H2 for mobility needs up to 20 times less critical raw material

The era of #scarcity has begun: The #pandemic and the interruption of #supplychains and definitely the war in #Ukraine with enormous consequences for the security of supply regarding energy and feed stock. #Geopolitics is back big time. It therefore makes sense to rethink some narratives and strategies which were focussing on few technologies only to be used for the #mobility transition.

The President of the German Automobile Association, Hildegard Müller , puts it in a nutshell in the attached important newspaper article: The conversion of the automotive economy to pure battery electric vehicles (#BEV) is extremely dependent on #rawmaterials and also requires a completely new policy. She also alludes to the extreme dependance on raw materials for the expansion of #renewables. It’s a sad truth that the Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA) e.V. has relied quite one-sidedly on electricity-based infrastructures and has not taken sufficient care of #hydrogen. The construction of an infrastructure and the associated vehicles based on hydrogen requires up to 20 times fewer critical raw materials. ?Up to 20 times?

Driving with a fuel cell electric vehicle (#FCEV) also falls under the #electromobility category. In both cases, an anode and a cathode generate electricity that is used in the electric motor. The main difference is that the #fuelcells needs far fewer #criticalmetals and that the #storage takes place outside in the hydrogen tank and not inside like in the case of a battery, which takes up unnecessary space on board and causes far too much weight. Added to this, is the extreme effort required for the charging infrastructure, especially with regard to the various raw materials. 普华永道 recently calculated that a charging station for the new Tesla trucks would consume the electricity of a mid-sized town. Where should all that electricity come from? In the case of hydrogen the renewable energy can be produced at geographies with low production costs for renewables. #greenhydrogen can then be transported - way cheaper and less complicated than electricity - via #pipelines to the energy markets in Europe. Pipelines are the cheapest way to do that and governments and the industry are preparing for the repurposing and retrofitting or for the construction.

It is therefore time for the German Automobile Association to deal even more intensively with the subject of hydrogen in order to remain competitive in the long term. Significant years have been wasted in which #Japan, #Korea and #China in particular were able to build up expertise and a pioneering role.

However, Hildegard Müller alludes in her article to some very relevant points:

?? The industrial change towards more climate protection requires a new raw material basis. Some even speak of an “age of raw materials”. In fact, specific raw materials form the basis for the transformation - and thus for the future of our industrial value creation.?

?? Raw materials policy is also "location policy" (Standortpolitik) and decides about the competitiveness of geographies and their relevance on the way to #climateneutrality.

?? The automotive industry in Germany has long since set out to take a consistent path towards battery electromobility. A central factor for further successful ramp-up is the availability of raw materials: batteries primarily need lithium, nickel, graphite and cobalt, the electric motor needs rare earths for permanent magnets.?

?? Monitoring the availability of raw materials and the expected demand is therefore essential and impressively illustrates the urgent need for action: In all forecasts, demand will increase enormously. With the battery raw materials mentioned, it will increase at least fourfold, in some cases sevenfold.

?? Europe will therefore still be dependent on #imports. It is crucial to have diverse sources of supply worldwide that cover the increasing demand in a crisis-proof manner. However, a look at the current situation shows no picture of independence. Germany and Europe are dependent on a few countries for both #mining and further processing. This is mainly due to the fact that Berlin and Brussels have failed in recent years to underpin the ambitious goals in climate policy with strategic, economic policy decisions. Politically, the need for an active raw materials policy was ignored for a long time - and has not been pursued with the necessary determination to this day. This contradicts the legitimate expectation that companies should be more diversified and resilient!

?? Preventing raw material shortages is not a geological challenge - it is an economic one. This central insight must ensure more political speed.?

?? Europe now needs a strategic raw materials agency and a commitment to providing venture capital for strategic raw materials projects. The ball is in politics: it is only at this level that the framework agreements can be concluded, which will then enable the industry to start appropriate entrepreneurial initiatives and projects with legal certainty.

Yet, Hildegard Müller alludes to another important element of a future-proof strategy: How to deal with #Africa? All the raw materials for electromobility can be found there, but are often not processed locally, but primarily in China. An opportunity for Europe: The #EU should support the on-site processing of the raw materials. European cooperation could enable part of the value chain locally in order to have a completely different role from our competitors. In this way, Europe not only can ensure a sustainable supply of raw materials, but also promote local economic development.

Let me add:

?? Recently #Zimbabwe has issued a respective law to ban the export of non-processed raw material. See below ??

?? Hydrogen can be an important part of that process too, as many industrial steps need it as #energycarrier or #feedstock, e.g. for the reduction of #ironore to produce special steel. Embedded hydrogen will therefore be crucial for the relation between Africa and Europe.