The Hype about Hydrogen

Written in 2004, Romm explains the hype and problems behind hydrogen car systems. Romm brings up President Bush's announcement back in 2003 about putting $1.2 billion towards research in hydrogen cars, yet no such cars have yet to come out of Bush's promise that children born on that day would drive hydrogen-powered cars. Romm, who used to be an overseer for the US Department of Energy's program for clean energy, notes that the global warming issue is a big enough of a worry to begin finding emission-free technologies. Hydrogen fuel cells, though not yet perfected, can be a solution to the carbon emission problem faced in the US due to gasoline cars. Fuel cell engines are not only environmentally friendly, but the use of a nontoxic substance like hydrogen allows cars to become safer for humans as well.

However, with all the benefits that hydrogen engines could give to the world, they have many problems. Though hydrogen is nontoxic, it is highly flammable. Something as small as a cell phone or electrical storms can cause hydrogen to ignite. If these hydrogen engines were to leak, the cars have a much greater chance of igniting.

Another problem fuel cell cars face to this day is expense. Hydrogen overall is a very expensive fuel right now. About 95% of the hydrogen found in the US is found in natural gas and steam. Unfortunately, it is currently extremely expensive to extract hydrogen from both of these sources. Water can also be electrolyzed into hydrogen and oxygen, but the process consumes large amounts of energy, which defeats the idea of energy conservation.

A third problem with fuel cells is, as Romm calls it, a "chicken and egg" problem. In order for fuel cells to catch on to the mass market, it must be available in 30 to 50% of the market from the day the cars make it onto showroom floors. Even if this problem is somehow solved, hydrogen transportation and delivery infrastructure is not enough to keep these fueling stations running. Improvements in infrastructure that would be able to sustain these stations for about 40% of the market would take an estimated $500 billion.

The final problem Romm addresses in his article is the natural gas consumption problem. With such a large amount of natural gas available in the US, natural gas will most likely be the best source of hydrogen for these cars. However, Romm argues that this is the wrong source to use. The US consumes nearly 23 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas today, and by 2025, it is estimated that usage will increase to nearly 30 tcf. If it was possible to replace 40% of transportation fuels with hydrogen in the very near future, then it would require nearly 10 tcf more of natural gas use and nearly 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, nearly 10% of the current electricity usage in the US.

With all of these problems, the DOE estimates that hydrogen fuel cells will most likely be used by most of the general public after 2030. The current emissions and energy use in the US is forcing the country to find newer, cleaner ways to continue life in order to reduce greenhouse gases to a more sustainable level. Romm agrees that fuel cells will most likely not make it onto the market in the next few decades, but he does believe they are an important step in helping solve the global warming crisis. Instead, he believe that major breakthroughs in the technology must be made first. He claims that hydrogen vehicles do not need to be rushed out. Research should continue on these devices, but importance should be placed on clean energy sources and limiting expansions of inefficient carbon-emission infrastructure first.

This article will be great for the most recent paper and the final paper as it addresses a less positive side of fuel cell cars while still supporting them. It addresses many of the problems that fuel cells are bound to face in the next few decades. The article is old and has some old numbers, but it will be a good support for solving the problems that may be encountered in the next few years. Some articles may even refute Romm's.

MLA Citation:

Romm, Joseph J. "The Hype about Hydrogen." Issues in Science & Technology 20.3 (2004): 74-81. 27 February 2015. <http://web.b.ebscohost.com.hal.weber.edu:2200/ehost/detail/detail?sid=151c0db2-2ac5-4914-8d88-a9e2598e1670%40sessionmgr111&vid=5&hid=101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZZ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=12875906>. 

APA Citation: 

Romm, J. J. (2004). The Hype about Hydrogen. Issues in Science & Technology, 20(3), 74-81. Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.hal.weber.edu:2200/ehost/detail/detail?sid=151c0db2-2ac5-4914-8d88-a9e2598e1670%40sessionmgr111&vid=5&hid=101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZZ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=12875906