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January 3, 2023
By John
Hitch
![](images/images_01_04_2023/PlugTruck.jpg)
Plug
Power previews the potentional of a green hydrogen highway.
Produced using renewable energy, green
hydrogen could help make transportation a carbon-neutral reality—if
the cost can match the price of diesel. That is what Plug Power is
trying to accomplish by 2030. Go behind the scenes at its operations
in New York.
ROCHESTER, New York—About 100 miles from Niagara Falls, where Nikola
Tesla’s hydroelectric power plant design—a landmark in renewable
energy—was first implemented (way back in 1895), a hydrogen energy
solutions provider called Plug
Power is building out one of this century’s most ambitious energy
projects: a green hydrogen highway.
Green hydrogen is created using only renewable energy such as wind,
solar, and hydroelectric to power the electrolyzers that separate
water into hydrogen and oxygen using anodes and cathodes. The
Albany-based Plug makes those, along with the fuel cells that convert
hydrogen fuel and air into electricity. Currently, most hydrogen is
made using natural gas—via steam method reformation—to power the
electrolyzers, but Plug hopes the green variation will catch on as
countries and companies try to reach carbon neutrality.
“Hydrogen is really the Swiss Army knife of this transition to
renewable energy,” explained Andy Marsh, Plug’s president and CEO.
![](images/images_01_04_2023/plug_external_generator.639a2156857d3.jpg)
Plug Power uses hydropower from Niagara Falls to energize its
electrolyzers, which generate liquid hydrogen from water. This green
hydrogen can be used onsite or transported for use in stationary and
mobility applications.John Hitch | Fleet Maintenance
Hydrogen also happens to be the most abundant element in the universe,
so there’s plenty to go around.
“With green hydrogen, zero carbon emissions are produced,” offered
Mike Roeth, the executive director of the North American Council for
Freight Efficiency (NACFE). “It is, in essence, the gold standard of
hydrogen in the clean energy sector.”
NACFE, and many others in the transportation industry—which accounts
for 70% of greenhouse gas emissions—are
bullish on the benefits of green hydrogen.
Hydrogen fuel in general is seen as an enticing alternative to diesel
for commercial vehicles and power generation. It has three times the
energy density of diesel fuel (120 megajoules/kg vs. 45.45 MJ/kg).
“As fleets are required to move to cleaner alternatives, hydrogen
serves as an excellent zero-emission ‘one-for-one’ replacement
for diesel,” noted Katrina M. Fritz, executive
director of the California
Hydrogen Business Council. “Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs)
that are powered with hydrogen enjoy long range, limited maintenance,
and short refueling time. This makes FCEVs ideal for duty cycles of
commercial trucking fleets.”
Plug and Renault entered a joint venture called Hyvia to make the
H2-TECH hydrogen-powered commercial van. The H2 can carry a payload of
up to 1 ton and reach nearly 250 miles per tank.John Hitch | Fleet
Maintenance
Benefits of fuel-cell trucks
In the over-the-road segment, FCEVs also are expected to have a range
more comparable to diesel trucks, while battery-electric trucks are
under 300 miles. The Tesla Semi recently reached 500 miles on one
charge, though how much of its 81,000-lb. GVWR was battery and how
much was freight is unclear.
An FCEV using green hydrogen also has sustainability advantages over
any battery-electric vehicles that source their electricity from
fossil-fuel power plants. At least for now, an electric truck takes 30
minutes using a DC fast charger, a
method that early testing indicates reduces overall battery
capacity over time, while liquid hydrogen pumps about the same rate as
diesel, or under 15 minutes.
Marsh said a Class 8 truck requires 1-MW of power, and to get more
range, they need to add more batteries. These are very heavy and would
limit the amount of freight the truck could haul, he noted.
Read more: Kenworth,
Toyota prove out real-world benefits of FCEVs
Because of these benefits to a fleet’s operation and sustainability,
Plug envisions commercial FCEVs taking up a substantial share of the
road.
“Some of our larger customers in logistics tell me that they believe
at a minimum 30% of the last mile will end up being fuel cells, and a
maximum 70%,” Marsh said, citing a European customer’s projections. “A
lot has to do with how you keep that asset on the road. You can fill
it fast, run twice as long, and end up with having fewer assets.”
The current challenge is that the cost to produce the fuel source has
been too high to make it cost-effective. Particularly in trucking,
green hydrogen must get closer to price parity with diesel for any
significant adoption.
This is where Plug comes in. The company doesn’t only want to create a
renewable source of fuel but an affordable one as well. The company
has more than 50,000 e-mobility units in the field, virtually all fuel
cell forklifts, and that volume and scale have benefited Plug at the
plant level.
“Every time we doubled the number of units in the field, our costs
declined by about 25%,” relayed Marsh.
This will benefit customers of both the hydrogen fuel and fuel cells.
Those customers are few and far between now, but soon they will be as
emissions regulations ramp up. Several truck and powertrain
manufacturers have hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles in the
works, from Cummins to Paccar. Daimler Truck AG and Volvo Group AB are
pooling resources through a joint venture called cellcentric to
develop efficient fuel cells, while publicly traded startups such as
Nikola Corp. and Hyzon Motors have gone it alone, which had led to
frays with short sellers, and eventually, leadership changes.
![](images/images_01_04_2023/Nikola_Two_FCEV_Sleeper.639a23c303e53.jpg)
The Nikola Two Sleeper fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is expected
to reach 900 miles between hydrogen fuel-ups, and could be available
by the end of 2024. The more compact Nikola Tre FCEV, already
available as an electric truck, is slated for production in
2023.Nikola Corp.
Read more: The
dawn of hydrogen trucks
Save for a fuel-cell electric delivery van called the HyVia H2-TECH,
developed through a joint venture with Renault in Europe, Plug has no
immediate plans to produce commercial vehicles. The company has found
success selling fuel-cell forklifts for about nine years, though.
Instead, the company founded in 1997 is focusing on green hydrogen
production solutions and fuel cells.
“We're happy to sell anybody fuel. We're happy to work with anybody
with their fuel cells, we're happy to sell anybody electrolyzers if
they want to make their own fuels,” Marsh said. “We're arms
dealers—we're happy to sell anything.”
And Plug has a lengthy head start in building the infrastructure and
service and distribution network needed to make this renewable energy
source more readily available by the end of the decade. As previously
stated, it all starts in Upstate New York.
Plug’s plan
In October, Plug invited partners, customers, analysts, and select
media (including Fleet Maintenance)
to its annual symposium, held at the Plug Power Innovation Center, a
155,000-sq.ft. gigafactory located in West Henrietta, a quiet suburb
of Rochester. Plug sources its electricity from low-cost
hydroelectricity from the Niagara Power Project to make hydrogen
onsite and power the facility.
Built in 2021, the gigafactory manufactures the membrane electrode
assemblies, key components in the company’s electrolyzers and fuel
cells, at a clip of 2 million per year. These thin metal pieces, the
size of license plates, are stacked on top of each other like reams of
paper and allow for the molecular manipulation of hydrogen and oxygen.
For electrolyzers, these channels the chemical process of splitting
water molecules into hydrogen fuel and oxygen; for fuel cells, they
convert hydrogen into electricity. Plug also has 31 other facilities
used to process hydrogen, make other parts and systems, and for
distribution and service.
![](images/images_01_04_2023/MEAs_plug.639a213c3c340.jpg)
Plug is capable of making 2 million membrane electrode assemblies per
year. These plates stack on top of each other to allow electrolyzers
and fuel cells to work. John Hitch | Fleet
Maintenance
![](images/images_01_04_2023/electrolyzer_assembly_plug.639a21263ae27.jpg)
Employees at Plug Power's Rochester-area gigafactory assemble an
electrolyzer, the key machinery that converts water in hydrogen and
oxygen.John Hitch | Fleet Maintenance
The innovation center showcases the various technologies, including
the electrolyzer stacks, pumping stations, and bulk fuel haulers that
carry the liquid hydrogen, which reaches a frosty -452 degrees F.
During an evening welcome party, guests also got a good look at the
MEA manufacturing process via guided tours.
The next day, Marsh and other Plug executives deluged investors,
analysts, and current and potential partners with a thunderous cascade
of case studies, agreements, testimonials, and projections up until
the end of the decade to show how the company will expand the length
of its hydrogen highway.
By 2025, Plug plans to produce 500 tons of liquid green hydrogen per
day, and double that by 2028. This year Plug’s capacity is 9.1 tons
per day. Customers include Amazon, Home Depot, Microsoft, General
Motors, Stellantis, and Walmart. Plug expects to generate $20 billion
annually by 2030. If achieved, this would be a 1,400% increase from
2023 estimated revenue ($1.4B) and a 400% increase from 2026 ($5B).
Plug had fallen short of 2022 production estimates, but one thing that
will help the company, and burgeoning hydrogen sector overall is the
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed this year.
“The biggest winner in the energy market for the IRA was hydrogen,”
Marsh said.
The IRA specifically allows up to a $7,500 tax credit for light-duty
commercial vehicles (14,000 lb. GVWR) and $40,000 per medium- and
heavy-duty (>14,000 lb. GVWR). Along with these incentives, the
IRA includes specific clean hydrogen production tax credits, and
users can stack other tax credits associated with hydrogen storage.
“The IRA is going to let the market decide and dictate how the
hydrogen economy will grow,” Marsh concluded.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act also includes $1 billion
for a Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis Program that cuts green hydrogen
costs and the Department
of Energy’s Hydrogen Shot program is working to reduce green
hydrogen cost from $5/kg to $1/kg in a decade.
Plug also recently entered a strategic collaboration with Nikola to
buy 75 Nikola Tre FVECs to haul their liquid hydrogen tankers. Nikola
claims the Tre FCEV has a 500-mile range, and the first units will
enter Plug's fleet in 2023.
Plug in turn will provide Nikola with a liquefaction system in
Buckeye, Arizona to produce 30 metric tons of hydrogen per day, along
with an agreement to supply the truckmaker with 100-125 tons per day.
Nikola plans to bundle the vehicle, fuel, and service into one fee,
and has its own energy business. They, too, are
amped up over the cost benefits provided by the IRA.
"The Act is expected to provide significant benefits to Nikola through
production and investment tax credits, direct pay provisions, and
other incentives that are expected to lower the cost of hydrogen,
dispensing infrastructure and trucks for Nikola and our customers,"
Nikola President Michael Lohscheller said.
Plug's fleet customers
Marsh credits Walmart as motivating Plug to develop all its solutions.
“Walmart was the one who told [us] to become more vertically
integrated to meet their needs,” Marsh recalled. To feasibly choose
Plug as their hydrogen provider, the big-box retailer wanted the
hydrogen fuel, fueling stations, and aftermarket service, Marsh
continued.
![](images/images_01_04_2023/andy_marsh_plug_symposium.639a2108c4328.jpg)
Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh presents the company's plans for the rest of
the decade, which include scaling hydrogen production to 500 tons per
day by 2026, and increasing revenue from $1.6 billion in 2022 to $20
billion in 2030.John Hitch | Fleet Maintenance
Amazon also signed a deal with Plug for 30 tons/day of green hydrogen,
or 11,000 tons/year.
He also mentioned Plug is developing electric vehicle charging
stations powered by fuel cells.
This is enough fuel to power 30,000 forklifts or 800 heavy-duty trucks
annually.
“We already have more than 70 fulfillment centers outfitted with
hydrogen storage and dispensing systems, allowing us to start using
green hydrogen to replace fossil fuels,” shared Dean Flourten, VP of
global engineering at Amazon, via a pre-recorded message. “And by
2025, we plan to add 20,000 fuel cell forklifts across 100 fulfillment
centers.”
By the end of the decade, as Plug’s production grows and theoretically
comes down in price, a good chunk of Amazon’s fleet could rely on fuel
cells.
“We're exploring and testing the use of other hydrogen applications,
such as hydrogen-powered trucks and vans in our middle mile and last
mile fleet,” Flourten said, adding the caveat that “freight
transportation is a difficult part of the logistics industry to
decarbonize.”
Another Plug customer, FreezPak Logistics, a cold chain company out of
New Jersey, doesn’t have nearly the scale of Amazon, but has the same
end goals.
“We made a decision that hydrogen fuel cells are going to change our
businesses,” said David Saoud, co-CEO of FreezPak, who along with his
brother, spoke at the symposium.
The company has been a Plug customer since 2014, after seeing a fuel
cell forklift on display at a New York farmer’s market.
“My brother and I looked at each other like, ‘we need this
thing—tomorrow,’ Saoud said emphatically. They now have 100.
He credits the move with allowing FreezPak a clear competitive
advantage, as speed is vital in cold chain transport.
“We have gained a productivity boost of 100%,” Saoud said. “And it's
really amazing to see a forklift charge in 90 seconds, as opposed to
charging a lead acid battery, which takes 10 hours to do that.”
Furthermore, as electric forklifts would reach the end of charge, they
would drop from 7 mph to 4 mph, while the fuel cell forklifts are more
consistent.
According to Saoud, FreezPak has cut electricity costs by nearly
one-third after switching to hydrogen. The change also opened up 5,000
to 10,000 sq.ft. more warehouse space per facility for products that
was previously used to store additional batteries.
“Our real estate costs about three times the amount of a dry
warehouse, so every inch of that warehouse is very expensive,” Saoud
added.
FreezPak has hydrogen infrastructure at three facilities currently,
with eight more on the way, after a new agreement with Plug. Four
facilities are under construction, with possibly 15 more added by
2030. FreezPak will buy 400 more fuel-cell forklifts as well.
Now Saoud is waiting for the day when the fleet’s 50 trucks can
convert to hydrogen, which would substantially increase their
investment, as the hydrogen infrastructure will already be in place at
the facilities.
“Diesel is very expensive, and the maintenance of those [FCEVs will
be] going down,” he said.
“We can use those tractors to service the ports,” Saoud added. “That's
huge for tax credits because I know the ports are going to want clean
energy, like in California.”
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
www.exactrix.com
509 995 1879 cell, Pacific.
Nathan1@greenplayammonia.com
exactrix@exactrix.com
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