Reducing carbon emissions from long-haul trucks

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on MIT News or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: MIT researchers propose using clean-burning hydrogen to replace diesel fuel in long-haul trucks, significantly cutting carbon emissions
• They suggest a novel approach using liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) to store and release hydrogen onboard the trucks

🔭 The context: Diesel-powered long-haul trucks are major carbon emitters, moving 71% of U.S. freight in 2022
• Alternatives like battery electric trucks face high costs and limited emissions benefits
•  Hydrogen, while promising, struggles with high transportation and refueling costs

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The proposed hydrogen system could reduce long-haul truck emissions by 71%, aiding in the fight against climate change by replacing a major source of CO2 emissions

⏭️ What's next: Researchers are setting up lab experiments to test their hydrogen release system, aiming to demonstrate its feasibility by the end of 2024.
• Successful implementation could lead to widespread adoption in the trucking industry

💬 One quote: "Instead of doing the dehydrogenation at the refueling station and then loading the truck with hydrogen, why don’t we just take the LOHC and load that onto the truck?" — Sayandeep Biswas, MIT graduate student

📈 One stat: Long-haul trucks accounted for more than 3% of all CO2 emissions in the U.S. in 2022

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