CAPE TOWN (miningweekly.com) ­– Thousands of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in California obtain their hydrogen with the help of platinum from a growing number of hydrogen refuelling stations that have been established with effective government help.

Independent Californian hydrogen consultant Dr Jose Lopez Gallego, who is in South Africa to speak at Nedbank CIB Research’s FCEV conference, works with a company that builds the platinum-catalysed electrolysers, which produce hydrogen from water with the help of sun-generated electricity.

Almost 30% of the energy in the State of California is already green and the mandate is to increase that to at least 60% by 2030 and 100% carbon free by 2045.

Some Californian neighbourhoods already have 60% renewable energy.

The government of California provides grants for the building of hydrogen refuelling stations and incentivises the selling the hydrogen by way of low carbon fuel standard credits.

“We've been awarded a grant to build a plant using 1 000 kg of hydrogen a day from solar energy,” Gallego told Mining Weekly Online.

At least 33% of the hydrogen dispensed for light has to be from renewable sources. The incentive can be as high as $5/kg if the hydrogen is 100% renewable.

Very prominent in California are Toyota, Honda and Hyundai FCEVs.

Users of FCEVs are based around Los Angeles and the bay area of San Francisco, where 40 hydrogen filling stations service 7 800 FCEVs.

By 2024, the target is to have 200 hydrogen filling stations, with the government putting in place laws and incentives that make decarbonisation happen in a world where the mitigation of climate change is becoming a top priority.

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