Own fuel
Renewable hydrogen as a fuel also plays a vital role in the decarbonization of the transport sector, notably heavy-weight transport. The persisting limitations of battery technology make the use of batteries as energy carriers for heavy goods vehicles unreasonable. The size and weight of lithium-ion batteries limit to an excessive degree the range and total load capacity, the basic operational parameters of such vehicles. For this reason, manufacturers of HGVs are looking at hydrogen solutions as they ensure that ranges and load capacity are similar to those achieved by vehicles running on diesel or CNG.
The use of hydrogen in the heavy-weight transport segment, and above all in public transport, requires relatively high capital expenditures, which can be borne mainly by institutional operators. It also involves expensive fuel storage, where user needs are difficult to define. Public transport buses help reduce those risks to an absolute minimum, as both the length and mileage of their daily and weekly routes are easy to calculate, and so is the amount of fuel necessary to ensure smooth fleet operation. Given the competitive advantage of hydrogen solutions compared to battery ones in heavy-weight transport, i.e. where the implementation is relatively easiest and fastest, we might anticipate an increasing demand for such type of fuel as emission-free automotive hydrogen.
The ambition of the Polish Hydrogen Strategy is to build 32 vehicle refueling stations and introduce 250 hydrogen-powered buses by 2025 and 1000 by 2030.
