Why are people so ignorant about fuel cells?

Question

Fuel cells are safter and cheaper than gasoline. Big Oil does not want anyone to find out about fuel cells. Find out more about fuel cells at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/

Answer 1

Basically, it is hard for people to make a change.  "I've been doing this since I was a boy, and I'm not going to change now."  That is the thinking of the major part of our society, and it will take a major thing, like running OUT of oil, to make them change.  Big oil companies are keeping other alternative suppliers out of the pic so they can continue to corner the market, but if the smaller ones were to be able to advertise, that is the secret to getting a message out to people.

Answer 2

:  Fuel cells could be an answer, but you must remember, all they do is convert a fuel (Methanol, Ethanol, Diesel, Gasoline, deep fry oil etc) to electricity AND they are extremely expensive to produce, even in mass production.  

On the plus side they are extremely efficient, yielding over 70% power out vs BTU input.  It’s like Photovoltaics, (roof top solar panels) the technology is here but there just ain’t no cheap way to put it on the market…  Exxon loves it…

The real fear of the oil monopolies are schemes coming down the pipeline to introduce alternatives to petroleum based fuel… like the conversion of solid fuel pellets to steam to drive a vehicle.  THAT technology has them worried.  Our main source of raw materials would be anything that would burn, including anything in a landfill.  Solid fuel pellets can be made from any burnable trash, dried lawn clippings, leaves, even tumbleweeds. Pellet making machines are available now for a few thousand dollars, totally busting the OPEC and EXXON monopolies.    

Also punch up “Thermal Depolymerization” which is a proven process which converts any trash and most industrial waste into a diesel like fuel, the process now over 70% efficient  (30% of the available BTU’s used to process the trash into a usable fuel).

Answer 3

Fuel cells are used in spaceships. We don't really use them in day-to-day life. So of course, nobody has any real experience with them. When fuel cells start powering your laptop, people will sit up and take notice.

Answer 4

hydrogen fuel cell are a dead end. (tranport and storage problems)

there are a lot of fuels that can be used in fuel cells that are a lot more efficient.

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandf...

http://dodfuelcell.cecer.army.mil/fcdesc...

the best fuel cells use hydrogen-rich fuels, such as methanol, gasoline, diesel, or gasified coal, propane,

these are  dense type fuels and don't require special fuel pumping stations

a regular gasoline type filling station can pump these fuels.

and all these fuels can be made from trash. sewage. AG waste, coal waste ect

by the Fischer-Tropsch process

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer-Tro...

people that buy hydrogen fuel cell cars will end up paying for the infostructor

for hydrogen fuel stations on top of the high cost for the fuel.

Answer 5

Why are you so ignorant about fuel cells.  It takes electricity to make hydrogen out of water.  How's it cheaper to do that.  A fuel cell is complicated and can get dirty and fowl itself.  So it will cost a lot to make a fuel cell and it wont last past 3 years before it fowls itself.  When you've made this complicated expensive fuel cell, what do you got?  A Battery on demand.

Why not just use a battery?  Daaaaaarrrrrrreee.

Battery cars can make a impact now on the demand for oil.

The oil companies know this and bait you with hydrogen research.  That's why they put it on commercials.  They tell you we are spending billions on this research because we care.  They care about keeping us on oil for 20 more years while they research fuel cells and keep us off batteries.

The oil companies are quietly trying to buy up the battery tech so they can keep it out of cars.  Just like they bribed the cities to get rid of electric trolleys for buses in the old days.  

Now don't ever bring it up again.

Answer 6

You just answered your question which is not a question.

So I answered your question with an answer that is not an answer.

Dyslexics of the World Untie!

Answer 7

The problem with hydrogen fuel cells is that you still have to produce that Hydrogen. In European countries they use small roadside solar powered electrolyzers to produce the hydrogen to be used in their fuel cell cars. This is a great idea, but America is currently producing hydrogen from burning methane which is not very eco friendly. Then you have to think about getting that hydrogen to the fueling stations. Hydrogen cant be piped through existing pipes, so it would have to be shipped across the country in big tanker trucks.

When you look at the big picture currently hydrogen would be more expensive and worse for the environment at a large scale.

Here is an interesting article comparing hydrogen to electric vehicles.

http://www.neutralexistence.com/blog/hyd...