Hydrogen Power

Mustafa said:

Hydrogen fuel cells have no real future - it's an extremely inefficient way of drawing energy. Remember that hydrogen is not a source of energy, it's just a storage mechanism - so the process of splitting water using energy (electrolysis) and dumping the oxygen, then pressurising it and drawing energy from it is extremely inefficient.

Ironically, the most cost effective way to make hydrogen fuel cells is from hydrocarbons, aka oil, which is probably why it's popular within the oil industry...

The future is electric - battery technology is about to boom, it's a matter of years before electric car batteries have the recharging time, longevity and affordability to make it fit for every day use - so let's not waste our time and money on hydrogen.

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beorhthelm said:

its covered by the article, its the lack of infrastructure. also the technology requires some fairly complex industrial components they dont seem to be able to produce in a cost efficent process, though that may change.

infrastructure also holds back batteries too, as you need substantial supply to charge up batteries on any scale. what we are most likly to see is some form of hydrogen fuel cell at home or in local distribution points, which can charge battery driven vehicles. hydrogen has a stonking energy density compared to other sources of energy, so it should be the way forward.

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beorhthelm said:

its covered by the article, its the lack of infrastructure. also the technology requires some fairly complex industrial components they dont seem to be able to produce in a cost efficent process, though that may change.

infrastructure also holds back batteries too, as you need substantial supply to charge up batteries on any scale. what we are most likly to see is some form of hydrogen fuel cell at home or in local distribution points, which can charge battery driven vehicles. hydrogen has a stonking energy density compared to other sources of energy, so it should be the way forward.

Click to expand...

Mutts Nuts said:

By the same token the power generated by wind turbines is not being fully utilized as the infrastructure is not fully in place to store the power they generate, for that reason they are turned off regularly while we continue to use electricity generated at nuclear power stations.

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Mustafa said:

Hydrogen fuel cells have no real future - it's an extremely inefficient way of drawing energy. Remember that hydrogen is not a source of energy, it's just a storage mechanism - so the process of splitting water using energy (electrolysis) and dumping the oxygen, then pressurising it and drawing energy from it is extremely inefficient.

Ironically, the most cost effective way to make hydrogen fuel cells is from hydrocarbons, aka oil, which is probably why it's popular within the oil industry...

The future is electric - battery technology is about to boom, it's a matter of years before electric car batteries have the recharging time, longevity and affordability to make it fit for every day use - so let's not waste our time and money on hydrogen.

Click to expand...

Seagull27 said:

The problem with batteries is that they often use rare and expensive metals that are difficult to dispose of. You're right that water splitting is currently inefficient, but with enough research into catalysts to lower the energy required to do this, coupled with the most effective power generation mechanism, it could still be very useful for energy storage. The only by-product for burning hydrogen is water, which is obviously very environmentally friendly.

I believe one of the biggest obstacles currently is how to safely store the hydrogen itself, as storing big tanks of H2 isn't generally advisable.

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Bry Nylon said:

Just me that thought this was a new player?

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