Hydrogen could offer better way forward for mobility, Michelin

FAIRLAWN, Ohio—When it comes to Michelin, feel free to expect the unexpected.

Because the world's largest tire maker may just surprise you when it comes to the technologies it harnesses. Tires, of course, are the core of what the company does, but it is—first and foremost—a mobility company.

And mobility, simply, is bigger than tires. That's why Michelin's vision is, too.

It is why the company has taken all of its tire expertise and built around it, adopting a strategy that embraces technologies within, around and beyond the tire sphere.

So when you hear that the company has been working in the hydrogen technology development space for more than two decades, chalk it up to one of those unexpected Michelin things that make a whole lot of sense in the bigger picture.

"We have a stated ambition to not just focus on our core, but look around and beyond tires as well," Karen Schwartz, Michelin North America Inc. vice president of B2B marketing, said during a keynote presentation at the Rubber in Automotive Conference, hosted in Fairlawn by Rubber News. "We believe that an entire (mobility) ecosystem is going to be needed to be all-sustainable in the future."

That all-sustainable ecosystem will need some all-sustainable mobility technologies. So Michelin is investing in those kinds of technologies. Hydrogen, naturally, is among them.

"Hydrogen fuel cells are good for the environment because they have exactly zero emissions," Schwartz said. "Hydrogen gas combines with oxygen to create the reaction. The resulting byproduct of this reaction is water that you can actually drink."

The company's hydrogen expertise took a big leap forward in 2019, when the French tire maker partnered with Faurecia S.E. to form Symbio, a joint venture focused on hydrogen fuel cell development. Since that time, the collective technology has grown exponentially.

And, honestly so has Symbio.

According to Schwartz, there is a very good reason for that: the planet.

"We all know that fossil fuels have powered our society since the industrial revolution, but it is definitely at a price that is becoming more visible every day," Schwartz said. "Hydrogen is a promising solution to continue developing mobility for everyone and making it accessible for everyone while protecting the planet and the environment.

"Michelin is determined to become a world-leader in the hydrogen fuel technology space in our joint venture with Symbio. And we believe that hydrogen technology can help address three major challenges facing our planet today. The first is improved air quality; the second is reduction of greenhouse gases; and the third is development of renewable energy."

As the automotive industry looks to decarbonize, it is racing toward alternative technologies. In the passenger vehicle space, battery electric technology has overtaken hydrogen in its preference and potential.

Batteries, after all, are familiar technologies that consumers feel as though they understand from both functional and safety perspectives.

And given the investments made by OEMs and governments in BEV platforms and infrastructure, the move to EVs on the passenger vehicle side isn't likely to slow any time soon.

But it could, eventually, given the scarcity of the batteries' resources and investment of time needed to mine them.

"There are going to be limitations at some point from a natural resources perspective on the battery electric side of the house," Schwartz said. "So I think, at that point, yes, the consumers and the auto manufacturers will look toward any other alternatives that are out there."

So hydrogen shouldn't be ruled out completely. Not when it comes to passenger cars and most especially when it comes to commercial trucking, Schwartz said.

In fact, the long-haul trucking space is ideal for hydrogen technology today.

And it will still be ideal nearly 30 years from now.

"We believe that, by 2050, hydrogen will be the standard and used everywhere in the fleet world," Schwartz said.

Why hydrogen? Simply: It allows fleets to do more.

"One of the advantages of a hydrogen fuel cell is that it is lighter than battery electric trucks," Schwartz said. "So, if you think about what applications this is used in, it will help solve some of those trade-offs between the weight of the vehicles and the payloads they carry."

So with hydrogen, fleets can carry more. Further. For less.

Hydrogen has a greater range than battery electric vehicles—up to two or three times more, according to Schwartz. Add to that the fact that a full fuel cell recharge takes 10 to 15 minutes and that amounts to more on-road time for trucks. That, of course, amounts to greater potential profits for fleets.

Michelin contends that those financial benefits will improve once hydrogen technology is fully brought to scale.

For now, hydrogen production costs more than diesel production. How big of a gap depends on the production processes used. But, taking as close an apples-to-apples approach as possible—one kilogram of hydrogen is equivalent to one gallon of diesel—the per kilogram production cost for hydrogen is between 80 cents and $4.60 higher than the per gallon cost for diesel production.

At this point, Schwartz said, there are some government incentives available to help fleets manage those costs and transition to hydrogen fuel cells. Those incentives could provide some cost parity at least in the short term.

Still, cost remains one of the biggest challenges when it comes to the adoption of hydrogen technology. Those costs lie in bringing hydrogen fuel cell trucks to the roads and ensuring the appropriate infrastructure is in place to support them.

Michelin, though, remains optimistic. Over time, Schwartz said, the infrastructure will catch up and cost parity with diesel-engine trucks can be achieved.

In the meantime, more sustainable mobility will require a combination of technologies—battery electric and hydrogen.

"Today, as we think about the space, there are lot of different technologies that are still in development. There are many solutions to optimize these technologies and (we must) look at many different combinations of these technologies as the space continues to evolve," Schwartz said. "… There is a growing infrastructure to support these new modes of mobility that still needs time to develop, and there is a very steep learning curve that still needs to be overcome for all actors in the ecosystem."

And as these technologies unfold, a lot of big ideas and big innovations will be needed to move mobility forward more sustainably.

Mobility, sustainability—those are spaces Michelin knows well. So don't be surprised if you find the tire maker working on any of those solutions.