Big potential seen in hydrogen for energy and transportation

By Jim Kelly | July 9, 2019

As technology improves, hydrogen is becoming more practical to produce, and big companies are already making investments to utilize its potential.

As a potential clean energy source, hydrogen has been looked at for many years and lately it’s getting more attention as big companies invest in ways to make fuel cells for transportation, power generation and energy storage.

A recent story in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald highlighted Blue Planet Research’s interest in using solar energy for electrolysis, passing current through water to create hydrogen gas. Read the article.

A driver at a hydrogen pump refuels a futuristic, zero-emission Chevrolet Equinox hydrogen fuel cell powered automobile. An electronic plug-in cable controls the refilling process.

In transportation, Toyota is already making the case for hydrogen-powered vehicles with its sharp-looking Mirai, whose only emission is water. And Hawaii County is adding three hydrogen-powered buses to its fleet.

Hydrogen is a promising technology and we believe it has a lot of potential. Over the years, we’ve had discussions with several companies on its use, including Toshiba and Toyota. Hawaiian Electric has also been working with the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) for many years, looking at hydrogen as a form of energy storage, and the federal government has conducted extensive research on hydrogen as a fuel.

The biggest drawback to hydrogen today is that it takes so much energy to make. It takes roughly 3 units of energy to make 1 unit of hydrogen.

Even using energy that would come from curtailed or “excess” renewable resources — solar, wind, geothermal — would be extremely expensive.

But there’s no question that technology will improve and hydrogen will become less expensive to produce. That’s why Hawaiian Electric continues to include hydrogen in its long-range planning. And we’re also looking at what it would take to someday replace diesel fuel with hydrogen in some of our power plants.

We’re committed to following developments in hydrogen and we’re open to looking at opportunities to partner with government, industry and researchers to see what role hydrogen might play in Hawaii’s effort to reach 100 percent renewable energy by 2045.

Jim Kelly is the vice president of corporate relations at the Hawaiian Electric Company.