Tesla founder Elon Musk has “hypnotized” UK government officials over electrical power and blinded them to the potential of hydrogen as a way to reduce CO2 emissions, warned JCB Chairman Lord Anthony Bamford.
The British industrialist said his company, known for its yellow excavators, had made a “major breakthrough” in developing hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines, which are cheaper than batteries or fuel cells.
“We have achieved something that has never been done right by any other company before. That means getting a hydrogen engine to run so successfully that it is in a machine and has performed many hundreds of hours, ”he told the Financial Times at the group’s engine innovation center near Derby.
The company, which began producing diesel engines in 2004 in response to tightening emissions legislation for the fuel, is well on its way to producing more than 100,000 of these engines this year, the second most in the industry after Caterpillar in the US.
The group, no stranger to innovation, having developed the engine that broke the diesel-powered land speed record at more than 350 mph, have made great strides in their hydrogen technology while developing excavators with batteries and fuel cells.
Lord Anthony Bamford, chairman of JCB, says electrical energy is poorly suited to construction equipment and trucks. They would need to be charged regularly in remote areas © Paul Cooper / Shutterstock
But Bamford, a Tory donor and Brexit proponent, said policymakers had written off cheaper and easier ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions like hydrogen because they were fixated on electrification.
He said electrical energy is ill-suited to construction machinery and trucks.
“A lot of people don’t think about it. We feel that people, especially many officials, are intrigued by Musk and ashamed of Volkswagen, ”he said.
In contrast to hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines, electric vehicles that run on battery power would have to be charged regularly. This could be a problem for electric excavators, which are often used in remote locations.
The batteries also become prohibitively expensive and heavy as the machines get bigger.
Tim Burnhope, JCB’s chief innovation and growth officer, said batteries don’t work well for heavy machinery because their energy needs are completely different from cars.
“Most cars take you to and from work. We do the opposite. . . we work all day. ”he said.
JCB’s engine factory in Derbyshire. JCB engineers managed to burn a small amount of hydrogen to keep it from getting too hot and avoid harmful nitrogen oxide emissions © JCB
From JCB’s point of view, fuel cells that convert hydrogen into electricity are just as problematic. Bamford said his fuel cell prototype costs £ 100,000, about ten times more than diesel engines, before including expensive extras like coolant pumps.
The development of hydrogen internal combustion engines has been problematic because the combustion of the gas at high temperatures leads to harmful nitrogen oxide emissions and, due to its inefficiency, large amounts of the fuel must be stored on board.
However, JCB engineers have managed to burn a small amount of hydrogen at about 1 part per 100 parts of air to avoid it getting too hot.
The company hopes to have the engines ready for customers to test by the end of next year, and believes the technology could be used in trucks, vans, trains, buses, and even ships.
A bigger problem for hydrogen as an alternative to diesel could be the production of the fuel.
Bamford could turn to his son Jo on this, as he owns Ryze, a hydrogen refueling company, although it is difficult and expensive to produce clean hydrogen on a large scale using either renewables or natural gas combined with carbon capture.
“Our Achilles heel is where the fuel comes from,” said Bamford.
He does, however, want a debate on how emissions targets can be met in order to avoid over-reliance on battery power, and points to the warning from Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares in May that rising car costs could take the middle class out of possession due to electrification .
Tavares also said the auto industry would not necessarily have chosen electrification as a solution to decarbonization.
The JCB chairman believes that keeping existing automobile production lines that could use hydrogen means that fuel will become more affordable and that internal combustion engine expertise will be preserved.
“A hydrogen engine will not be inflationary. It won’t be more expensive than an existing diesel engine. That’s our current thinking, ”he said.
A government spokesman said, “We fully recognize the revolutionary potential of hydrogen”. Boris Johnson’s government plans to provide 5 gigawatts of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030.
Additional coverage from George Parker
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