Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Robert Zubrin blasts the "Hydrogen Economy"

Hydrogen problems are real
Sawyer — (archived)

Most of what Zubrin says aren't false straw men, but real problems with hydrogen. He is 100% correct that hydrogen has been oversold to the public. I have read some nice articles in Scientific American on hydrodgen power issues. Production, transportation, and storage of hydrogen are all very difficult engineering problems.

One of the more intriguing "solutions" to many of the problems was the use of next generation nuclear plants (I believe they were thorium based), that had a higher reaction temperature. Evidently the waste heat could be used to catalyze electrolytic production of hydrogen. So, at the same time as you produced electricity at a nuclear plant you also produced hydrogen. Then the clever part was you shipped both the electricity and the hydrogen together making use of the hydrogen to lower the temperature so the electric cables could superconduct. All this actually struck me as plausible, but probably not for at least about 50 years. Of course using nuclear power violates eco-nuts dreams of living as flower children with the only energy sources the sun and wind.

Zubrin's key point is that hydrogen is an energy carrier not a a source. When you produce the hydrogen, you have to use available energy sources (which right now are dominated by oil, coal, and natural gas). Then you have to account for all the infrastructure to handle and transport the hydrogen or even make fuel cells (which use such substances like platinum). The economics of trying to make hydrogen a viable energy carrier are not clear cut by any means.

Log in or register to post.

The whole thread (132 posts)