Why not build nuclear power plants to generate hydrogen fuel?

Question

Water can be broken into hydrogen and oxygen through an electrical process can't it?

So build nuclear plants to generate the electricity and everyone start driving hydrogen vehicles.

That seems like a solution any nation on earth could use.

Answer 1

This reminds me of a similar cleaner, more useful project I was thinking about.

Lets build a floating wind generator maybe 50 miles across.

Lets park this baby in a hurricane and harvest its energy.

There is more energy in a cat 5 hurricane than in all the nukes on earth. Make hydrogen from the sea water...

In the process we could take out some of the energy that would otherwise be expended on our cities.

Heck lets build 50 of 'em.

Answer 2

I really think that the answer is to make electric cars!  Cut out the middle man (Hydrogen)

Answer 3

Wouldn't it just be easier to have electric cars that run on batteries, that are recharged at night, at home, on the normal; electrical grid, supplied by the neuclear power plant.???

Answer 4

theres still the issue of disposal of the nuclear waste.  In a sense thats happening right now though.  Water is broken down into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis, which uses electricity from the grid, which, at least in my area (so cal) is 11% nuclear generated (I believe).

Answer 5

Good thinking, except that already you waste 40% of the energy in heat just extracting the hydrogen, which you then have to liquify in order to transport it. This is another very costly process.

If you kept it as electricity you just send it to where it needs to go through the existing network with much less losses.

Answer 6

Ya, some people are thinking of that. I read it in Popular Science it's a great idea. But the problem is, people in power of this country are rich by investing in oil companies. If the oil stops they lose all their money and so do their friends; their rich friends can't keep them in power any more and they lose power. So until the US gets rid of all the 'bad blood' that's in office right now, your idealistic future of nuclear and hydrogen power will never come to pass... that is, unless all the oil wells conveniently dried up... anyway the whole thing, while it's obviously the best solution, will probably take a whole lot longer than anticipated.