In early September, the Energy Association «Ukrainian Hydrogen Council» certified the first hydrogen car in Ukraine. The start of development of hydrogen infrastructure is a new stage in the growth of the automotive industry and the field of alternative energy.
Public Union “Energy Association “Ukrainian Hydrogen Council†is the only national hydrogen energy association in Ukraine engaged in the development of green hydrogen energy as an integral part of production and supply of alternative energy sources, as well as the dissemination of hydrogen technologies in various sectors of industry and business with the purpose of improving their energy efficiency.
The Association was founded in 2018 with the purpose of uniting efforts of representatives of energy business, investment institutions, scientists and representatives of the public and authorities in implementing energy independence of the country, improving energy efficiency and a sustainable implementation of the Roadmap for Hydrogen Energy in Ukraine.
“By certifying the first hydrogen cars in Ukraine, we actually solved the chicken-and-egg problem. What was before - chicken or egg? In our case, this logistical paradox sounds like this: why does anyone build hydrogen refueling stations? Because there are no hydrogen cars. And why are there no cars? Because there are no hydrogen refueling station. The team of the Energy Association «Ukrainian Hydrogen Council» solved this almost philosophical problem when it certified the first hydrogen car in Ukraine in early September. The basis for further development of infrastructure for hydrogen transport in Ukraine was established", - said Oleksandr Riepkin.
Oleksandr Riepkin said that the process of the first certification was somewhat difficult. But now the paperwork related to the import of hydrogen cars to Ukraine is significantly accelerated.
“Currently, the Ukrainian Hydrogen Council has already worked out a documentation of hydrogen cars. We, as pioneers, spent a month and a half on this, but in the future the whole process will take only three days. By the way, we are asked by entrepreneurs who specialised in creating hydrogen infrastructure and building refuelling stations around the world. They are ready to create refuelling stations for hydrogen cars in Ukraine as well. We expect that the first hydrogen refueling plant will appear in the country next year", - emphasised the president of the Energy Association «Ukrainian Hydrogen Council» .
Japanese Toyota Mirai, which was imported to Ukraine, runs on a hydrogen fuel cell, that produces energy for the electric motor. This technical solution makes it possible to completely abandon the internal combustion engine. In addition to CO2, cars on traditional fuels emit nitric oxide and sulfur oxide into the atmosphere, which have an extremely negative impact on human health and the environment. In contrast to gasoline, hydrogen does not emit any harmful emissions and is returned to the environment in the form of water and heat.
“The advantage of introducing fuel cells into vehicles is the high efficiency compared to an internal combustion engine. For example, the efficiency of a modern automobile internal combustion engine reaches 35%, and the efficiency of a hydrogen fuel cell - 45% or more. Another significant advantage is the very high refueling speed of hydrogen engines. The car driver will need no more than 5 minutes of refueling, which will be enough for a trip of 500 km. The indicators correlate with similar indicators of cars on fossil fuels - gasoline or gasâ€, - explained Oleksandr Riepkin.
The expert noted that the carbon footprint of the transport sector is an important part of the "green" changes in the European economy. After all, for the moment almost a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions are accounted for by transport. So for EU countries, the answer to the question "whether or not to use alternative energy sources and green hydrogen?†is not only unambiguous but also fundamental.
“I would like to emphasize another reason, which is extremely important for our country, to develop hydrogen transport. This is an opportunity to achieve energy independence and avoid the dictates of fossil fuel prices by oil and gasoline exporting countries, which in our case, I recall, includes both Russia and Belarus,"- summed up Oleksandr Riepkin.
It should be noted that today alternative energy, in particular the production and use of hydrogen as an energy source, is a global and European trend. Ukraine has all the necessary prerequisites for the rapid development of hydrogen technologies.
