“… Government subsidies and loans as well as high diesel prices help make hydrogen competitive…” – Watts Up With That?

Essays by Eric Worrall

h/t rhs; I was wrong – if every business received government subsidies, everyone could take advantage of subsidized green hydrogen /sarc.

Australia goes all-in on blue hydrogen > Juggernaut or boondoggle—it’s too early to tell

Juggernaut or boondoggle—it’s too early to tell

PETER FAIRLEY
December 25, 2022

…

Today, 28 diesel-powered heavy-duty trucks operate at the Townsville refinery. When ships arrive at the port with zinc concentrate, or tie up cargo for zinc ingots, the rigs will tow three trailers and make a 30-kilometer loop from the port to the factory and back again within eight days. Time is money, Kim said, because occupying a harbor can cost up to AU$22,000 ($13,800) a day. Even if a battery-powered truck can handle the refinery’s 140,000-ton payload, Kim says his company can’t wait for the batteries to recharge.

…

In 2021, Ark Energy purchased shares of Hyzon engine, one of the few companies working on super-heavy fuel cell trucks. Hyzon, based in Rochester, NY, has agreed to equip some of its first super-powerful fuel cell rigs with right-hand drive and wider trunks on demand in Australia—something developers cannot deliver until 2025 or 2026. “We’re driving the transformation of Australia’s super-heavy trucking industry in a few years,” Kim said.

To fuel the trucks, Ark Energy ordered a 1 MW electrolyzer from plug in powerLatham, NY-based Kim predicts that construction of the electrolysis facility will begin around the end of 2022 and claims that five fuel-cell trucks will dock and return on hydrogen gas in the first quarter. 3 in 2023 or earlier.

Kim said these vehicles will cost “a little more than three times” than a comparable diesel truck, but the overall project will break even or even save money over its operating life. expected of trucks in 10 years. Government subsidies and loans as well as high diesel prices help make hydrogen competitive. The truck’s unchanged route is also a plus: The relatively flat detour allows for smaller, cheaper fuel cells. “This is a special purpose truck,” notes Kim.

…

Read more: https://spectrum.ieee.org/amp/green-hydrogen-2658958087

I’ll go with the boondoggle in this ridiculous exercise.

If green hydrogen can stand on its own without government funding and lending, it could make economic sense. But as long as companies leveraging green hydrogen are offset by taxes on the income of others, the push for green hydrogen will be a net drag on the Australian economy.