[Gasification] Hydrogen

[Harmon Seaver]

Michael Redler wrote:
> "The end result of Hydrogen is invariably promoted as electricity from a fuel 
> cell. Why not simply skip the fuel cell intermediate step and use the 
> electricity directly?"
> 
> It has to do with what flavor of energy you need. Fixed energy conversion systems (like at Niagara falls) doesn't fit under the hood of a car so it needs to be converted to transportable, stored energy. As Tom pointed out (and as we all experience at the gas pump), there are people who want to control and exploit the way we buy stored energy.
> 

   If you do the math, you will find it is far more efficient to use the
 electricity from Niagra, solar panels, whatever, to charge batteries
(yes, even the lead-acid batteries common today) and drive your electric
car on them than to make H2, then burn that in a fuel cell to make
electricity to drive those electric motors turning your wheels. You will
get many more miles per KWH just with our present day battery technology
as say in the nice Toyota RAV4 electric that they killed off. And the
the newer batteries, like lithium-ion, it will be even more efficient.
   Not to mention that you can't buy a fuel-cell car at present for less
than $3,000,000 and even if they were making them on a large scale they
would still cost at least $250,000.
    When I first read about H2 energy 30 years ago, I too thought it was
a wonderful idea. I could hardly wait -- but after many years of
waiting, I started to wonder. And after reading and listening to some of
the latest research in that area, I simply laugh. Dream on if you like,
but nobody alive today will ever see the "hydrogen economy".


-- 
Harmon Seaver