Hydrogen Cars? Not so fast.
If you are one of those folks who thinks the Toyota Prius is “so yesterday,” and you can’t wait for hydrogen fuel cells, don’t hold your breath. CNET has a really good piece on why hydrogen-fueled vehicles may be farther off than many think/believe. A number of hurdles have to be overcome before hydrogen becomes mainstream.
First, producing sufficient quantities of hydrogen is an issue. The production process requires electricity and making electricity has all the emissions consequences we drone on about so often on this blog. Coal fired power is a non-starter both because of new legislation banning its use in California and because of its hideous carbon footprint. Natural gas is better but there isn’t enough of it. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Speaking of natural gas, tonight is the Coast Guard hearing in Oxnard on LNG—go early, stay late—Participate!]. The CNET piece notes that there are greener alternatives like wind and solar but those have issues all their own.
Second, supplying the hydrogen once it’s made is just as tricky. We lack the infrastructure sufficient to get the hydrogen from Point A to Point B. And, hydrogen requires special pipelines because it dissipates rapidly on contact with air.
Finally, even if you can make it and supply it, performance issues abound. Currently, hydrogen powered vehicles can only go 200 miles between fill-ups and hydrogen fuel cells are really, really expensive. Experts say the current price estimate of $107 per KW/hour has to come down about 70% to make the technology commercially viable.
Net-net? Hang onto your Prius.
Studying the hydrogen energy chain [CNET]
First, producing sufficient quantities of hydrogen is an issue. The production process requires electricity and making electricity has all the emissions consequences we drone on about so often on this blog. Coal fired power is a non-starter both because of new legislation banning its use in California and because of its hideous carbon footprint. Natural gas is better but there isn’t enough of it. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Speaking of natural gas, tonight is the Coast Guard hearing in Oxnard on LNG—go early, stay late—Participate!]. The CNET piece notes that there are greener alternatives like wind and solar but those have issues all their own.
Second, supplying the hydrogen once it’s made is just as tricky. We lack the infrastructure sufficient to get the hydrogen from Point A to Point B. And, hydrogen requires special pipelines because it dissipates rapidly on contact with air.
Finally, even if you can make it and supply it, performance issues abound. Currently, hydrogen powered vehicles can only go 200 miles between fill-ups and hydrogen fuel cells are really, really expensive. Experts say the current price estimate of $107 per KW/hour has to come down about 70% to make the technology commercially viable.
Net-net? Hang onto your Prius.
Studying the hydrogen energy chain [CNET]
posted by CalEnergyGuy at 9:27 AM
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