How far off is hydrogen as a fuel? what are some other alternatives?

Question

and why are the speculators allowed to speculate?

Answer 1

Not sure what you mean about the speculators.  As for hydrogen - huge question, no good answer.  Here's the short version:

Hydrogen is already here as a theoretical fuel, but as a practical fuel it's a long way off.  There are two ways to use it as a fuel - burning it just like gasoline, and running it through a fuel cell to generate electricty.  BMW and others have had test fleets of hydrogen-burning cars for years.  There are dozens of makers of experimental fuel-cell cars and buses.  All these vehicles work, but you've probably noticed no one is selling them yet.

Hydrogen's big advantage is that when you run it through a fuel cell, it produces no pollution - just water.  Great!  But...

The biggest problem with hydrogen right now is the question of where to get it.  You can electrolyze it from water, but that requires an amount of energy in the form of electricity that's at least as much as the amount of energy you get back when you use the hydrogen as fuel (sometimes a lot more). Generating electricity (at present) ususally means burning fossil fuels and creating some pollution. So it doesn't make much sense to do it that way.  You can also get hydrogen by reforming it from natural gas - but you're still using a limited fossil fuel as a power source, and there's no real cost savings (currently) over gasoline, so it doesn't make much sense to do it that way either.

Which leaves us with no compelling reason at this point to push forward with hydrogen as a fuel.  Until we can find a way to get hydrogen cleanly, it won't be very beneficial.  The most optimistic scenario is that we develop sustainable power plants to generate electricity from solar or wind sources, and use that to get hydrogen from water, and then run our cars on the hydrogen.  But since battery research is moving along pretty nicely right now, while sustainable powerplants are being built very slowly, it's possible that by the time we have clean electricty, batteries will be good enough for cars and we won't have any need for the hydrogen at all.

Like I said, this very long post is the SHORT version of an answer to a very complex question. There's a ton of info on the web about the topic.

Answer 2

Honda is preparing to start selling one next year.

Answer 3

It's already here and you can construct a device yourself to save gas.

I attached a video clip on how easy it is.

I have know a lot of people modifing  their car due to the gas prices.

I'm modified my car by using all items I purchased at Home Depot.

I installed two hydrogen units on my v8 truck and my mileage is better than ever!!

The truck has tons of more power, I was getting 18 MPG on the freeway and now I am getting 38 MPG or more!!

I can't believe the difference!!

I attached a video clip that will explain step by step instructions on how to build a hydrogen unit that produces 80% more Hydrogen than the water4gas system.which will save you more gas cost.

I am going to install eight more hydrogen tanks in the rear of my truck with an extra battery to run it all.

Free Fuel? I'm not sure but I will find out when I get eight units installed.

Good Luck!!!

http://www.expertvillage.com/video-serie...

Answer 4

no hydrogen is not a hydrocarbon-gasoline is. anything made up of hydrogen AND CARBON is a hydrocarbon. so hydrogen is hydrogen, hydrocarbons are hydrocarbons. END OF STORY.

Answer 5

very far off..and its not a fuel...its made from natural gas so its really a hydrocarbon of sorts...speculate?? its called buying and selling oil...you can do it if u want.go to yahoo finance on the home page..or scottrade.

Answer 6

Hydrogen is still a ways off. Currently, there is no efficient way to preform electrolysis to split hydrogen form oxygen in water, so we must obtain it from natural gas and that is not good for the environment. Also, the fuel cells also have a rather low energy to weight ratio as compared to an internal combustion engine. The fuel cells are also very expensive as they require precious metals like platinum to work well. Fueling is also an issue. Hydrogen must be stored and pumped at very low temperatures and at high pressure. The most immediate alternatives are bio fuels like ethanol and biodiesel.