Will hydrogen vehicles be useless without fueling stations?

Question

When the hydrogen-powered automobiles become available, will they necessarily require hydrogen "gas stations" (making them useless until a hydrogen infrastructure develops), or will the vehicles have long-lasting fuel cells? I think hydrogen is the future, but if the vehicles have to be refueled regularly (even if less often than gas-powered automobiles), where are the owners supposed to get hydrogen?

Answer 1

The Hydrogen  vehicle for Joe average is a myth,and will never come to fruition.It purely a diversion by the big3,simple as that.They want us to forget about the electric car (remember the EV1) which did work and was a success which is why they recalled and crushed every last one of them. Commitment to fossil fuel is way too powerful,to produce a car that ran on next to nothing lasted for ages is safe and reliable etc.. is easy for these guys theyve already done it ten times over. Theres just nowhere near the profit in it and they wont be shifting as much of the black stuff,its just that simple.Twenty years ago I stood in an old aircraft hanger in Torslanda Sweden where they make Volvos,I was looking at a cute ,sporty little car made from plastics and composites,it had a kind of diesel in it that ran on Flax oil (margerine) nearly noisless it did over 140mpg I was told. The project was already 5or 10 years old. Do you see my point.Its all about the money! In the 70's when oil first ran over $50 a barrel everyone had a heart attack!! They did something though,a change was made,smaller motors,fuel injection etc.. Now its over $100,- nobody cares.Go buy your V12 or V8 ego machine..No worries.. People are missing the point about cars..They are a joke even the fast ones.The same stupid piston has been going up and down for over a hundred years and we are still buying it.Look at the speed that the rest of technology is moving at.Photography,musicplayers computers etc and we are still happy with these primitive **** heaps. We even que up in some cases to blow obscene ammounts of money on some mechanical organ extension knowing that the moment you drive it away it will have already devalued by a third and in 6 months will be superseeded by the next wankermobile sss.turbo shaft $WD attractioncontrol,efi dfi,GTI,positrak bogtrotter special..ITS A CON.. The wheel is reinvented all the time and fed back to us and we buy it,now how sad is that..

Answer 2

There are way to get hydrogen from fosil fuels and alcohols if Hydrogen filling stations are not availible.

Answer 3

Yes, of course they will be.  The only reason gasoline engines got started is because naptha was a waste product of kerosene production and was widely sold as a cheap cleaning fluid.  Hydrogen isn't going to be on shelves.  It is terribly bulky, and producing it is expensive in both money and energy.

Hydrogen (I call it "hypedrogen") is showing its shortcomings.  The fuel-cell cars are ruinously expensive, and even California is shutting down some of its hydrogen fuel stations.  On top of this, the European Fuel Cell Forum gave up on proton-exchange membrane fuel cells as a dead end.

Answer 4

"The worst energy storage would be if we convert the physical energy "electricity" to the chemical energy "hydrogen" and then convert it back to electricity. This has a roundtrip efficiency of about 35-45% (while compressed air has 75%, flywheels perhaps 80% and Lithium-ion batteries about 90%.")

Answer 5

(It is funny  that you asked this because I just touched on this topic in your other question & then i found that you asked this question too! ;-)

Yes,  the vehicles cannont go into  mainstream usage until the infrastructure for the fuel is developed.

BUT that hasn't stopped Ford & the other American Auto companies.

Ford has partnered with BP to help develop the infrastructure for hydrogen fuel...just as they did with VeraSun in creating the "Ethanol Corridor"  in the Midwest.

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006/02/...

This development is not an overnight process, but be assured that the American Auto Manufacturers are not sitting around waiting for a miracle. They have been working on this for years. USCAR is an organization founded in 1992.

http://www.uscar.org/guest/index.php

& Ford is a major participant in the FreedomCar Project.

The “CAR” in FreedomCAR stands for Cooperative Automotive Research.



The “Freedom” in FreedomCAR frames the partnership’s principles. These are:

*Freedom from dependence on imported oil;

*Freedom from pollutant emissions;

*Freedom for Americans to choose the kind of vehicle they want to drive, and to drive where they want, when they want; and

*Freedom to obtain fuel affordably and conveniently.

The FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership’s mission is to develop and advance high-risk research needed to create component and infrastructure technologies that will:

*enable a full range of affordable cars light trucks and the fueling infrastructure for them;

*reduce the dependence of the nation’s personal *transportation system on imported oil;

*minimize harmful vehicle emissions, without sacrificing  freedom of mobility and freedom of vehicle choice; and

enable transition to a hydrogen transportation economy.



(in my opinion-The general public is not aware of programs such as "FreedomCar" because the media is too busy trashing the publics perception of the Auto industry...specifically the Amercan Auto Companies.

remember that Other countries really are not as concerned about OUR economy as they are their own)