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Actually, as far as I know the energy density (per weight of material) of hydrogen is greater than that of hydrocarbons.

Check this link for more information.

Daniel

Right. They discuss metal hydride storage, and they discuss onboard gasoline->h2 conversion. I agree, they are relatively safe. I understand that the Hindenburg was not hugely explosive (helium still would have been desirable ). Furthermore, I realize that none of this has anything to do with atomic bombs ;-)

Read about the "two 200 l LH2 storage vessels rooftop mounted" (on a city bus) in this article and you'll see why I think the public's safety concerns are valid.

Like methane, if leaked to air, it mixes and forms fuel-air explosive.

I do get tired of reading that burning hydrogen produces no emissions (NOx and others), but ignoring the fact that hydrogen as to come from somewhere (you can't just pump H2 out of a hole in the ground) that tends to be fossil fuels today in another forms.

As far as the explosiveness, most hydrogen advocates say that it is not really anymore dangerous than petroleum products: www.hydrogen.org.
I know, I know - Your propaganda versus mine. :-)

One thing that hydrogen enthusiasts often seem not to know is that hydrogen is already produced on a large scale, a megatonne or two annually in North America, from fossil fuels.

Nor is a hydrogen infrastructure absent. There are lH2 tanker trucks. Not enough of them, of course, to support tens of millions of hydrogen cars.

Abundantly enough, though, to support the number of such cars that that deep-pocketed clean-motoring enthusiasts, not affiliated with government nor with a car company's research division, have insisted on pioneering. (To the best of my knowledge, that number is holding steady at zero.)

And hydrogen cars, too, exist and have existed for many years (http://www.hydrogen.org/h2cars/overview/cardata/6 7.html, http://www.hydrogen.org/h2cars/overview/cardata/78 . tm).

This makes greenie hydrogen enthusiasts' position seem to boil down to, "Nothing's missing but much higher-priced hydrogen."

A more respectable sort of hydrogen advocate, indeed almost as good as me, since I once was so, is the kind that expect cheaper-than-fossil-derived hydrogen to be made using nuclear thermal methods such as this: http://inisjp.tokai.jaeri.go.jp/ACT00E/09/0903.htm

One thing that hydrogen enthusiasts often seem not to know is that hydrogen is already produced on a large scale, a megatonne or two annually in North America, from fossil fuels.

Nor is a hydrogen infrastructure absent. There are lH2 tanker trucks. Not enough of them, of course, to support tens of millions of hydrogen cars.

Abundantly enough, though, to support the number of such cars that that deep-pocketed clean-motoring enthusiasts, not affiliated with government nor with a car company's research division, have insisted on pioneering. (To the best of my knowledge, that number is holding steady at zero.)

And hydrogen cars, too, exist and have existed for many years (http://www.hydrogen.org/h2cars/overview/cardata/6 7.html, http://www.hydrogen.org/h2cars/overview/cardata/78 . tm).

This makes greenie hydrogen enthusiasts' position seem to boil down to, "Nothing's missing but much higher-priced hydrogen."

A more respectable sort of hydrogen advocate, indeed almost as good as me, since I once was so, is the kind that expect cheaper-than-fossil-derived hydrogen to be made using nuclear thermal methods such as this: http://inisjp.tokai.jaeri.go.jp/ACT00E/09/0903.htm

According to this site:
US Department of Energy, a carbon material needs to store 6.5% of its own weight in hydrogen to make fuel cells practical in cars.
and
scientists from the National University of Singapore have released figures for nanotubes and nanofibers that can store 10-20% of their weight in hydrogen.
And this site claims over 70% hydrogen storage by weight at about 40 atmospheres storage pressure, but maximum charging requires about 130 atmospheres and several hours.

I read a more indepth article in their glossy magazine about these 750hl (about 15 of them) being used at EXPO world fair. It seems they have a PETROL/HYDRO switch on the dash and the V12 motor runs on either petrol or hydrogen.

BMW seems to think we can buy these cars in about 10 years ... about the time I'll be ready for a new car ;-)

You wrote: "We need a way to show the oil companies that we're fed up of lining their pockets with cash" which is kind of funny since there are so many ways, and so many organisations doing so.
Rule #1: Buy NO unneccessary plastic items. I make an exception, personally, for my kids' legos. But I don't buy a new case for my computer just because the ATX form came out, I hacksaw the old one. Plastics are essentially a waste product of the petroleum industry.
Rule #2: Buy NOTHING from Exxon. Because we need to convince the Oil Barons that there are some things that don't blow over - and Exxon's had the most egregious crimes as well as being the last vestigal trace of the original Petroleum Trust (Standard Oil = S.O. = Esso = Exxon, you can confirm this easily).
Rule #3: Stop whining and do something. I am converting my truck to gas/electric hybrid ASAP. My bud Pete runs used fryer oil in his (unmodified) Mercedes diesel.

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