Topics
1 Comment
-
Peak Oil to Hydrogen Economy
2006-08-23 05:46:56 UTC
For Manda in the UK:
Northern Germany (Hamburg region) has begun assembling a network of hydrogen fuel stations and is rolling out a large fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses over the next 5 years. A good reference: http://www.iphe.net/germany.htm International Partnership for a Hydrogen Highway
In the US also, transit authorities managing bus fleets are the likely early adapters of hydrogen fuel cells, also some universities. See Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in California, and Penn State University. Regrettably, the US government has decided that hydrogen will be made from natural gas, thereby extending our fossil fuel addiction and the release of carbon into the atmosphere in the process. Sequestration does not seem to be part of the government's plans. (One must wonder how many people in the Bush Administration know what "sequestration" means? I ask this as a serious policy question, not a political statement.) Regarding NG for the hydrogen, the US has made this decision largely because most of the natural gas would be imported from Trinidad and Tobago, which is easy to manipulate in comparison to petrol suppliers Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Nigeria, etc. I hope that the citizens of T&T know what they are getting into... One word of caution, if I may: the most common type of hydrogen fuel cell requires a catalyst such as platinum or palladium to work properly. The Russian government controls a majority of the world supply for these precious metals through Norilsk Nickel and its associated web of companies, and President Putin is not exactly a generous, cooperative partner at times. Rhetorical question for the UK: When is "peak gas" for North Sea natural gas deposits?
Best wishes for a sustainable energy future,
Vincent O'Grady
Center for Energy and Environmental Policy
University of Delaware
[email protected]
0 Recommends
You haven't saved any recommendations.
Messaging 0 colleagues