As a graduate student working on fuel cells (started out a believer but got better), I'd like to very anonymously state for the record that hydrogen is a bad idea that is unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon. Hydrogen explodes, it leaks, it explodes, we can't produce it in an intelligent way, it explodes, and even the catalyst used is spontaneously combustible (!) when dry. Plus economically unfeasible, etc. I'm not sure where you stand on it but since I'm spending 5+ years mired in a lab making up reasons that this works so I don't lose my funding, I find myself trying to 'educate' others on the silliness of hydrogen.
Edited By Siteowner
There -- now you're super-duper anonymous!
I'm surprised, b/c I thought the biggest knock on hydrogen was the lack of infrastructure for things like fueling stations.I had assumed (there you go!) that the safety issue had been dealt with by engineers. The Michelin folks say their H tank can withstand a rifle shot, although not many wrecks involve rifles and no one wants to drive the eco-Pinto or the Hindenburg on wheels.
Do you think is hydrogen a viable technology for things other than vehicles? I've read that some Japanese homes now have fuel cells for power generation. But then home fuel cells don't take to the highways at 70 mph.
"Do you think is hydrogen a viable technology for things other than vehicles?"
Occasionally. The only idea where I've seen it make sense is coupled with stationary alternative energy stations such as wind and solar, to run electrolysis on water and create hydrogen and oxygen during so-called off-peak hours. The hydrogen can then be fed into stationary fuel cells during peak hours. This is also the only way that hydrogen production makes sense.
The issue with hydrogen leaking isn't so much that the tank holding it can take gunfire- it's that a) H2 is the smallest molecule EVER and b) stress on any material is cumulative.
If you have pressurized hydrogen, or anything else, it wants out. Hydrogen, being the littlest gas of all, will have the easiest time getting out. The older your tank/container/whatever gets, the more it deals with thermal expansion and contraction, little dings and bangs from daily use, not to mention the stress of containing pressurized gas. Just by taking a gas out of the tank, you're going to see thermal stress when the expanding gas causes a huge pressure drop.
A small amount of hydrogen leakage is unavoidable but pretty tolerable. The issue is making sure it's small to start with and keeping it small, because whatever is containing your hydrogen won't want to take it for long.
And hydrogen isn't necessarily the only fuel for fuel cells. Methanol is wayyyy less explosive, can be obtained from plants, and is a relatively viable fuel for stationary power applications. Other fuels are possible, depending on the type of fuel cell. But I could talk about this all day.
And I feel nice and anonymous enough with a nickname in the comments section of a blog- I appreciate the hiding though. Feel free to email me if you want to hear more about this, cause I like to kvetch about it. Or just talk about the few parts that make sense.
Cheers!
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