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lucerne96 · 05-05-12, 06:19 PM

The problem with hydrogen is that it does not exist by itself in nature on earth. It only exists as a compound. You need to expend some other form of energy to break the compound and pull off the hydrogen.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit a research facility in UK that used Hydro, wind & solar to do this. The hydrogen was they stored & reused as needed.

Problem is that it took about 3x as much primary energy to break the bond and harvest the hydrogen. Second problem was the hydrogen storage itself. We all remember the Hindenburg. It is extremely flammable, and to get any real useable amount you need to store it under pressure, which increases the potential for disaster. The facility stored the hydrogen they separated in a secured, isolated underground WW2 bunker from the Blitz. Not very practical or scalable, IMHO.

There really is no scalable alternative to gasoline/diesel. It packs alot of energy per liter, being a liquid it is easily stored & transported.

05-05-12, 06:19 PM	#25
lucerne96 Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: May 2012 Location: house Posts: 50 Thanks: 3 Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts	The problem with hydrogen is that it does not exist by itself in nature on earth. It only exists as a compound. You need to expend some other form of energy to break the compound and pull off the hydrogen. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit a research facility in UK that used Hydro, wind & solar to do this. The hydrogen was they stored & reused as needed. Problem is that it took about 3x as much primary energy to break the bond and harvest the hydrogen. Second problem was the hydrogen storage itself. We all remember the Hindenburg. It is extremely flammable, and to get any real useable amount you need to store it under pressure, which increases the potential for disaster. The facility stored the hydrogen they separated in a secured, isolated underground WW2 bunker from the Blitz. Not very practical or scalable, IMHO. There really is no scalable alternative to gasoline/diesel. It packs alot of energy per liter, being a liquid it is easily stored & transported. Last edited by lucerne96; 05-05-12 at 06:23 PM..