Last week, I wrote about the emerging Hydrogen-fueled, fuel-cell vehicles as an alternative to all-battery powered cars. I want to talk, here about some of the challenges with this technology.
1. Hydrogen is expensive. This is true. Today, it is the equivalent, as a commenter noted to my last post, of about $16/gallon of gasoline. BUT, the state of California is investing tons of money into this technology, and predicts that hydrogen fuel will be less expensive than gasoline cars by 2025. And, I don't know about Honda and Hyundai (I would love to hear from folks who have bought one of these), but Toyota is providing three- or six- years of prepaid fuel for dealer-sold cars. HERE.
2. Hydrogen is hard to find. Also true! Today, there is ONE station in Marin (the Valero in Mill Valley). But, the state is investing a ton of money into developing new stations - the goal is 200 by 2025, and there is state funding to do it. I want to explore how to get some of that money for a station in FFX! There are also few stations around the country, anywhere, now. More HERE.
3. Hydrogen is not as "Green" as electricity generated by renewable electricity and stored in batteries. This is a LITTLE bit true, especially today. Today, most hydrogen is generated from natural gas, and transported to stations using gasoline. As such is it LESS green than all-renewable electricity stored in batteries. BUT, technology is advancing quickly. The aim is to produce hydrogen from 100% renewable electricity, too; it will make hydrogen a kind of energy storage in itself. And, there is work being done by California and others to be able to use natural gas pipelines to transport hydrogen, which will be a great use of these piping systems as we move away from BURNING natural gas. HERE.
Hydrogen is going to be an extremely important part of our Energy Future. It has a number of advantages over other potential fuels for many important applications. The technology is being heavily supported by the state and federal authorities. It is an important part of our collective success in moving away from fossil fuels.
Next time - fuel cells for HOMES -
1. Hydrogen is expensive. This is true. Today, it is the equivalent, as a commenter noted to my last post, of about $16/gallon of gasoline. BUT, the state of California is investing tons of money into this technology, and predicts that hydrogen fuel will be less expensive than gasoline cars by 2025. And, I don't know about Honda and Hyundai (I would love to hear from folks who have bought one of these), but Toyota is providing three- or six- years of prepaid fuel for dealer-sold cars. HERE.
2. Hydrogen is hard to find. Also true! Today, there is ONE station in Marin (the Valero in Mill Valley). But, the state is investing a ton of money into developing new stations - the goal is 200 by 2025, and there is state funding to do it. I want to explore how to get some of that money for a station in FFX! There are also few stations around the country, anywhere, now. More HERE.
3. Hydrogen is not as "Green" as electricity generated by renewable electricity and stored in batteries. This is a LITTLE bit true, especially today. Today, most hydrogen is generated from natural gas, and transported to stations using gasoline. As such is it LESS green than all-renewable electricity stored in batteries. BUT, technology is advancing quickly. The aim is to produce hydrogen from 100% renewable electricity, too; it will make hydrogen a kind of energy storage in itself. And, there is work being done by California and others to be able to use natural gas pipelines to transport hydrogen, which will be a great use of these piping systems as we move away from BURNING natural gas. HERE.
Hydrogen is going to be an extremely important part of our Energy Future. It has a number of advantages over other potential fuels for many important applications. The technology is being heavily supported by the state and federal authorities. It is an important part of our collective success in moving away from fossil fuels.
Next time - fuel cells for HOMES -
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