cLong before Henry Ford, and even before Marc Brunel, the economist Adam Smith reasoned that in a single day, a single worker could make only one straight pin, but ten people could subdivide the work and create 48,000 pins in the same day\u2014an almost 5,000-fold increase in productivity.\u201d \u00a0 <\/span>The concept Reed was teaching in that one sentence was the concept of writing a \u2018loop\u2019 in a computer language.\u00a0 <\/span>A loop is a chunk of computer code called a subroutine that specializes in one purpose & therefore can execute its special purpose very fast.\u00a0 <\/span>If you spend the time to get that loop set up correctly, its payback to you in terms of run-time execution & lines of code reduced, is 5,000-fold.\u00a0 <\/span>That powerful concept has helped improve productivity in our economy for hundreds of years in many different industries as well as helped me write more effective code for over twenty years now.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Schematic of Fuel Cell Energy LLC’s SureSource clean energy generation from biogas. Source Fuel Cell Energy LLC.\u00a0 Click this image or any image throughout to enlarge it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ‘loop’ analogy is appropriate with regard to the two major hydrogen infrastructure advancements that both took place in California in Q1 of 2020.\u00a0 <\/span>Both the large fast fueling OCTA bus station in Santa Ana & the CPUC approval of the biogas renewable tri-gen power plant at the Ports of Los Angeles & Long Beach represent the pioneer blueprints that can be rolled out all across the continent & all around the world just like a ‘loop’ subroutine.\u00a0 <\/span>Each of these projects represent the hard work required up front to iron out the kinks of very complex energy systems like micro grids.\u00a0 <\/span>The knowledge gained through the actual endeavor of generating sustained megawatt level zero emission energy is no easy task. \u00a0 <\/span>Best practices learned & standards developed from these projects can be used to pave the way for other stations & microgrids with capital costs dropping by orders of magnitude over time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spend the time up front to write that ‘loop’ really well just one time, and you can just execute the same thing over & over again at an exponential increase in productivity thus dropping costs as you get better at it.\u00a0 <\/span>We are at a crucial time in the nascent hydrogen economy where building more stations to serve the public is close to being a self-sustaining business model for entrepreneurial taxpayers.\u00a0 <\/span>Soon, the momentum will increase where new stations are proliferating at a self-sustaining rate.\u00a0 <\/span>Just like the years of effort put forth to build the Panama Canal to allow a single ship through has since allowed hundreds of thousands of ships to pass from Atlantic to Pacific; these pioneer stations provide the blue prints for long term sustainable energy at scale in a similar fashion.<\/span><\/p>\n

The payback for building a micro grid hydrogen fueling station at the Port of Los Angeles will change the sustainable energy industry going forward.\u00a0 <\/span>This very important power plant will demonstrate how zero emission tech can be better than pollution generating tech on a level economic playing field irrespective of its environmental benefits.\u00a0 <\/span>Up until this point, people have been sacrificing higher cost to get to low emission, what if we could soon have both?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hydrogen fuel cells can work economically at other ports in America where there are high concentrations of diesel engines for heavy transport.\u00a0 Ports around the country & world can adopt similar 100% renewable fuel cell energy power plants that put Americans’ to work on sustainable energy solutions.\u00a0 Click image to enlarge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Let\u2019s now look at the Project Portal approval by CPUC story which is the major headline of Q1. \u00a0 <\/span>Then we\u2019ll look at the OCTA station story in a little more detail.\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019ll then look at a listing of other key North American infrastructure headlines throughout Q1.\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019ll finish up with changes to the AFDC database.\u00a0 <\/span>Let\u2019s go.<\/span><\/p>\n

PROJECT PORTAL:<\/span><\/h4>\n

Originally announced in late 2017, the megawatt scale carbonate fuel cell micro grid collaboration between Toyota Motor Corporation and Fuel Cell Energy LLC has finally been approved by CPUC<\/span><\/a> as of March 5, 2020.\u00a0 <\/span>The Long Beach Harbor Commission approved the $40M project funded by CARB<\/span><\/a> in August of 2018.\u00a0 <\/span>Immediately after its approval by the harbor commission, SoCal Edison<\/span><\/a> stepped in to block the project from going forward.\u00a0 <\/span>CPUC\u2019s approval means SoCal Edison\u2019s roadblock is finally cleared and construction can now move forward.\u00a0 <\/span>This planned microgrid\/refueling station is an infrastructure project RMP has been writing about for over two years because of its milestone significance in 100% renewable energy with a negative carbon profile. \u00a0 <\/span>This upcoming facility will do more than provide 2.35MW of electricity, 1,270 kg of hydrogen per day, and hot water to buildings at the Ports of Los Angeles & Long Beach. The small footprint, quiet operation, trustworthy continuous power, & sophisticated ability to integrate into today\u2019s modern electricity grids will demonstrate Project Portal as a blue print that can be copied at other ports around the country and world.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ABOUT THE FUEL CELL MICROGRID ITSELF:<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u201cWhen designed and implemented properly, microgrids capitalize on all the benefits of fuel cells for on-site energy applications,\u201d said Ben Toby, Senior Vice President, Direct Sales and Customer Service. \u201cFuelCell Energy\u2019s innovation in the development of fuel cell microgrids delivers all of the value streams of this cutting edge technology to our customers, including resilient, reliable, cost-effective clean energy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Microgrids are more than simple back up power applications.\u00a0 They require integration of critical loads and power generation sources with sophisticated approaches to grid independent operation, sometimes requiring multiple power generation sources to synchronize with each other and non-critical loads to be shed for seamless transition.\u00a0 FuelCell Energy\u2019s microgrid technology has evolved over years of successful projects to effectively address the requirements of this important application.\u00a0 <\/span>Fuel Cell Energy LLC (FCEL) has built successful microgrid solutions in California already at the University of San Diego and the maximum security jail in Santa Rita.\u00a0 <\/span>FCEL has also built a microgrid at Pfizer\u2019s R&D center in Connecticut at the University of Bridgeport.\u00a0 One of the value streams of this carbonate fuel cell microgrid will be pure hydrogen that will be used in PEM fuel cells in the trucks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Drayage trucks at our ports represent a perfect captive market for hydrogen fuel cells similar to what we\u2019ve seen with hydrogen fuel cell fork trucks.\u00a0 <\/span>Plug Power makes fuel cells for fork truck fleets at Amazon & Walmart distribution centers across the country & around the world.\u00a0 <\/span>Plug has demonstrated why high volume refueling using hydrogen has better fleet economics than any other zero emission tech.\u00a0 <\/span>It has been proven that when you have more than 50 fork trucks in your facility, hydrogen fuel cells have better economics than batteries alone. \u00a0 <\/span>That same fleet concept demonstrated by Plug Power, is similar with large Class 8 fleets at a more massive scale.\u00a0 <\/span>Project Portal is a great demonstration that no zero emission tech can scale like hydrogen fuel cells.\u00a0 <\/span>The first ten trucks to kick off Project Portal will be made in collaboration between Toyota & Kenworth.\u00a0 <\/span>Let\u2019s talk about the trucks.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Trucks at the Port of Long Beach operate day & night burning diesel fuel. The exhaust floods the air with particulate matter , nitrous oxides, and sulfur dioxides. If you live nearby, you breathe this pollution in 24\/7\/365.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ports of Long Beach & Los Angeles currently see about 16,000 drayage trucks per day and it is estimated there will be 32,000 trucks in operation per day by 2030 according to the US Dept of Transportation & the Federal Highway Administration. \u00a0 <\/span>Just over 25% of US port activity is recorded at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach making them the #1 & #2 largest ports in America <\/span><\/a>and they sit side by side on the same 130 acres almost as if they were one port.\u00a0 <\/span>The Ports of Long Beach & Los Angeles have together earned the nickname:\u00a0 <\/span>America\u2019s Port. \u00a0 <\/span>What better place to demonstrate hydrogen fuel cell scalability at the largest port in North America.<\/span><\/p>\n

Already, Toyota & Kenworth\u2019s \u201cAlpha\u201d & \u201cBeta\u201d trucks have logged more than 14,000 miles of regular drayage routes. \u00a0 <\/span>The new Beta trucks have extended their range to over 300 miles which is about double the typical average daily duty of 150 miles required for drayage operations.\u00a0 <\/span>Ten new zero-emissions fuel-cell-electric Kenworth\/Toyota trucks will be\u00a0<\/b>developed through a collaboration between Kenworth and Toyota to move cargo from the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports throughout the Los Angeles area, the Inland Empire, the Port of Hueneme, and eventually to Merced.\u00a0 The trucks will be operated by Toyota Logistics Services (4), United Parcel Services (3), Total Transportation Services Inc. (2), and Southern Counties Express (1).<\/span><\/p>\n

Two new large-capacity heavy-duty hydrogen fueling stations\u00a0will also be developed by Shell in Wilmington and Ontario, California to eventually extend Project Portal. The two new stations will join three additional stations located at Toyota\u2019s Long Beach Logistics Services and Gardena R&D facilities to form an integrated, five station heavy-duty hydrogen fueling network for the Los Angeles basin. Together, these stations will provide multiple sources of hydrogen throughout the region, including over one ton of 100% renewable hydrogen per day at the Toyota Logistics Services station to be operated by Shell, and important research and development advances at a pair of stations operated by Air Liquide, all enabling zero-emissions freight transport.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This graphic comes from the 31 page DOE Advanced Truck Technologies Electrified Powertrain Roadmap Technical Targets for Hydrogen-Fueled Long-Haul Tractor-Trailer Trucks document<\/a>.\u00a0 The document was published by the DOE’s FCTO on January 27, 2020 by authors Jason Marcinkoski, Ram Vijayagopal, Jesse Adams, Brian James, John Kopasz, Rajesh Ahluwalia and approved for release by Dr. Sunita Satyapal and David Howell on 12\/12\/2019.\u00a0 It’s a technical read but interesting if you like to read about future economic targets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Expanded use of zero-emissions technology in the cargo terminal and warehouse environments will also get in on the hydrogen action,\u00a0including the first two zero-emissions yard tractors to be operated at the Port of Hueneme, as well as the expanded use of zero-emissions forklifts at Toyota\u2019s port warehouse.\u00a0 <\/span>Forklifts, cars, & Class 8 tractors will all be sharing the same fuel from the same type of dispenser.\u00a0 <\/span>I think it\u2019s very important to contrast hydrogen to hydrocarbons in this regard as the J2601<\/a> hydrogen refueling standardization protocol gives huge cost savings advantages to h2 over refined crude oil products.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because of the way oil is extracted from the earth, you get waste water, propane, butane, crude oil, and a host of other nasties that all need to be separated & processed both at the well head and many more points downstream before refined fuel can go into your vehicle.\u00a0 <\/span>Fork lifts generally run on propane.\u00a0 <\/span>Cars typically run on gasoline.\u00a0 <\/span>Class 8 trucks generally run on diesel.\u00a0 <\/span>All those different fuels get different processing & logistics. \u00a0 <\/span>Plus, you can\u2019t swap a propane forklift\u2019s fuel for diesel because propane & diesel don\u2019t work that way.\u00a0 <\/span>With hydrogen, vehicles are on the same refueling platform.\u00a0 <\/span>With hydrogen, it\u2019s all the same nozzle. \u00a0 <\/span>With hydrogen, it\u2019s all the same dispenser. \u00a0 <\/span>Contrast that to hydrocarbons:\u00a0 <\/span>racks & racks of empty & full propane tanks that need to get swapped out of fork trucks & refilled on a daily basis. \u00a0 <\/span>Separate overground & underground tanks for gasoline & diesel that require large footprints & special regulations & have a history of leaking and contaminating ground water. \u00a0 <\/span>Think even further upstream:\u00a0 <\/span>cracking plants to turn raw hydrocarbons into propane, butane, gasoline, & diesel. \u00a0 <\/span>Think further upstream from that, massive platforms built & sent out into deepwater to drill for oil.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s madness.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Think about how all of that effort [& money] is wasted as compared to how we can make hydrogen from renewable energy & water in our backyards.\u00a0 <\/span>I challenge you to think about those points, because they\u2019re all true and important from a cost perspective.<\/span><\/p>\n

While I tend to think about the nerdier parts of the hydrogen economy & how good hydrogen can be for society, I know what people really want is a salacious headline or something exciting & tantalizing.\u00a0 <\/span>So, in the spirit of giving people what they want, here is a very short video clip of a Toyota\/Kenworth Class 8 fuel cell truck kicking the butt of a Class 8 diesel truck in a drag race<\/span><\/a> before we get on to the second major story of Q1-2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n