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for years . The customer must use dirty diesel generators or park the vehicles until the power equipment can be installed . In many cases , this makes hydrogen fuel cells an attractive option .
Consider a scenario where a company opts to convert its fleet of delivery vans to battery electric for daily routes . Ideally , these vans return to a distribution center daily , where they recharge overnight and are ready for the next day . That is the way the process is designed , but it does not always work out that way .
The utility timeline may put the project at risk . The issue could be an inadequate distribution network .
The lines may not have enough capacity to deliver the required power to the site , or new transformers and substations may need to be installed . Renewable energy requirements also add a level of complexity . The cost to expedite infrastructure improvements often makes the financials untenable . Many customers end up delaying or cancelling projects because of these obstacles .
General Motors , Plug Power , and GeoPura all have announced products to address this issue , allowing for fleets of vehicles to convert to electric . The systems range in size from < 100kW to several MWs and can accommodate over 200 vehicles . The vehicle capacity and charging speed vary depending on the output , from level 2 charging up to 250 kW DCFC .
Amazon encountered such challenges during the roll-out of its Rivian delivery vans . Amazon made big news when it ordered 100,000 Rivian delivery vans . So far , 13,500 have been delivered , some in Germany but the majority scattered across the U . S . At some locations , the local utility cannot install the infrastructure required to supply the power needed to charge the vans in an acceptable time frame . To circumvent the delays , Amazon worked with Plug Power to deploy a 2 MW PEM fuel cell at a site in Tennessee for charging over 200 delivery vans , allowing Amazon to convert to battery electric vans , which will use level 2 chargers that allow for a full overnight charge .
General Motors inadvertently entered this market with its stationary PEM fuel cell , designed initially
32 Hydrogen Tech World | Issue 17 | August 2024