 Welcome to Stand Energy Man here on Think Tech Hawaii, stand awesome in here on an exceptionally rainy day in Hawaii. In fact, just north of me, they're having a pretty massive thunderstorm and flood warnings. So it's a pretty busy day today. But the subject today is something that's kind of near and dear to me. You know, I've been working hydrogen issues for almost a decade and transportation issues for even longer than that. And it's always frustrating to me that so many people that really understand hydrogen just don't seem to have a voice in getting it across the people that can make a difference. People with funding, people in government, people in state legislature, people in the federal government, congressional members, they just don't seem to get it. So probably since the days of Bush II and maybe Clinton, Bill Clinton, we just really haven't had a lot of focus on hydrogen. But things changed. And they changed about around 2017. And this week, there was a press release, actual advisory, that was set up and sent to the new administration. So early in 2017, an international group of companies joined together to promote and expand the role of hydrogen across many industries. This group was encouraged and supported by the US Department of Energy Initiative called Hydrogen at Scale. Initially, there were fewer than a dozen companies involved, but they represented manufacturers, automakers, industrial gas suppliers, major oil companies, and smaller hydrogen technology companies trying to get things going. The group grew quickly and today is over 60 members around the world with a common goal to promote a cleaner, more sustainable world and provide economic stability and prosperity by using hydrogen technology. The group is simply called the Hydrogen Council. But their work has driven hydrogen to the forefront of the fight for clean energy. And this short paper that was introduced this week is an appeal to the Biden administration. And it's made by several members of the Hydrogen Council calling themselves Hydrogen Forward. I'd like to read the entire proposal. It's not really long. In fact, it's very concise. But I'll be adding some comments to emphasize and explain some of the parts of the proposal to give you and maybe some of the folks in Congress and the Biden administration a little more clarity on what this proposal puts forward. First of all, it was put together by Steve Angel, the CEO of Lindy, a big industrial gas company, and Tom Lienberger, the chairman and CEO of Cummings. They're a diesel engine manufacturer. But they recently bought one major fuel cell company. And actually, I think they bought a couple other companies as well. But anyway, this statement was sent out on March 8, 2021. So yesterday, it hit the airwaves. And I'm just going to read it right verbatim. And when I change to opinion, I'm going to talk about my opinion right after some of the paragraphs. And when I do, I'm going to put my hat on, so you know I'm talking about me and not reading the document. So as our nation welcomes new executives and congressional leadership, we're called to harness Americans' ingenuity and innovation to solve one of our generation's biggest challenges, climate change. Doing so will require never-before-seen action from the public and the private sectors working on lockstep to adopt and accelerate new and existing technologies to power society. Recognizing the opportunities and the challenges of the moment, our companies, Cummings and Lindy, remember the folks that wrote this, joined a coalition called Hydrogen Forward, a group consisting of our fellow founding members, Erlachied, Anglo-American, Bloom Energy, CF Industries, Chart Industries, Hyundai, McDermott, Shell and Toyota, and united by a shared vision to accelerate the energy transition through mass scale deployment of hydrogen. So once considered the energy solution of the future, already developed hydrogen technologies provide a significant opportunity to decarbonize energy intensive industries and advance global environmental and economic objectives. These technologies, which are in use today, allow hydrogen to store, use, and transport energy while generating zero emissions at the point of use. So many people know a little of how much hydrogen technology has already been in play in hundreds of large industrial vacations and how much that hydrogen technology has advanced in the past two decades. Like, did you know that the cooling turbines and most public utilities that generate power use hydrogen to cool their equipment? There's just thousands of uses of hydrogen, including rocket fuel for NASA's rockets that send people to space. We just don't think about hydrogen. Everybody thinks it's not safe or there's something fundamentally dangerous about hydrogen because it does contain a lot of energy. But the hydrogen we're talking about is just the basic gas, not a nuclear weapon, not anything cosmic. It's just a gas, it's very versatile, very plentiful, and has been used in industry for many, many years. So the thing continues. And because of this unique storage properties, hydrogen also provides low carbon options to heat residential and commercial buildings, provide backup power during grid outages, and enables large-scale, efficient, renewable energy integration into the U.S. power grid. So here I am. This single sentence captures the huge impact that hydrogen could make, literally replacing propane and natural gas over time for cooking and heating, and even more critical is the role of storing energy from renewables. Solar and wind are characterized as intermittent renewables, meaning they're not always available. Like at night, the sun doesn't shine, so solar panels don't work. And they require massive storage on the future grid. We just don't appreciate how much energy can be stored in millions of barrels of oil and millions of gallons of fuel oil. And to replace all that with clean renewable energy and store that energy is a humongous task. This storage can be achieved in several ways, but the darling that most grid operators have in mind are lithium batteries because they're efficient. Engineers love efficiency, but efficiency is only one consideration. Safety is another consideration. The current lithium cobalt technology has thermal instability issues and can cause some very serious, very hot fires that are very hard to put out. The availability of the components to make these batteries is another one. Every nation can make its own hydrogen if they have water and a clean electrical source. They can make carbon-free fuels to power their equipment. There's an environmental impact at the production stage for batteries. That's another problem. The mining of the raw materials is something that we don't even do in the United States. We don't mine lithium. We're just starting to open a couple mines, but the EPA has such strict restrictions on mining these materials that we generally stay away from that. So a lot of these materials like cobalt and lithium come from other countries, and they have human rights issues and things like that. The disposal of batteries at the end of life has virtually been ignored except by the bigger companies like Tesla who recovers their batteries and re-uses them actually into their commercial residential batteries. But most importantly, the cost is unsustainable, and the prices will go even higher as components get harder and harder to source. Don't forget, we're talking about changing all of the cars, all of the trucks, probably all the trains and buses and everything, maybe even boats and airplanes and ships to use other renewable resources. And if we're going to do that, if we're going to electrify the transportation sector and energy requirements keep growing on the grid, that's going to double the energy requirements that we currently have by combining transportation and grid. So for electric transportation being the future, the grid storage requirements would just make batteries totally not only unaffordable, but the world will require more batteries than the earth can produce. So the statement goes on and says, however, in the United States, hydrogen is perhaps the most publicly visible, most publicly visible in the transportation sector, whereas the potential to revolutionize the way we move both people and goods. Transportation related emissions account for almost one third of all the greenhouse gases alongside battery electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles like passenger vehicles, buses, long haul trucks and other heavy duty vehicles can significantly reduce transportation related emissions. This is where I spend most of my time. I've been involved in aviation, transportation and mobility for over four decades. And I can assure you that when it comes to moving just about anything, it's all about weight. Cars, trucks, trains, aircraft, spacecraft, even boats, ships and other things benefit from the hydrogen because it has, as an energy source, has the most energy dense of energy storage of any element. And it's plentiful in our universe. It's the most plentiful element in our universe. And it's safe. Just like we here in Hawaii, we're very respectful of the ocean. It's very powerful and it can kill you in a heartbeat. So like the ocean, you have to respect the power of hydrogen and you have to handle it properly. Handling hydrogen properly is considered, it is considered safer by virtually all professionals than gasoline, propane and natural gas, and even pure oxygen, which most people think is very safe. A lot of professionals that deal with bottled oxygen, they'll tell you it's really kind of scary. In fact, pure hydrogen is not flammable until it's mixed with an oxidizer like air. But for transportation, we always store the hydrogen at 99.999% pure in the tanks that are specially designed to hold it. So the content of those tanks cannot burn. And if the hydrogen escapes its tanks, it travels vertically at 45 miles an hour. That's 60 feet or six stories in one second. That doesn't pool or puddle on the ground and mix with air and cause flames and heat that spread and move laterally and burn things. So the hydrogen flame, if it does catch on fire, is more like a torch. So in transportation, hydrogen is the energy source of choice. Okay, back to the statement. In addition to climate benefits, the hydrogen scale up will help bolster our national nation's strong industrial base and robust supply chains to retain and create millions of well paying jobs in manufacturing and technology by 2030. The US hydrogen economy could generate $140 billion in revenue and support 700,000 jobs. Back from my comments for island communities particularly like Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and thousands of other nations and communities around the world that import all their energy, even Japan. Hydrogen can be made carbon free by using renewable energy like solar and wind or my very favorite, in-stream hydroelectric and water. This would have a huge impact on island economies and hydrogen facilities are the ultimate and sustainable conditions for energy independence. It facilitates it, it makes it happen. So back to the statement. Further, because hydrogen is sourced, produced, and used domestically, our nation will be able to capture the full economic benefits of the entire hydrogen supply chain, including production, infrastructure, and end use. At Lindy investments in renewable hydrogen are helping us to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions in a variety of sectors including transportation. We announced late last year that our Ontario California facility will soon produce enough renewable hydrogen to eliminate 50,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. At Cummings, we announced plans to launch the largest renewable hydrogen electrolyzer in the United States, in Washington state, partnering with a local public utility. The project is expected to launch later this year and will allow the utility to harness renewables and store their energy for later use. Okay, this is critical. This is one of the big things that most of the utilities haven't quite latched on to yet. The role of making hydrogen, that hydrogen plays, is grid stabilization. Hawaii, particularly the mainline in the middle of Oahu, has reached an intermittent renewable saturation point that destabilizes grid operations. That means that the electric utility here will not allow additional solar projects connected to connect to the grid in certain locations because it's too destabilizing. So even if you wanted to put solar panels on your roof, many places on Oahu, you can't because there's already too much solar and because it fluctuates so much, the electric company won't let people add more to their grid until they can figure a way to stabilize their system. The interesting thing is, electrolyzers, that's the equipment that makes green hydrogen, can load follow. In other words, it can increase production when there's a surplus of power and the electric company doesn't need all the power it's producing. And it can decrease production when the grid needs more power and there's not enough power to go around. So you need to throttle our electrolyzers back. For most utilities, having 15 to 20% intermittent renewable generation in the mix limits connecting additional solar on homes, businesses to the grid just to avoid the destabilization. Hydrogen production allows more solar and wind resources to be used. So if we're going to go into the future, trying to do more and more renewable energy, we're going to have to get our hands around how to help the grid balance all of those intermittent renewables on their system. And you can do that by using electrolyzers to make hydrogen in the community, in subdivisions, in industrial areas with all the solar and wind you can provide or even other things. Like I said, in-stream hydroelectric for me is great because it's 24 hours a day and it's pretty steady. It doesn't fluctuate a whole lot. So it doesn't add to the grid stabilization. But if we want to have more sustainable power production, unless you happen to have Hoover Dam in your backyard, you're going to be counting on solar, wind and things like that that are a little bit less stable. And believe me, at 15 to 20% saturation, that's not a whole lot. The data I heard from the US Department of Energy was when utility companies get to about 35 to 40%, they have literally hit the wall and they just can't function more sustainable. That's a 30 to 40%. They claim that over 50% is totally undoable at this point in time without the introduction of things like hydrogen electrolyzers to help load follow and balance the grid out. So in closing the statement says, as a new administration re-engages in the global climate diplomacy and pioneers a modern era for US climate and energy leadership, we firmly believe stakeholders in public and private sectors must collaborate to accelerate the deployment of hydrogen. It has been heartening to see early signs of support among Biden administration officials to date. During her confirmation hearings, incoming Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said the United States should be energy secure in the cleanest possible way and notes that hydrogen is a necessary tool to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. And former Secretary of State John Kerry in his new role as climate envoy acknowledged that investments in hydrogen and other technologies will transform our economies. And that's a key point. I don't think that people really understand the economic impacts of not being dependent on other countries and other imports for your energy. There is not a country on the face of the earth that couldn't become energy independent using hydrogen and renewable energy resources instead of fighting wars and fighting over oil just to keep your industries going. Through the first 100 days of the Biden administration will be a fury of activity. Our nation's most priority must prioritize climate policies and establish a clear strategy for hydrogen investment through infrastructure development and deployment. As we mobilize to create a healthy and sustainable world for generations to come, we must remember the choices we make now will have tremendous consequences for the future. And this letter was written by, like I said, Steve Angel, the CEO of Lindy, and Tom Linebarger as the chairman and CEO of Cummings Diesel. And they represent hydrogen forward as an initiative led by 11 companies committed to working with shareholders in the public and private sector to advance hydrogen for a cleaner, stronger U.S. economy. So that's the statement that went out. And it went out from a FTIconsulting.com. And it's directed at getting the new administration to really take hydrogen seriously. But I'm telling you that the hydrogen council and the efforts of this hydrogen forward have really made a huge difference. I've watched the industry grow tremendously over the past three or four years. And right now, timing, we used to say in the Air Force, timing is everything. And this is the time for hydrogen. So I'm going to wrap it up a little bit early today and just call it, call it, you know, enough, enough reading by Stan. But hydrogen really does have a voice now. Thanks to the Department of Energy. Thanks mostly to the hydrogen council and the people and the business people, including big oil companies, Total Oil and Shell Oil have been in this hydrogen council from nearly day one. It's a great, great opportunity to get everyone involved, create new jobs and new careers more importantly, more than just jobs, new careers for everyone in America in every state and territory around the world, other countries. And other countries have picked up on hydrogen and are actually outstepping the United States of America right now. It's kind of embarrassing. But Asia, China, Europe, and even the African continent are moving forward in hydrogen in ways that we still haven't quite caught up to yet. So when you hear hydrogen, don't think Hindenburg, don't think H-bomb. We're not talking nuclear weapons and we're not talking natural disasters where blimps covered with basically very flammable paint caused any kind of issues. Think about how many times you've heard of hydrogen in the news as a disaster. It's not very often. And we've moved millions of pounds of liquid hydrogen from Canada all the way to Cape Canaveral as rocket fuel since the 60s. And it's been done safely and it's been done very professionally. And that's the kind of technology we need to have moving forward so that we're not sitting here looking back after 50 years or 100 years of also fuel and sink. Why did we do this to our environment? Why did we do this to our precious earth? So until next Tuesday, just stand the energy man, stand officer man, and think tech. Think about it a little bit more. And if you get the chance to drive a Toyota Mirai or a Hyundai Nexo or their SUV, the Nissan or Honda's Clarity, even Mercedes makes a production car in hydrogen now. You get a chance to drive one, get out there and check it out. I think you'd be really impressed. Until next Tuesday, this is Stan Osterman signing off. Aloha.