Hydrogen Is Dangerous, Just Like Any Other Fuel
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HYDROGEN
any battery currently available.
For two-wheeled vehicles, small urban vehicles,
delivery services and similar applications, battery
electric mobility has its place and works well. Batteries
can also work very well in passenger cars. For larger,
more energy-intensive vehicles, however, I believe
hydrogen starts to make more sense. It is also a question
of energy transmission.
If we imagine replacing all the lorries on the D1
motorway with electric lorries, we would need
an enormous electrical infrastructure and quantities
of electricity that we simply do not have today. Not
everything can be transmitted through a cable.
Which of your hydrogen projects are particularly
worth mentioning?
Karel Souček: Certainly, our biggest achievement
is the project that has attracted the most attention and has
a tangible impact: the hydrogen-powered lorry, which
was developed as part of a consortium and supported
by the state budget.
The project also includes a refuelling station. For DEVINN,
it is something of a pat on the back that we were able
to deliver the complete solution – both the hydrogen
system for the vehicle and the equipment capable
of refuelling it. Fortunately, we have also managed
to secure the continuation of the project. A second
hydrogen-powered Tatra is already being developed.
Hydrogen is often associated with concerns that
it is dangerous and can explode. Should we be afraid
of it?
Karel Souček: Yes, hydrogen is dangerous, just like
any other fuel, because it is concentrated energy.
A canister of petrol is also very dangerous. But there
is no reason to demonise hydrogen as something
significantly more dangerous than other technologies
that we routinely use.
Even if a minor leak occurs, one of hydrogen’s properties
is that it disperses very quickly. This means it is less
likely to build up to an explosive concentration.
Luboš Hajský: I often use a simple analogy: every day,
we put our children in the back seat of a car, with fifty
litres of highly flammable petrol just ten centimetres
away from them. And we hardly give it a second
thought. These technologies can be managed, and we
have the technical expertise to use them safely.
The connuaon of the project
has also been secured. A second
hydrogen-powered Tatra truck
is already being developed.