AdvancedTopic 88 of 102Manufacturing, Robotics & Systems
Hydrogen and alternative fuels
Low-carbon energy carriers for transport and industry.
In depth
Hydrogen (electrolysis, reforming), ammonia, e-fuels, biofuels, CNG/LNG and synthetic fuels can decarbonise heavy transport and industry. Storage as compressed gas (350–700 bar), liquid (-253 °C) or chemically; round-trip efficiency is lower than batteries. Safety: wide flammability range, leakage detection.
Key points
- Green vs grey hydrogen
- Fuel cell vehicles
- Infrastructure
ExampleHydrogen trains and trucks run on PEM fuel cells with onboard tanks.
What is Hydrogen and alternative fuels?
Low-carbon energy carriers for transport and industry.
Why is it important to understand hydrogen and alternative fuels?
Hydrogen and alternative fuels provide low carbon energy carriers, which can help decarbonise transport and industry where batteries are hard to use.
Why is hydrogen hard to store?
It has a very low volumetric energy density, so it must be compressed to high pressure or liquefied at very low temperature.
Is hydrogen always green?
Only if it is produced from renewable electricity by electrolysis, since most hydrogen today comes from fossil fuels.
How is Hydrogen and alternative fuels used in practice?
Typical applications include using hydrogen in a fuel cell bus with refuelling at a depot, blending biofuel with diesel for a fleet of trucks and using ammonia as a carrier for hydrogen in shipping.
What should I learn before Hydrogen and alternative fuels?
Study "Battery systems" first (topic 87 of 102 in Manufacturing, Robotics & Systems). It covers the groundwork this topic builds on.
What are the key points of Hydrogen and alternative fuels?
Green vs grey hydrogen. Fuel cell vehicles. Infrastructure.
Can you give an example of Hydrogen and alternative fuels?
Hydrogen trains and trucks run on PEM fuel cells with onboard tanks.
What comes after Hydrogen and alternative fuels?
The next topic is "Nuclear engineering basics", which builds directly on this one.
How difficult is Hydrogen and alternative fuels?
It is classed as Advanced in Manufacturing, Robotics & Systems (topic 88 of 102). It is an advanced topic. It assumes you are comfortable with the intermediate topics in Manufacturing, Robotics & Systems.