Anybody know anything about the US HYDROGEN ENERGY SYSTEM?

Question

ummm starting byyyy what it is and such? ;)
or just give me some links to follow to understand what it is.
oh oh, how's it different from what we have now?

of course it exists, else I wouldn't be asking silly.

Answer 1

A "hydrogen energy system" as you call it would be a conversion from gasoline and other fossil fuels to hydrogen gas. People tend to dub this the "hydrogen economy" where most of our energy would be derived from cleanly burning hydrogen to produce electricity. It is different from our current state of energy consumption because our vehicles would supposedly be free of harmful emissions.

Below is a link to a Popular Science article. I have yet to see a more concise set of reasons why the hydrogen economy will never pan out. Hydrogen is simply a means of transporting energy much like electricity. One has to find a way to produce hydrogen from other fuels such as oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear, solar, etc.

Another link that I find both informative and entertaining to read is the Tesla Motors website. Tesla motors is one of a few small car companies that are racing to develop an electric vehicle with great range and performance. I believe THIS is the revolution in automobiles that world has been waiting for. Electric power is cheaply available nearly everywhere across the globe. If we could plug our vehicles into the grid, we could easily take advantage of renewable resources such as solar panels or wind generators. Furthermore, electric motors are FAR more efficient than even the most efficient of internal combustion engines.

So, those are my opinions on hydrogen (it won't be widely accepted, we should go with electricity). Take them for what you will.

Answer 2

There is no 'US hydrogen energy system' to speak of. That is because hydrogen is a poor energy carrier, less efficient than other developed means.

The 'hydrogen economy' consists of dollars taxed out of ignorant taxpayers' pockets and given by the millions to politically connected charlatans who will research hydrogen use for cars, despite knowing that from a physics standpoint it is a losing proposition and can never be scaled up economically.

Answer 3

The concept of the 'hydrogen economy' is using hydrogen as a fuel for vehicles and perhaps also for heating homes and burning in power stations. Hydrogen does not occur naturally in nature (except combined with other elements) and has to be produced. Hydrogen is already produced industrially, for example in oil refining and for the production of ammonia in quantities of millions of tonnes per year and so the technology is not unproven but would need to be ramped up by orders of magnitude to supply a hydrogen economy. One common process, the steam reforming of natural gas, oil or coal produces CO2 as a waste product which would need to be sequestered probably by pumping deep underground. The production of hydrogen from fossil fuels may be an interim stage before renewables/nuclear take over using electrolysis.

I wouldn't be as certain as the previous answerer over the superiority of the electric car over the hydrogen powered car and it may be a case of 'horses for courses'.

Some links:
http://www.bmwworld.com/hydrogen/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_economy
http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7019791

Edited comment: I am all for research on electric powered cars to overcome problems of battery performance, cost, weight, life and long charging times. I cannot understand why Ubi and John T (with I note their electrical engineering bias) want to dismiss research and development on hydrogen powered vehicles using fuel cells or internal combustion engines as one possible answer to excessive emissions of CO2. On a weight basis hydrogen actually is a very intensive energy carrier (which is why it is used as rocket fuel) although on a volume basis it is not as good. We need research and development on all fronts and ultimately, and rightly, the market will decide what predominates, not prejudice.

Answer 4

1) It doesn't exist.