- Posted on Friday, October 31st, 2008 at 8:17 am
Hydrogen Fuel Cells - The Fuel of Tomorrow, Today
By Byron McCormick
Executive Director GM Fuel Cell Activities
Imagine – 300 miles of emissions-free, petroleum-free driving. It’s possible with hydrogen. Today, I’m at the Fuel Cell Seminar & Exposition in Phoenix, Arizona, speaking with industry leaders from around the world about the reinvention of the automobile. It’s taking place right now at GM. Among the many promising technologies that will play a role in this exciting period of unprecedented innovation is the hydrogen fuel cell.
It’s still probably not common knowledge, but road-ready hydrogen fuel cell vehicles exist today. Our “Project Driveway” fleet consists of 100 fuel-cell Chevy Equinoxes, which are currently in the hands of regular drivers in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, at the moment this test program can only take place in select locations because of one critical problem – infrastructure. There simply aren’t many stations yet where a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle can go for a fill-up.
At GM, we believe there’s too much riding on fuel cells to let an obstacle like this stop our pursuit of the goal. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. Currently, more than 56 billion kilograms of hydrogen are produced globally each year – enough to fuel more than 180 million fuel cell electric vehicles! We could free ourselves from fossil fuels and take the automobile out of the environmental equation forever. And we could go from producing hydrocarbons from millions of car exhaust tailpipes to simple water vapor.
Right now, there are only 40 hydrogen fueling stations in the country, but an investment of $10-15 billion dollars could bring that number up to an impressive 11,700 stations in the top 100 urban areas. The technology is ready. The safety question has been put to rest. The reliability and performance challenges have been ironed out. The know-how is there. Now all we have to do is put the pieces together and build the partnerships to make it happen. With the right efforts, fuel-cell vehicles could become a reality.
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council has proposed an approach to bridge from today’s “demonstration” programs to full commercialization beginning in earnest by 2015. We owe this initiative as part of our best collective efforts to solve the growing energy-petroleum-environmental crisis for ourselves, our kids, grandkids and fellow citizens of the world.
There is a way – now we collectively need the will.
15 Comments
Curious
umm, I don’t know. I hear GM recalled its 2007 mild hybrid production because of leaking batteries. What guarantees do we have that the fuel cells won’t spontaneosly combust? And how much does hybrogen cost per mile for those Chevys?
Eric Fonville
I suggest that one read the 2003 Progress Report “Precious Metal Availability and Cost Analysis for PEMFC Commercialization” then ask the question
Where is the Platinum required to build “…180 million fuel cell electric vehicles” going to come from?
Even with their most optimistic scenario it will take half a century to produce that many vehicles.
Ben Dewberry
Good point Eric. Not to mention the lithium and neodymium that will be needed for electric plug-ins such as the Volt. We could be trading a dependence on fossil fuels for a dependence on precious metals.
Question for Byron McCormick:
From where will this hydrogen come from? You mention that “hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe.” That’s true, but hydrogen is also a very active element and it never exists on Earth in its free state.
Hydrogen is always bound together with other elements to make compounds such as water and methane. There are no pools of free, unattached hydrogen atoms on Earth waiting to be tapped into.
It’s possible to crack compounds such as water to separate the hydrogen, but (and this is very big but) it will always take more energy to crack those compounds than we can ever get back burning hydrogen as a fuel in either a fuel cell or internal combustion engine.
Using hydrogen as a fuel will always be a net energy loss.
As you say, we make a lot of hydrogen now. True, but it takes an enormous amount of energy ~ most of it from fossil fuels ~ to do that. Your statement that burning hydrogen will free us from using fossil fuels is simply not correct.
David Spacek
When you look at the whole energy cost to produce hydrogen, it costs you more to produce it than the engergy you get out of it. Why is GM still looking at this technology? As any Thermodynamics professor that knows anything and they will confirm this.
Ken Jorgensen
What is the cost of war over oil? What will the health costs caused by millions of oil burning vehicles be? What will the eventual cost to our planet be if we don’t change soon?
There are many alternatives out there, hydrogen just happens to be a very promising one.
You naysayers can all stick your heads in the sand and hope all our problems go away. I’m willing to travel down as many roads as it takes to find a solution and not leave a dying planet for my grandchildren.
Non-leaking batteries can be engineered.
Platinum is used today in catalytic converters, what’s the difference?
Oil doesn’t just jump out of the ground and magically appear in your fuel tank as gasoline.
As with any new technology, as volume is increased, the cost to produce drops.
Using green energy, hydrogen is truly emission free.
Nicklas
What models are you preparing for fuel cell tech and when will the massproduction begin you think? Do you know anything about the swedish company morphics products in fuel cell technology, and how you find them.
Kind regards Nicklas Jacobsson
robert ehrlich
Where is my Jetsons car? Jane stop this crazy thing! Seriously i would like to see more on guided cars. Cars that drive themselves. Collision avoidance systems are here and guidance systems that will end car crashes. Imagine a car that will pick you up when called and will park itself. This means no more bumpers, air bags, seat belts, parking lots, traffic jams, car keys, garages or waiting for maintenance.
Ben Dewberry
Jorgensen said: “…hydrogen just happens to be a very promising one. You naysayers can all stick your heads in the sand and hope all our problems go away.”
Mr. Jorgensen,
Hydrogen does make a fine fuel, no question about it. But how do you propose getting around the unfortunate fact it will always cost more energy to produce hydrogen for fuel than we can get back burning the hydrogen? Producing hydrogen will be an energy sink.
Call me a naysayer all you want, but there is no way around the Laws of Thermodynamics and chemistry (at least in this Universe). Even those who say, “Yes, we can.” have to understand science and be pragmatic.
Ken Jorgensen
Mr. Dewberry,
There are many industries that produce hydrogen as a by-product. Also wind, solar, hydro, and low usage times for nuclear plants can be a cost effective way of producing hydrogen. Hydrogen is much more efficient in a fuel cell as opposed to being burned.
Ben Dewberry
Mr Jorgensen,
The energy return of corn to ethanol is about 1.2 to 1. That’s why corn ethanol has to be subsidized and can’t compete in the free market with fuel from petroleum which has a return on energy invested of about 5 to 1.
The return on hydrogen fuel will ALWAYS be less than 1 to 1 because of thermodynamic losses and entropy. Hydrogen as a fuel would not even be competitive with corn ethanol on the basis of energy return on energy invested.
“There are many industries that produce hydrogen as a by-product.”
Really? Please name one or two.
Ken Jorgensen
Hydrogen produced as a by-product?
Here is one example.
http://www.autotechdaily.com/pdfs/T05-08-03.pdf
Note that this article is from 2003.
Ben Dewberry
“Dow already produces hydrogen, which it had been selling to energy companies, as a byproduct of the chlorine and ethylene it makes in Freeport.”
Thank you.
Bernd Lauber
40 years ago I learned the fact alluded to by Ben Dewberry from my chemistry and physics teacher in Germany that the net energy input into a system that generates hydrogen will always be lowere than its output. However, that is where the conclusions drawn by the naysayers are simple delusional. Noone with half a brain proposes to generate hydrogen by burning fossil fuels! The key, which Ben overlooks, is to invest into the infra- structure to generate hydrogen from RENEWABLE sources, such as wind, solar, geothermal and so on. And, yes, there are industries which have hydrogen as a byproduct, just like there are industries that produce completely unused heat as byproducts (have you ever seen a refinery and watched the flames from one of its stacks burning 24/7/365?). Those byproducts (be they heat or hydrogen) can and SHOULD be captured and utilized in the interest of our future
It is time for the nayusayers to stop looking at this whole energy issue as a mere forum to be negative and support the status quo of “drill baby drill-my SUV is hungry”, but as an opportunity to perhaps learn something AND save the planet in the process. And, even if the global warming issue is all nothing but a scare tactic by Al Gore and his supporters, wouldn’t you want your children to enjoy a nice sunset on the Florida coast while breathing clean air?
Ken Jorgensen
Thank you Bernd,
Matt
For anyone that doubts the big 3 are in bed with the oil companies, the gas cap on my City Owned Ford F150 says “runs best on BP products”! There is a lot of “oh we believe in Lithium Batteries and not fuel cells” talk these days but the reality is, Japanese Manufactures are in fact developing these cars and are placing Hydrogen Refueling “test sites” in California as we speak. These cars will take .65 liters of Hydrogen to go 60 MPH down the road which takes 1 minute. I developed a Hydrogen Generator that can produce 3 liters per minute using 3.5 volts and 6 amps. Do the math. You could put this in a Honda Hydrogen Fuel Cell car and never need to refuel. Saudi Arabian Kings have nothing to offer the world but oil and we need it because of the upper crust greed. The less oil we need, the more they will cut production to artificially raise the price. You think $5.00 for a gallon of gas was expensive, wait until this summer. America is loosing its economic lead and fast. Our hard earned money is building foreign countries empires and at the rate we are going, WE will be an importing nation very soon and depend upon them to support us. If anyone could supply me with a Honda Fuel Cell Stack, I would be on the 6:00 Evening News selling a car that never needs fuel.
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