Climate change is causing a pothole plague. Are robots and self-healing pavement the solution?
Washington-based climate tech startup Modern Hydrogen, which has attracted seed funding from the likes of Bill Gates, has focused its efforts on this novel approach, which creates a longer-lasting form of asphalt.
The clean-tech company's primary line of business is pulling solid carbon from natural gas to create clean hydrogen. But as part of that process, solid carbon is created, which as it turns out, can serve as a key material in creating asphalt that holds up better in the face of climate change.
"Our material makes asphalt stronger and more durable," Modern Hydrogen CEO Tony Pan tells the BBC. "We increase stiffness by 34%. That means the roads are stronger, more durable and asphalt is able to withstand higher temperatures."
The strengthened roads are just one of the benefits of Modern Hydrogen's innovation, which is currently in use in five US states and Canada.
Traditional asphalt is made of dirt, pebbles, stone and sand. But the most expensive part of the asphalt is the material used to bind it, which is traditionally bitumen. And bitumen is made from oil, Pan explains.
Modern Hydrogen CTO Max Mankin Elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors
Modern Hydrogen CTO Max Mankin Elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors.
The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering the nation’s most promising innovators in science and technology, today announced the election of Max Mankin to its board of directors.
Mankin is co-founder and chief technology officer at Modern Hydrogen, a clean energy company decarbonizing some of the most challenging sectors of industry—including gas utilities, process heat and steam users, heavy equipment and fleet operators, and building materials producers. In 2016, Mankin and Modern Hydrogen co-founder Tony Pan, also a Hertz Fellow, won the Hertz Foundation Strauss Award for their exceptional leadership in their entrepreneurial endeavors. Their partnership is a perfect example of the power of the Hertz community.
Letter: Why transporting hydrogen by truck is self-defeating
In relation to your story “Big Oil calls for realism on green transition” (Report, March 25), I would like to highlight one critical point preventing the US from reaching this more sustainable future.
Currently the US Department of Energy artificially puts the transport of hydrogen over pipelines and onsite production of hydrogen at a competitive disadvantage to road transport by not accounting for the CO₂ impact of the so-called vehicle miles travelled (VMT) in the delivery of hydrogen. Every hydrogen delivery truck travels one way loaded and returns home empty. All of these delivery miles travelled today are fuelled by diesel, and DoE’s hydrogen CO₂ intensity methodology accounts for none of the emissions. As a result, hydrogen producers and potential hydrogen users do not demand pipelines or onsite production, because truck delivery is perfectly acceptable.
The end results are taxpayer-funded hydrogen projects that in the near term have CO₂ footprints (from diesel-fuelled delivery) greater than the hydrocarbon-fuelled applications they were originally meant to displace.
In the medium term, this effectively eliminates consideration of pipelines and onsite co-located production.
Longer term, it negatively affects the economics, availability and market readiness for hydrogen.
Clean Technology Innovators Honored in Inaugural CleanTech Breakthrough Awards Program
Award winners have been chosen based on their technological contribution to a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable future. A distinguished panel of judges have evaluated each entry to identify and recognize the breakthrough innovators in the global clean technology industry.
“In a world that desperately needs sustainable solutions, the CleanTech Breakthrough Awards offer a unique opportunity to be part of the solution. We are passionate about what technology can do in the field and we want to celebrate advancements in energy, climate and clean technologies,” said Bryan Vaughn, Managing Director of CleanTech Breakthrough Awards. “Our first cohort of winners are truly redefining the future of our planet and making the Earth a cleaner, safer and more sustainable place for all. We’re thrilled to announce our inaugural list of CleanTech Breakthrough Award winners.”
The 2024 CleanTech Breakthrough Award Winners include:
Decarbonization Solution of the Year: Modern Hydrogen
Cracking roads have engineers warning of a ‘pothole plague’ — here’s why it won’t get better anytime soon
“Another exciting solution has come as a byproduct of the Bill Gates–backed startup Modern Hydrogen. The company's main focus is pulling solid carbon from methane to create clean hydrogen. It turns out that the solid carbon can be used to make a more durable asphalt.
Modern Hydrogen CEO Tony Pan told the BBC, "We increase stiffness by 34%. That means the roads are stronger, more durable, and asphalt is able to withstand higher temperatures."
Sequester Carbon in Road Repairs
Sequester Carbon in Road Repairs: As cities and regions across the nation grapple with the challenges of sustainable urban development, San Antonio’s pilot with Modern Asphalt presents a compelling case study. Its success could signal a new era in road construction, marrying environmental responsibility with practicality and performance.
The San Antonio pilot project is more than just a local initiative; it’s a beacon of innovation in the asphalt industry. By embracing Modern Asphalt, the city isn’t just repairing roads; it’s paving a path toward a more sustainable future. As this project unfolds, it may very well set a new standard for urban infrastructure, demonstrating that ecological responsibility and high-quality road construction can, indeed, go hand in hand.
Modern Hydrogen’s Practical Approach to Decarbonization
Modern Hydrogen, a start-up specializing in decarbonizing natural gas at the meter in order to deliver clean fuel for sectors traditionally difficult to decarbonize, set out to prove its hypothesis: stripping solid carbon from natural gas before combustion is a more practical approach to decarbonizing than managing gaseous CO2 — and can reduce the amount of harmful CO2.
Previous methods of reducing CO2 after combustion have proven complicated and expensive, according to Mothusi Pahl, Modern Hydrogen's vice president of business development and government affairs.
This new method substantially reduces costs as well as the embodied CO2 of asphalt, which contributes to the decarbonization of the natural gas sector, a known CO2 emitter.
"Capturing carbon before combusting natural gas — not after — could make decarbonization easier," Pahl said. "Nobody else has figured out how to decarbonize at the point of use."
In the process of developing a way to deliver "energy with a CO2 footprint that looks like renewables," they discovered a way to reduce the environmental impact of paving roads with asphalt —one that sequesters carbon for centuries. It also happens to enhance the quality of asphalt.
Top 10 Carbon Emissions Solutions Providers – 2023
According to Utilities Tech Outlook, Modern Hydrogen is one of the top ten carbon emission solutions providers of 2023.
