Quote:
Originally Posted by Joey Babs
We need hydrogen powered cars, but if thats to be the case they need to run off as minimal an amount as possible.
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No- Hydrogen is the diversion. I'm assuming you want to get the H2 from electrolyzing water- if you get it directly from fossil fuels, what's the point? Due to inefficiences in electrolyzing the water (30-40% loss) liquifying the hydrogen (25-33% loss) Transportation (requires trucks- not pipelines), storing it (roughly 2% loss per day to keep it liquified...worse once it's in the car), and inefficiences in the fuel cell compared to batteries, hydrogen only gets about 25% of the energy fromt he power plant to the wheels. Battery electric cars are about 80% efficient. That's right- over 3 times as efficient! Furthermore, fuel cells are far more expensive than batteries- they have some incredibly exotic elements in them, and need to be built to very exacting tolerences. To top it all enough, we'd need to build an ALL NEW infrastructure!
The ONLY advantages of hydrogen are 1) It's quicker to refuel than recharging a battery and 2) slightly better energy density. This may make it a preferred fuel in the distant future for powerful machines that can't afford downtime (e.g. jets, mining equipment, heavy trucks, trains)
