The jury is still out on whether hydrogen will ultimately be our environmental savior, replacing the fossil fuels responsible for global warming and various nagging forms of pollution. Two main hurdles stand in the way of mass production and widespread consumer adoption of hydrogen “fuel-cell†vehicles: the still high cost of producing fuel cells; and the lack of a hydrogen refueling network.
Dear EarthTalk: How is it that hydrogen can replace oil to run our cars? There seems to be a lot of controversy over whether hydrogen can really be generated and stored in such a way to be practical? -- Stephane Kuziora, Thunder Bay, ON
The jury is still out on whether hydrogen will ultimately be our environmental savior, replacing the fossil fuels responsible for global warming and various nagging forms of pollution. Two main hurdles stand in the way of mass production and widespread consumer adoption of hydrogen “fuel-cell†vehicles: the still high cost of producing fuel cells; and the lack of a hydrogen refueling network.
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The High Cost of Building Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles
Reining in manufacturing costs of fuel-cell vehicles is the first major issue the automakers are addressing. While several have fuel-cell prototype vehicles on the road—Toyota and Honda are even leasing them to the public in Japan and California—they are spending upwards of $1 million to produce each one due to the advanced technology involved and low production runs. Toyota hopes to reduce its costs per fuel-cell vehicle to around $50,000 by 2015, which would make such cars economically viable in the marketplace. On this side of the Pacific, General Motors plans to sell hydrogen-powered vehicles in the United States by 2010.
Still Too Few Places to Refuel Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles
Another problem is the lack of hydrogen refueling stations. Major oil
companies have been loathe to set up hydrogen tanks at existing gas
stations for many reasons, ranging from safety to cost to lack of
demand. But obviously the oil companies are also trying to keep
customers interested in their highly profitable bread-and-butter
product: gasoline. A more likely scenario is what is emerging in
California, where some 38 independent hydrogen fuel stations are
located around the state as part of a network created by the nonprofit California Fuel Cell Partnership,
a consortium of automakers, state and federal agencies, and other
parties interested in furthering hydrogen fuel-cell technologies.
The Benefits of Hydrogen Over Fossil Fuels
The benefits of ditching fossil fuels for hydrogen are many, of course.
Burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil to heat and cool
our buildings and run our vehicles takes a heavy toll on the
environment, contributing significantly to both local problems such as
elevated particulate levels and global ones such as a warming climate.
The only by-product of running a hydrogen-powered fuel cell is oxygen
and a trickle of water, neither of which will cause any harm to human
health or the environment.
Hydrogen Still Closely Tied to Fossil Fuels
But right now, 95 percent of the hydrogen available in the United
States is either extracted from fossil fuels or made using electrolytic
processes powered by fossil fuels, thus negating any real emissions
savings or reduction in fossil-fuel usage. Only if renewable energy
sources—solar, wind and others—can be harnessed to provide the energy
to process hydrogen fuel can the dream of a truly clean hydrogen fuel
be realized.
Renewable Energy the Key to Clean Hydrogen Fuel
Stanford University researchers in 2005 assessed the environmental
effects of three different hydrogen sources: coal, natural gas, and
water electrolysis powered by wind. They concluded that we’d lower
greenhouse gas emissions more by driving gasoline/electric hybrid cars
than by driving fuel-cell cars run on hydrogen from coal. Hydrogen made
using natural gas would fare a little bit better in terms of pollution
output, while making it from wind power would be a slam-dunk for the
environment.
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