Is your rental fleet about to be disrupted? Hydrogen ICE’s are coming.

Construction equipment rental has always been a target for disruption – aggregator websites, solar technologies, GPS to name a few. However, JCB’s announcement that it will unveil its hydrogen powered internal combustion engine (ICE) at Conexpo in Las Vegas in March could lead to seismic change in the industry.

There have been many attempts over the years to make construction equipment ‘greener’ with varying success. Solar has proven to be a capable technology for fleet such as light towers and variable message boards. Bio-diesel was a non-starter for larger plant that required significant torque to perform their tasks. Hydrogen fuel cells have been successfully used in a number of smaller plant – generators, pumps and forklifts up to a certain size. But the emergence of a serious hydrogen ICE power unit could fundamentally change the shape and composition of rental fleets around the world.

As always, real change is customer driven. Like health and safety, environmental responsibility reporting is only becoming stronger and further legislation is inevitable. This will drive industry to seek cleaner solutions in all aspects. To date, rental companies have been able to shrug their shoulders at customers and say “there isn’t an alternative”… but soon there will be.

So what’s the promise? Hydrogen has long been touted as the heir apparent for fossil fuels, it has zero emissions, properties that lend itself to internal combustion which promise similar energy output to gas/diesel. This is not just about being more environmental for the planet, these units can operate in confined spaces/underground without risking CO2 poisoning.

What’s the holdup in adopting hydrogen? Firstly, distribution. There is no current distribution, storage and retail infrastructure to deliver hydrogen to consumers – you can’t just swing by the service station and fill up on hydrogen. Next we have legislation, for widespread adoption of a new fuel source, laws and guidelines will need to be developed at the state and federal levels along with other agencies such as the EPA around storage, distribution, handling and taxation. Lastly we have technical training for service providers such as mechanics – it might still be a ICE but it is a different ICE.  

At this point you may be asking “so it’s a different fuel, what’s the big deal”? Well it is a big deal. With the effective life of plant ranging from 5 – 13 years, the hire fleet investment decisions you make today may come back to haunt you in the future. Equally, storage and distribution will be a big concern, you can’t just empty your existing diesel tank and fill it with hydrogen. The fleet that you currently own may not hold the residual value that you expect in 4-5 years.

What then should you do with this information? I’m not telling you that this will be widespread next year, in 4 years or in 10 years – that assessment is up to you. But I would suggest that you start to think about how you will manage this possible transition. If you are looking to purchase assets with a 10 year effective life, maybe you should consider a long term lease rather than purchase? If you do decide to purchase, maybe you should consider asking the manufacturer about options for retrofitting the ICE in the future? Start thinking about how you may be able to handle an additional fuel source on your existing or future sites?

*This is the opinion of the author and is not meant to represent advice, financial or otherwise. Please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions based on the contents of this article.