With the increasing population the use of vehicles and transport utilities has increased quite a lot. Over the years manufacturers have proposed sustainable replacements with EV’s and other resolute and sustainable resources. Major manufacturer and auto supplier Mahle, spoke on the matter and shared how the hydrogen technology might not be meant for cars, but for Trucks and heavy duty Agricultural machinery it might be the perfect sustainable change.

Benefits of Hydrogen Engine in Heavy Duty Freight Vehicles

DR Marko Worth who is a lead engineer in Mahle spoke about how the existing heavy duty engine can be converted into Hydrogen powered engines. As per him this would lead to another step of sustainability in which older Diesel vehicles would not be scrapped rather used as hydrogen engine with minimal changes to the piston as well as the head of the engine.

Mahle Taking The First Step

Manufacturers like Mahle have taken the primary step to make parts that would help convert the diesel engines into Hydrogen powered engines. In a video Mahle’s engineer showcase a 7.8 liter diesel engine that was retrofitted with the necessary parts to convert the engine into a Hydrogen powered engine. As per the engineer the head unit of the engine as well as the pistons had gone through necessary changes to comply with the low combustion temperature of Hydrogen.

As per the Engineer since Hydrogen burns at a lower temperature the engine would require a control module that can easily control the combustion temperature.

as per the report the engine was being continually tested for performance output. Mahle further shared the plans of how they would use the innovations first for powering generators and gensets in hospitals and other places before an all out production and execution.

The Challenge With Hydrogen Filling and Use

Beyond the conversion of existing diesel engines (a nascent dream), the bigger challenge is the sales of Hydrogen as a fuel. The lack of hydrogen powered vehicles have resulted in the lack of development of a sustainable infrastructure for Hydrogen filling in vehicles. But once fuel is started to be used on a commercial vehicle its use and support infrastructure might increase. Due to the lack of the vehicles and infrastructure Hydrogen is still pretty expensive as a fuel. A Hydrogen powered vehicle needs about 1 kilo of hydrogen to run for about 100km. As per the news its possible that if infrastructure starts to develop the prices of Hydrogen might decrease by half.

lack of Hydrogen Filling Infrastructure The Major Impediment

Towards the end of the report DW reports- about how the lack of a infrastructure has been one of the biggest impediment in adapting diesel engine to run on Hydrogen as a fuel.

Hydrogen Powered Cars

Toyota Mirai is one of the most prominent vehicles that was Hydrogen Powered. Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has been spotted several times being driven around in the vehicle. As of yet the Technology has not reached India.

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