Hydrogen huh?
Lets begin in square one shall we. For those who frequently read automotive trade and enthusiast magazines and lately especially one can expect to find more and more coverage of environmentally friendly vehicle practices. Whether it be improving fossil fuel cars efficiency or searching for a more reliable hybrid battery the articles are always highly idealistic and over confident. In a recent article published in Auto Week’s online edition titled “The hydrogen highway is poised to take off”, Toyota announced it’s partnership with Shell Energy in the undertaking of establishing the first operating hydrogen fuel station in Torrance, California this may.
The station is hoped to be a place for Toyota to work with and improve upon Hydrogen powered vehicles. Toyota sees this as a stepping stone to the plans next phase of building “an extensive hydrogen refueling infrastructure”. This sounds great but wait, like some cheesy TV infomercial this station does much more than refuel hydrogen fuel cells. The station will also use heat energy created off running the hydrogen pipeline to heat water and regulate temperature inside Toyotas employee fitness center and in the Lexus head Quarters building. The use of this offset energy is projected to reduce 28 tons of CO2 emissions annually. But wait it still gets better. Toyota is also establishing a hydrogen fuel education center on site to provide information to local area residents and area students.
The most convincing argument lately that hydrogen will in fact win over as our new fuel of the future seems to be that it wont change all that much about how we live. This is something I find most appealing about the option. Hydrogen is plentiful, non environmentally harmful in discharge and should be fairly affordable once it can be mass-produced. The only way I see a fuel source getting the funding and awareness in needs to flourish as a alternative to fossil fuel is if it will allow us to live in the same way we have while using fossil fuel. For America that means not giving up road trips and the ability to turn a key and go somewhere to be free and autonomous.
America is made of up of migrant people. Think about all the places you have lived over your life time. Even if you have always lived in the same place chances are most of your family doesn’t live near you. Until we can pack up the old family SUV fill er’ up with hydrogen and head out to grandmas house three states away no fuel source stands a chance in making it as our alternative.
So what is hydrogen fuel cell technology all about? A hydrogen fuel cell is an energy source that creates power through a chemical reaction similar to a battery. In effect hydrogen is mixed with an electrolyte, electrode and separator plate. These chemicals run in a cycle producing a chemical reaction, which yields electricity as a by-product.
The other by-product of hydrogen on demand powered vehicles which are much more similar to fossil fuel powered vehicles in that they consume an allotted amount of compressed hydrogen to produce power rather than using the fuel cell to initiate a chemical reaction yielding electric mechanical potential or more commonly power. The non-harmful emission of these reactions is water when the hydrogen leaves the vehicles closed system and comes into contact with oxygen in the atmosphere.
This all sounds good and fine but there are some drawbacks that come with the pros of this fuel source and to this venture on part of Toyota. One pro is that hydrogen is infinitely renewable as a naturally occurring element that is reproduced through being turned into a fuel. The majority of currently available hydrogen is extracted from natural gas and oil, which are non -renewable and harmful sources. While hydrogen could be extracted from water sources this procedure is costly and could lead to new environmental impacts in water displacement and sea bed disturbance should hydrogen need to be produced on a scale to meet or exceed current energy demands.
Another problem is that scientists are still struggling with ways to store hydrogen. Due to the elements low energy density hydrogen needs to be stored and transported under great pressure. This is not only dangerous seeing as hydrogen is highly flammable but also inconvenient and expensive. Adding to the rising problems with the fuel source is the fact that some scientists speculate that the carbon dioxide output produced could continue the erosion of the ozone layer and further exacerbate the climate change problem.
Next Toyota is a company run for profit and available to these corporations are tax breaks for greening up industry and you can bet that Toyota is being somehow compensated for their research and facility improvements not to mention what they will save annually on heating and energy. So how much faith can we put into this fuel source? Well in my opinion not a whole lot unfortunately. There are simply to many draw backs, to little time and more importantly not anywhere near enough interest in the option.
While I do commend Toyota for sinking the money into try and test the idea but I hope the future will hold more successful options and more easily embraceable ideas. We all need to pay attention and be ready to support our next available resource because time is to short not to jump at our best option. So heres a thumbs up to Toyota in the hopes that we wont be left high and dry when fossil fuels no longer become a viable option.
Sources:
1) What are the pro’s and con’s of hydrogen energy? – How stuff works online. By Stephanie Watson
2) The hydrogen highway is poised to take off – Auto Week Online. By Barry Winfield
3) How fuel cells work- How stuff works online. By Karim Nice and Jonathan Strickland.
Video: How Hydrogen Fuel cells work: how stuff works online.
