Greening transportation with vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells
With a background in alternative fuels, renewable energy, energy efficiency, transportation technologies, and financial services, Brian Goldstein is the Executive Director of Energy Independence Now (founded by Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation‘s CEO, Terry Tamminen), a nonprofit on a mission to support the transition to a clean transportation system through hydrogen fuel.
On this podcast episode, Brian shares how hydrogen fuel cells work, the environmental impact of electric vehicles compared to hydrogen-powered vehicles, the practicality and potential for fuel cells to help green the transportation sector, and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Brian and Green Dreamer Podcast’s host, Kaméa Chayne.
“Speak up for those that don’t necessarily have a voice or don’t have the bandwidth to join the environmental movement.”
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This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kaméa Chayne, a podcast exploring environmental regeneration and intersectional sustainability from ideas to life. Subscribe to Green Dreamer on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or any podcast app to stay informed and up to date on our latest episodes.
On the potential of hydrogen fuel to support a cleaner future:
“The carbon-intensity of gasoline is somewhere around 100 grams per mile. And hydrogen that is generated from solar power or other renewable electricity, along with battery electric vehicles that would be using renewable electricity, [with that,] we can reach zero-carbon intensity.
But if you take methane emissions from a dairy farm and capture them, instead of letting them be released into the atmosphere, and use that for renewable hydrogen, we get those carbon intensities down to -280.
So at that point, you’re literally cleaning up the atmosphere while you’re driving these vehicles. You’re not just having a zero impact; you’re actually having a positive impact on the planet by using fuel that’s derived from renewable gas.”
On the need to take a portfolio approach to greening the transportation sector:
“Americans really just want to pick a winner. It seems that they’re treating this battery-electric vehicle versus fuel-cell electric vehicle topic as a race, and a lot of people have made up their minds.
We absolutely need both types of vehicles to achieve our sustainability goals, whether we’re talking about California, our personal sustainability goals, or worldwide goals.”
Brian’s closing words of wisdom:
“Speak up for those that don’t necessarily have a voice or don’t have the bandwidth to join the environmental movement.”
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