Bringing the Hydrogen Economy Back to Reality

An anonymous reader writes "Popular Science has created a list of 9 myths and misconceptions about getting our future hydrogen economy into full swing. If you are hoping your next car purchase will be a hydrogen car, don't hold your breath. Car manufacturers must still make some significant breakthroughs before being ready for primetime, specifically longer lasting fuel cells and better hydrogen storage capabilities."

Comments

Re:I find the H2 leak subject a little disingenuou

[bcattwoo]

Yes, the hydrogen would dissipate rather quickly at the fueling station, provided the leak wasn't too large. What about if your car starts leaking in your garage at night though? Since hydrogen is odorless you wouldn't even notice until you went to start the car in the morning and then BLAMMO! I am sure that there could be ways to detect it, etc, but I am just trying to point out that hydrogen could be at least a dangerous as gasoline.

The article was also trying to make a point not just about the danger of leaks, but just of the shear quantity released. Hydrogen is a really small molecule and can be difficult to contain. Apparently, there could be some negative consequences if large amounts of it were to leak into the atmosphere.

E85. Forget H2

[kippy]

I know this isn't sexy but I'm convinced that this is the real way out of greenhouse and oil problems:

E85

It's an 85%/15% ethanol-gas mix. Outfitting a car to use it is cheap. There are a couple problems with it.

1. You're still using oil from the ground.
2. It still makes CO2.
3. You've got to produce the ethanol.

Still you can:

1. just keep using oil. I know that's not popular but e85 effectively multiplies the efficiency by a factor of more than 5. Also, oil isn't going to run out in 10 years if you understand the concept of "proven reserves". Even if you believe in peak oil theory, it staves it off by a good long while.

2. a lot of the CO2 produced is fixed the previous growing season by the plants.

3. producing ethanol is a net energy gain since the lion's share of the energy comes from the sun in the first place. Still we currently don't produce nearly enough of it to roll it out nation wide. That's just a matter of making a market for it. The good folks at Oak Ridge national labs are working on engineering plants that grow faster and produce more material to break down into ethanol. They're also working on bacteria that can do the fermenting on more materials. (sorry, no link. Too lazy.)

It's not perfect but it's a damn sight better than H2 and it's available on a limited basis now. I can go fill up on it today if I want. Best of all in my mind, this could boost the agribusiness industry to a point where farm subsidies are done away with for good.

Interesting article on hybrid diesel buses

[jangobongo]

Seattle has the largest fleet of hybrid diesel buses in the world, but transportation officials are finding that the expected fuel efficiency isn't there. It seems the regular diesel engine buses have a slightly better mpg performance while still having with very low emissions.

During a check on fuel efficiency in September, the hybrid buses (which are equipped with the regenerative braking system) were getting 3.75 mpg on average while the older model diesels were getting 3.8 mpg.

The article does go on to say, though, that this may be because the city uses the hybrid buses for longer routes where the diesel engine gets more use. Plus, stricter federal emission standards are affecting fuel efficiency.

Still using corn? Forget E85.

[Engineer-Poet]

Unless you have a crop which is far more productive than corn, E85 is just a boondoggle.

1. It currently produces only 1.34 BTU of ethanol for each BTU of fossil inputs. This means each gallon is about 75% fossil energy.
2. The tax subsidy for ethanol is currently $1.90/gallon, or about $7.60/gallon of non-fossil energy. (And you thought petroleum was expensive!)
3. Even if all the corn grown in the USA was converted to ethanol, it wouldn't feed our motor fuel needs.

Taxpayer funds currently devoted to ethanol subsidies should be immediately diverted to programs which actually reduce petroleum consumption, such as hybrids.

You can use hydrogen in a normal car engine

[jeorgen]

With very little conversion, you can use hydrogen in your regular car engine. BMW is doing this, and betting on it. From the page:

The 745h is the latest BMW hydrogen powered vehicle. The 745h is powered by a 4.4-liter V8, featuring bi-VANOS variable valve timing, Valvetronic variable intake runners, and a fully variable intake manifold. The 745h can use either hydrogen or premium unleaded gasoline.

Running on hydrogen, the 745h produces 184 horsepower and can achieve a top speed of 133 mph. The cruising range is 190 miles. Added to the 400-mile range of the normal fuel tank, the 745h can go 600 miles between fill-ups.

This is not as fuel efficient as a fuel cell, but it works with the fleet of cars we have today, and it works in cold climates, where fuel cells fail.