Why do we not invest more money into hydrogen for every gas station?

Question

Why do we not invest more money into hydrogen for every gas station?

Answer 1

What is largely missing from the public discussion of Hydrogen fuel cells is that Hydrogen, in the form available to us, is not a fuel. It is a battery. Start with water, add electricity, and get hydrogen. Then at the fuel cell, we get water and electricity back out.

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This is a reversible chemical process, exactly what happens inside a battery. The hydrogen simply "carries" the energy provided by the electricity. Except this process is much LESS efficient - more energy is lost - than in all other battery technologies.

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Fuel cell cars are electric cars. Except that a Fuel cell car - compared to a regular EV - will always be more expensive to buy and to fuel because of the added fuel cell components, and the inferior energy efficiency.

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Research money and resources should be going towards emerging battery technologies, all of which are showing much more promise than hydrogen. Example, the Altairnano batteries in these electric cars:

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http://zapworld.com/zapworld.aspx?id=456...

http://phoenixmotorcars.com/models/fleet...

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The ZAP-X electric car sports 644 horsepower - 155mph top speed. It travels 350 miles on a charge - its batteries charge in only 10 minutes. And the batteries will last 10 to 20 years. The Phoenix EV uses the same battery technology, and is being sold and built right now for fleet use.

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Answer 2

Tends to blow up, not easily convertible, really expensive at the moment, The big three auto makers aren't tooled up for it.  How about bio fuel.  Al of our interstates would smell like french fries, but you could fill up at any McDolnalds, BurgerKing, Wendys, Carls Jr. Jack in the Box, Dennys, ect ad nauseum.

Answer 3

Ever seen a hydrogen car?  Know any neighbors building one?  I haven't.  

I've seen lots of electric cars, and lots of biodiesels though.

Answer 4

The company i represent has a patent on a hydrogen fuel cell that increases milieage by 50-100% [e-mail] for the details

Answer 5

because if most people use the same (gas) then they can raise the gas prices as high as they want to-it wont be long into it's $5.15 a gallon

Answer 6

Hydrogen is actually not a very plentiful gas in the state we need it -- pure hydrogen.

To get pure hydrogen, the current technology either converts natural gas (a fossil fuel) or uses an electrolysis process to split molecules of water into hydrogen and oxygen.  Both of these processes are currently more costly than using petroleum.

In addition, hydrogen has to be compressed in order to make it occupy a small enough space to store or to put into a vehicle.  This takes more equipment.

Transporting hydrogen is also an issue.  There is no delivery system in place except trucking it in compressed form.  

Gasoline stations do not have the storage tanks, the source of supply or the demand for the product since there is no fleet of hydrogen vehicles.

I have read of the idea that we could convert water into hydrogen in our homes using solar or wind generated electricity.  But it would mean a major investment in both solar cells or windmills, then power converters to convert the electricity into usable form, then compressors to compress the hydrogen and - - - well, you get the idea.  For most people, the thousands of dollars necessary to have a personal system would not be feasible in today's techological and economic circumstances.  And even if you had a system at home, where would you fill up if you took a road trip?

Hydrogen's time will probably come.  But we must all realize that changing to a new energy system will require immense additional costs for infrastructure to create and distribute the product and new vehicles to consume the product.

Answer 7

It's all about the the mighty Dollar, and it is to much like doing the right thing.

Answer 8

Hydrogen is a question of Chain Reaction and up today only one person own this knowledge. In order to drive a hydrogen car more than 50 mile, you will need a gas-hydrogen station every 45 miles, but with the system found on : www.santanaeffect.com you can drive 600 miles, but is not allowed. He was almost kill for showing the truth.

Answer 9

Actually, I just recently saw on Fox News that in 2009, both Honda and BMW both plan to introduce Hydrogen-powered cars. They come with a portable battery-powered converter that chemically pulls the hydrogen out of regular tap water, and makes it into fuel (and all that is leftover from this process is the byproduct of fresh oxygen). So, it's being worked on, just wait a couple of years and see how we advance.

Answer 10

Dear

Believe me ...

me and you and all regular people love to invest their money into the technologies give us benefits like greener and cheaper. But ... here is the idea of what control our EARTH.

the few Big Boys (WALL ST share holders) who have their money now in GAS fields pays the governments not to authorize and delays the new Tech like Hydrogen and even  the corn ethanol 85E.

it will take time, which its not based on Labs progresses or change tanks in the gas stations, even the tanks in the car or the whole engine. these things will be made in a day.

my point is to show the world , we are follow these who they call them self's God's .... like sheep's . and this is the way it goes ... we are humans .

one thing to think about, why you go to the dentist to do teeth cleaning every six month, why instead Sansodyne or Colgate do the same staff what the dentist use, and clean your teeth.

no. this way Dintist will go out of Bussiness.

Same thing in AIDS, Cancer etc... dont believe they dont have cure for it right now. Yes they do.

they need people to die. otherwise the population will rise, this will put more responsibilities on the Governments.

sorry for the long answer. but its all connected together.

Answer 11

Hydrogen is not currently practical because there are virtually no vehicles that can run on it, no economical way of producing mass quantities of hydrogen, and no way to store and transport it that can serve the demand that you want to see. However, electric vehicles are within the scope of current technology. That is the way we should be moving.