The new Green Power? Hydrogen, renewables and zero emission transport |

The new Green Power?
Hydrogen, renewables and zero emission transport
David Hart
H2 SA 2014, 24-25th February
| Strategic thinking in sustainable energy
Introducing E4tech
| Strategic thinking in sustainable energy
E4tech:
Strategic thinking in sustainable energy
• International consulting firm, offices in UK and Switzerland
• Focus on sustainable energy
• Deep expertise in technology, business and strategy, market
assessment, techno-economic modelling, policy support…
• Established 1997, always independent
• A spectrum of clients from start-ups to global corporations
Hydrogen is a system solution
| Strategic thinking in sustainable energy
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A gentle start: Hydrogen ‘101’
Hydrogen is the
lightest, most
abundant element on
earth but is highly
reactive with others
Hydrogen can be
stored as a liquid,
compressed gas, or in
solid state forms
Hydrogen is an energy
carrier (like
electricity) not a
primary energy
source (like oil) as it
has to be produced
Hydrogen can be
produced from many
sources: e.g. splitting
of hydrocarbons such
as gas and oil, or
electrolysis of water
Hydrogen can be used
as a store for
renewable energy to
make it continuously
available
Hydrogen can be
burned in an internal
combustion engine or
gas turbine or used in
a fuel cell. Byproducts are water
and heat
High energy per unit mass
(oxidation) : 120 MJ/kg
Gaseous to 20K (-253 deg C)
5
And fuel cells can in theory do almost anything
… but tackling some sectors is very hard
10,000,000
1,000,000
Power Range [W]
100,000
10,000
1,000
100
10
0
1
Electronics
Transport
Portable power
Heat and power
Marine
Sources: E4tech, MyFC, BOC, Intelligent Energy, Honda, FellowSHIP, Baxi InnoTech, Bloom Energy, FuelCell Energy
“The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping
from the old ones…” (John Maynard Keynes)
• ‘Hydrogen’ is a major system change:
– it only responds to conjoined policy drivers (CO2 and clean air and
energy security and …)
– It’s not ‘the answer’ – only one way to the answer
• It’s a ‘supply-side’ solution – it needs market pull:
– Fuel cell technologies were mis-understood/-represented
– The coincident ‘tech bubble’ didn’t help!
– Big companies moved very early but couldn’t sustain
• So what can we learn?
7
The energy system is evolving… and challenges arising
€0/MWh
Fifth Assessment report, Working Group 1, IPCC 2013, www.offshorewind.biz, www.americanlivewire.com, ses.jrc.ec.europa.eu, www.renewablesinternational.net
CO2 reduction is pushing the vehicle manufacturers hard
2010 OEM average emissions c.f. targets for 2015
All OEMs struggle
to get below the
emissions limit
curve…
Source: eea.europa.eu
9
Fuel cell vehicles have the potential for zero emissions,
long range and fast fuelling… but aren’t quite ready
Toyota, Honda, Hyundai will have showroom vehicles in 2015
‘Mass-market cars’ in 2017: Daimler-Ford-Renault/Nissan alliance
BMW, VW and others are making public moves
Hydrogen fuelling infrastructure development:
• California – new bill funds up to 100 stations
• Germany – 2017:100 stations; 2023: 400
• Japan – 100 stations by 2015
FCEV
Sources: Hyundai, GM, Daimler, Honda, Toyota;
A portfolio of power-trains for Europe
ICE - Internal combustion engine, BEV - Battery electric vehicle,
PHEV - Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, FCEV - Fuel-cell electric vehicle
Power to Gas can be another part of a solution
• Energy storage, grid support and balancing
are required
• Serious decarbonisation includes heat,
transport and chemicals
System interconnection
and power-to-gas
Surplus
renewable
electricity
• It also requires serious scale
Electrolyser
H2 injected
into gas grid
H2 storage
• Many stakeholders are represented, and
many assets
Fuel cell
Gas plants
• Making it work well is not simple
• Regulations and tariffs need co-ordination
CHP
• But international thinking is advancing
Transport
fuel
Chemicals
Heating
Conventional route
Novel route
(No market crossover) (e.g. electricity  transport)
And modelling reinforces the importance of the
hydrogen option – especially in transport
2,500
H2 FCEVs are an essential option for
transport decarbonisation
Early support makes economic sense
CO2 reduction is a crucial driver
2,000
Transport fuel demand (PJ)
The potential market is huge
Ethanol/methanol
Bio-diesel/kerosene
Jet fuel
Hydrogen
Electricity
Diesel
Petrol
1,500
1,000
500
100%
-
Percentage of road transport fleet
90%
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2030
2035
2040
2045
2050
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
UK transport fuel demand, 2010 to 2050
Natural gas
Electricity
Hydrogen
Petrol, diesel and biofuels
30%
20%
10%
0%
2000
2020
2040
2060
2080
2100
Global vehicle
shares 2000-2100,
given strong
decarbonisation
(Modelling conducted by
University College
London. Search for UCLEnergy online)
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But ‘hype cycles’ hinder sensible development
GM EV1
Daimler NECAR 5
Rush to biofuels
driven by post 9/11
energy security in US
Nissan Leaf
A123
chapter 11
Better Place
EV reality
check:
Limitations of
battery tech,
cost
FCV
reality
check:
maturity,
cost, H2
supply
Biofuel reality
check: eco
credentials,
food price,
land use
FCEV
BEV
Electromobility
initiatives
H2Mobility
Biofuel
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
Source: E4tech, loosely following Gartner
Hype cycles move upward by high profile technology push, politics or world events – and
downward through inevitable reality checks
Unusually, ALL options now seem to have a (slight) upward trend
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Supportive policy is essential
| Strategic thinking in sustainable energy
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Hydrogen policy support has varied by time and
jurisdiction
US support was strong under Bush, but is weaker under Obama
• Hydrogen was the ‘Freedom Fuel’
• Energy Secretary Chu was not a ‘believer’
• California’s ZEV mandate has been the strongest historical driver and
continues to be very important
Japanese support has been high, consistent, strongly linked to the car industry
• Funding has been comparatively high and constant
• Hydrogen infrastructure testing has been supported in tandem
EU programmes have moved from research to implementation
• The FCH Joint Undertaking is a major public-private partnership
• Co-ordinated roll-out is a key goal
15
The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking of
the EU is an interesting model
A public-private partnership supporting research,
technological development and demonstration (RTD)
activities to accelerate market introduction
Members:
• The European Commission
• FC and H2 industries
• Research community
The FCH JU supports:
• Long-term and breakthrough-orientated research
• Support actions, including pre-normative research
• Research and technological development
• Demonstration
16
Other key institutions include major corporations,
national and regional governments
The International Partnership for Hydrogen and
Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE) has global reach
H2Mobility in Germany builds on a
wide-ranging support base
The California Fuel
Cell Partnership is
regional but as
strong as some
national projects
17
And policy drivers can sum across regions
• Energy policy is not often coherent
• The ZEV mandate remains one key legislative driver
• Vehicle CO2 legislation is another
• Energy security is still hot
• Technology and market
positioning has been driven to
evolve too
250
Grams CO2 per kilometer normalized to NEDC
• Japanese and Korean
industrial policy is aggressive
Solid dots and lines: historical performance
Solid dots and dashed lines: enacted targets
Solid dots and dotted lines: proposed targets
Hollow dots and dotted lines: unannounced proposal
Shaded area: uncertain targets
270
US-3%[1]
US-6%[2]
California
Canada
230
EU
Japan
210
China[3]
S. Korea
190
170
150
130
110
90
2005
?
2010
2015
2020
2025
[1] Based on 3% annual fleet GHG emissions reduction between 2017 and 2025 in the September 30th NOI .
[2] Based on 6% annual fleet GHG emissions reduction between 2017 and 2025 in the September 30th NOI .
[3] China's target reflects gasoline fleet scenario. If including other fuel types, the target will be lower.
Worldwide greenhouse gas standards collated by ICCT
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The technology is just about ready
| Strategic thinking in sustainable energy
Certain applications are embracing fuel cells
20
But today’s ‘commercial’ fuel cells are unusual and share
several characteristics
Demand-side focus / meet very specific need
Specialised entry markets: materials handling,
telecoms backup, education
Small size: from Watts to a few kW
Competing with batteries or remote power
Rarely sold as just a fuel cell
Some outliers exist:
• Monetising ‘waste’ (e.g. hydrogen)
• Military requirements
But most ‘commercial’ fuel cell companies still
lose money
Sources: Heliocentris, BOC, SFC Energy,
Horizon, ReliOn, Crown Corp.
21
Almost all other sales are ‘subsidised’ in some way
Stationary heat and power relies on:
• Capital subsidies
• Tax offsets
• Mandated renewables portfolios and/or
• Feed-in-tariffs
Current business models:
• ‘subsidy’ – underlies the others
• ‘utility aggregator’ – sell to the operator
• ‘expanded offering’ – product portfolio
PureCell™ PAFC system
These are necessary to build the ecosystem…
…but not sustainable long-term
22
And newer approaches focus on offering a service, not a
technology
Bloom sells electrons – guaranteed power/price – not a fuel cell
• Gas contracts are handled by Bloom
• Extended warranty can be purchased as an option
Materials handling is competitive against big battery forklift installations on
system basis
• The battery room is no longer needed
• Power price spikes are avoided
• Productivity increases
Telecoms power enables a service or avoids a problem
• Fewer fuel replacement trips – including for stolen fuel
• Users have increased uptime and hence pay more
23
Actual sales are still in the thousands, but fuel cells are
finding a foothold
Analysts have repeatedly and wrongly predicted
hockey stick uptake
The promise of cars in 2004 still haunts the industry
But fuel cell markets are – finally – growing
• Few large systems (hundreds)
• Many small systems (thousands)
Sales remain small compared to established products
But early commercial products enable investment
and progress
Source: Fuel Cell Today (RIP)
There is no silver bullet
| Strategic thinking in sustainable energy
Successful business models have a key driver: “want”,
“need”, “must” and suitable boundary conditions
“Want” – status or vanity purchase
• Disposable income purchase
• High price insensitivity
Customer
awareness of need
and potential
• iPhone
“Need” – enables specific service or benefit
• Could have novel/joint funding model
Realistic supply
chain options
• Distributed cost
• Remote communication
“Must” – regulated into existence
Service and
support
infrastructures
• Constrained solution set
• Justifiable investment
Channels to market
• Zero emission vehicle
26
And business model scope depends on your standpoint,
but new needs are still opportunities
Early-stage company
Large company
• Simplicity is important
• Ultimate market size does matter
• Manageable sets of partners
• A Long-term perspective helps
• Very focused value proposition
• Complex/multi-faceted value
proposition can be managed
• Warrantied technology is available, with increasingly robust supply chains
• Finding a need to service no longer also requires invention of the ecosystem
Just remember – nobody much cares it’s a fuel cell, so
the business model shouldn’t either
27
Where do we go from here?
| Strategic thinking in sustainable energy
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Geographical characterisation of markets shows an
interesting picture
Niche
applications
Commercial
markets
Globally
Telecoms /
back up power
Materials
Handling
N America
N America
Prime Power &
CHP & mCHP
Mobility
Parts of Asia
Europe
Japan
Incentivised
markets
N America
South Korea
S Africa
Upcoming
markets
Germany
Germany
S America
UK
California
Middle East
Scandinavia
Japan
Europe
South Korea
UK
Canada
Parts of USA
Scandinavia
Indicative E4tech analysis; not exhaustive
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And maybe the ‘industry’ is coming out of the trough?
Peak of
inflated
expectations
2001
Visibility
Plateau of
productivity
2014
Hydrogen and
Fuel cells?
Technology
trigger
Slope of
enlightenment
Trough of
disillusionment
Maturity
* E4tech assessment,
‘Hype Cycle’ framework by Gartner
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E4tech – strategic thinking in sustainable energy
Thank you
David Hart
david.hart@e4tech.com
www.e4tech.com
E4tech (UK) Ltd
E4tech Sàrl
83, Victoria Street
London SW1H 0HW
United Kingdom
Av. Juste-Olivier 2
1006 Lausanne
Switzerland
+44 (0)20 3008 6140
+41 (0)21 331 15 70
info@e4tech.co.uk
info@e4tech.ch
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