Re: Article: Beyond Gasoline - Hyrdogen?


Larry Gross wrote:
> Exerpts:
>
> You would never guess that Jon Spallino drives what is probably the
> most expensive car in this city known for automotive excess. Or that he
> is the world's most technologically advanced commuter.
>
> The Honda FCX is powered by hydrogen fuel cells, the futuristic
> technology that many automakers see as an eventual solution to the
> world's energy woes, though its real potential is a subject of vigorous
> debate inside and outside the auto industry.
>
> Why did Honda pick the Spallinos? Mr. Spallino was already one of a few
> thousand owners of a Civic that runs on natural gas; filling one up is
> not unlike refueling the FCX. He also lived near the company's
> headquarters, and its refueling station.
>
> Fuel cells have been around since the 1800's; they were used to provide
> internal power for the Apollo spacecraft, as well as drinkable water
> for the astronauts.
>
> If that sounds utopian, many think fuel cells are ill-suited to power
> cars. "We're either talking several decades or never," said Joseph J.
> Romm, an assistant energy secretary during the Clinton administration,
> referring to the likelihood of fuel cells' supplanting internal
> combustion engines in cars.
>
> Though Mr. Romm pushed for financing of hydrogen research in the
> mid-1990's, he has since become deeply skeptical of its prospects, to
> the point that last year he published a book titled "The Hype About
> Hydrogen."
>
> Fuel cell cars are not truly emission-free, because it takes energy,
> and emissions, to create pure hydrogen. But they would be an
> improvement in terms of global warming and air pollution, depending on
> how the hydrogen was produced.
>
Switching to a hydrogen economy would require a greater use of nuclear
power, to keep clean.

> http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/02/business/02hydrogen.html

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