Originally Posted by OVERKILL
The other issue with hydrogen is that it isn't currently produced in a method that's an improvement in environmental impact. The VRE crowd like to plug wind and solar using electrolysis as a viable method, but that's insane. The reason it is primarily extracted from NG is because it's vastly more efficient.
There's some promise in using UHT nukes to essentially produce it as a waste product, with the primary purpose of the plant being power generation, but that's still got a LONG way to go.
Extraction or reformation is half the battle - but getting it to the end user and ensuring you get all the fill you paid for. I would imagine a fueling station for H2 is similar to a gas station(and it is a gas station literally). But to transport hydrogen currently involves tank cars, unlike gasoline which is easily transported in pipelines. There's more liquid and CNG pipelines but not dedicated pipelines for H2. The last mile will always be trucks. I've seen trucks from Linde or Air Products over at AC Transit's East Oakland yard a few times from the train.
But getting full fill is another story, granted a fuel cell bus carries more H2 than a car but still. This would be an issue if Mirais and Clarities become as plentiful as Prii and Civics.
Quote
Agencies have reported issues in getting a full fill
when the station fill rate is high. After the tank cools, the tank pressure is less than 350 bar.
Agencies report that this can result in the buses running low on fuel before completing scheduled
service. To avoid sending a bus out with less fuel than needed, some agencies top off the fuel
tanks in the morning. This adds labor time and is not optimal for typical transit operation. AC
Transit has reported this issue and has been working with its station and OEM partners on a
solution. The station setpoint has been increased to 380 bar so that the final pressure after
cooling is closer to 350 bar.
https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/72208.pdf