Hydrogen Highway coming (Baja to BC)

[jpak]

http://www.metronews.ca/edmonton/Live/article/63787

The majority of drivers may not be prepared to give up their cars and SUVs, but the desire to have cleaner air is unanimous — enter hydrogen and fuel cell technology.

As fuel cell manufacturers work on developing viable alternatives to power vehicles, B.C. and Western U.S. states are working on a Hydrogen Highway extending all the way to the Golden State.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Premier Gordon Campbell have been pushing to have more than 200 hydrogen stations built within five years. The filling stations will run from Vancouver to Baja, Calif., with stops along Washington and Oregon.

The Hydrogen Highway will allow the public to see and experience hydrogen and fuel cell technology in action. Benefits of hydrogen and fuel cell include zero to near-zero emissions because only water vapour is dispersed. Consumer fuel cell vehicles are set to be available between 2012 and 2015.

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[Vilis Veritas]

1. The first real test.

Something to watch.

Thanks...

[Speck Tater]

2. Those people are delusional.

Where the hell do they think all that hydrogen is going to come from?

With electric rates going up and up it will cost more and more to generate hydrogen. You think $4.00/gal gasoline is expensive, wait to you see the bill for filling up a hydrogen car!

And don't forget, generating electricity to make hydrogen will also put loads of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Hydrogen doesn't eliminate CO2 emissions, it just moves them to a different geographical location.

[jpak]

3. In BC, it comes from hydro power

and it can be produced from renewable electricity everywhere else...

[bhikkhu]

4. Dead end, to anyone who has looked into it

Basically the problem is the energy required to generate hydrogen. The EROI sucks, and then there is all the infrastructure and vehicles to build to utilize this problematic fuel.

Fuel cells, on the other hand...why are they mentioned here? They have numerous technical problems still, last I read (and I was an early investor in one of the big companies, 7 years ago), but they don't have any need for hydrogen fueling stations anyway. The basic technology can use propane, which has plenty of existing infrastructure. I think the Hydrogen Highway is likely a matter of lots of money and lots of motive trying to find some way to fix things...I hope they look at it better before they go too far.