California digs into hydrogen as the answer to emission-free bus transit

So much of the conversation around emissions-free transportation in the last few years has been focused on electric vehicles: how many miles can we get out of batteries? Where are we going to charge the batteries? And, wait, once we are charging these batteries, how will the grid handle all of this extra demand for electricity? One study showed that future highway truck stop charging stations could require the same amount of electricity as a sports arena or a small town. 

The broader migration away from combustion engines has moved at the pace of answering these questions. They are important questions. This is why I was surprised last week to learn that the state of California was gifting millions to cities investing in hydrogen-fueled public transit buses — a notable shift away from rechargeable battery electric vehicles. 

Last week, the regional public transit agency in Santa Cruz County announced it would buy 24 hydrogen-fueled buses for its system, making up more than a quarter of its fleet. The director of the agency told me, when it comes to buses that need to travel longer routes, hydrogen is more efficient than rechargeable batteries for a few reasons. 

With hydrogen, the city will not need to build electrical recharging infrastructure, which would require running a high-voltage connection to the grid. Once installed, recharging the battery on a passenger bus can take a long time — too long for a bus that needs to be in constant circulation. With hydrogen, there are no emissions, the city can seamlessly add a hydrogen gas refueling station to its existing transit hub without any major public works. Refueling a bus with hydrogen takes as much time as refueling it with diesel or natural gas, and hydrogen buses get twice as miles to the gallon as the dirtier alternatives. 

EV charging stations are becoming more ubiquitous, helping consumers get comfortable with buying an EV. However, while electric batteries work well with smaller vehicles, the technology is not there in terms of reliability for buses with longer routes. A local politician who focuses on renewable energy and emission-free transportation told me there is a wide belief that hydrogen will be the answer for emissions-free buses for at least the next 20 years, which he says is when battery technology and infrastructure for recharging the batteries will be more advanced. 

Hydrogen-fueled buses remain the exception but are popular where they exist, such as Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, which near San Francisco, and the Orange County Transit Authority, just south of Los Angeles. 

If hydrogen is finding such success in the public transit sector, perhaps it's time to begin discussing hydrogen as a realistic solution for the trucking industry as well. It would give the industry time to secure answers to the questions of grid demand while dramatically cutting carbon emissions.