Electric vehicles continue to dominate the news cycle related to an anointed shift away from liquefied fuels; over the next decade, the energy grid in the United States could see significant strain because of the country’s push for EV adoption coming faster than the grid can handle. For convenience stores, this push has continued to be a conundrum, as most use cases for ROI rely on increased foot traffic as a primary driver for offering EV charging.  W. Capra has been working alongside the transportation industry to quantify a true path to ROI from a different alternate fuel source: hydrogen. 

“Hydrogen has been a ‘next energy source’ for decades,” quipped Matt Beale, Partner at W. Capra. “With technology advancements, diverse extraction techniques, and a strengthened focus on the environment, now, more than ever, hydrogen really can be poised to truly become the next energy source.  Hydrogen, as an energy source, is more abundant than any other type of fuel, and one which could come without the ancillary impacts on the grid that accompanies EV.”

Why Hydrogen?

EV Charging ROI calcs rely heavily on in-store spend and foot traffic. W. Capra is working on a model that demonstrates hydrogen can generate ROI as a fuel in and of itself. With large scale Hydrogen to electric conversion, hydrogen can also be used as a source to provide charge to EVs.  Some large electric providers are already declining requests to fund charging for commercial fueling solutions, in part acknowledging the strain on the grid and all supply required.

Erika Curtis, Lead at W. Capra added, “Commercial fueling solutions are pointed towards heavy reliance on hydrogen as an additional fuel source given the constraints of designing electric batteries that would be fit for purpose.  While everyone is thinking about their site footprint and planning for alternative fuels, now is the time to determine your path for hydrogen fueling and creating a redundant energy source for EV charging plans without a sole focus on the grid cost of standalone EV.”

How do I get started on my journey?

W. Capra’s deep Convenience & Energy experience and relationships coupled with their transportation industry involvement to help drive the future of hydrogen and its role as a sustainable, cost-effective, profit generating fuel gives them an innate ability to help the C&E industry plan for how they can get hydrogen on their alternative fuel roadmap.

Matt Beale and Erika Curtis are passionate about leading W. Capra clients in their alternative fuel planning journey. For further discussion, contact Matt at mbeale@wcapra.com or Erika at ecurtis@wcapra.com.