[.ca] The Hype About Hydrogen: Fact And Fiction In The Race To ... (ISBN 155963703X)

Bravo for Sound Science and Policy:
Joe Romm's marvelous new book, The Hype About Hydrogen, is "must read" for policy makers, environmentalists, researchers, activists, investors, and all citizens who want a sound and honest appraisal of the possibility of a future "hydrogen economy". Dr. Romm's broad expertise in energy-related R & D is evident throughout this long-overdue and objective look at the seriousness of its technical challenges. For several years, a handful of insightful scientists around the world have been trying to get their voices heard regarding the serious issues that seem likely to prevent a hydrogen economy from becoming a reality for at least 40 years. Sadly, even the professional scientific journals and institutions, apparently fearful that the truth might jeopardize funding of pet projects, have hesitated to give audience to the daunting scientific objections to a hydrogen economy. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released a detailed study, The Hydrogen Economy: Opportunities, Costs, Barriers, and R & D Needs, early in 2004 that was the first step by a distinguished body toward an objective look at the hydrogen economy. On the heels of this study especially, it seems irresponsible for Energy Secretary Abraham to continue to actively promulgate the fantasy that hydrogen will solve our energy problems. Joe's book, like the NAS study, points out in a clear, and scientifically sound manner why (1) hydrogen fuel cells are not likely to become cost competitive in vehicles, (2) hydrogen fuel will likely always be too expensive, (3) FC vehicles do not help reduce greenhouse gases, (4) the hydrogen infrastructure hurdle is immense, and (5) we must begin now taking meaningful steps to reduce CO2 emissions. Our planet is facing the serious dual challenges of global warming and the end of cheap oil. Dr. Romm puts the issues of fuel cell manufacturing cost, hydrogen fuel cost, competition, infrastructure cost, and global warming in easy-to-understand language. My only criticisms are that I wish he would have included more on (1) the challenges of hydrogen production by nuclear energy and (2) promising next-generation biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol, bio-methanol, mixed-higher-alcohols from biomass, and biodiesel from high-oil algae. A recent paper, "Fuels for Tomorrow's Vehicles", nicely complements The Hype About Hydrogen in this regard. The Institute for Lifecycle Environmental Assessment has also recently released a scholarly work that, like The Hype About Hydrogen, looks fairly at the putative hydrogen economy and comes to similar conclusions.

A Pretentious and Disingenuous Piece of Trash:
Romm, a skilled but disingenuous academic, makes hay with his has-been political credentials in an effort to sway public sentiment away from desperately needed government hydrogen funding and toward his dead end pet projects. Carefully ignoring important information counter to his argument, he builds a case against the clean air and energy security promise of hydrogen energy that has outraged the core of the hydrogen community. In "Responses to Joe Romm's Seven Points on the Hydrogen Economy", C. E. "Sandy" Thomas, long time leader of high level studies on hydrogen safety and efficiency, and now President of H2Gen Innovations, tears apart Romm's thesis thread by thread. This freely distributed white paper can be found at the web sites of EV World and the International Clearinghouse for Hydrogen Based Commerce. A few of Sandy's key observations: "Joe says that it took PV and wind 20 years for a 10X drop in price, therefore the 100X drop that he portrays for FCVs would take many decades. He concludes that a major breakthrough in fuel cell technology is required. Christine Sloane of GM reports that they are within a factor of 10 now (if mass produced) in the range of a few hundred $/kW without any breakthrough." "Hydrogen produced by the H2Gen's HGM natural gas reformer at the fueling station or fleet operator's garage would cost less per mile than taxed gasoline. We estimate that the life-cycle costs of owning and operating a hydrogen FCV would be $2,290 less than owning and operating a conventional gasoline car..." "Joe Romm claims that a storage breakthrough is required before FCVs will be practical. The Ford Motor Company designed (but did not build) a FCV in 1994-95 that would have achieved 280 miles range using 5,000 psi hydrogen tanks based on a slightly modified Ford Contour, and 380 miles range with PNGV body parameters. Storage improvements would be welcomed, but no storage breakthrough is required." "The NRC report does state in one chapter that "the cost of generating hydrogen with any of the distributed technologies...would greatly exceed the gasoline costs." \op. 5-7\c. However, they neglect the increased fuel economy of the FCV that will reduce the costs per mile, the only figure of merit of importance to the driver. ...Conclusion: Data provided in the NRC report show that the cost of hydrogen per mile driven will be between 27% to 52% lower than the cost of gasoline at $1.80/gallon in a conventional car, and between 3% more to 32% less than the cost of gasoline used in a hybrid electric vehicle." "We have no debate with Joe's admiration of the gasoline hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) such as the Prius. In the short term, everyone should be encouraged to purchase HEVs to cut oil imports and pollution. It is not a question of either HEVs or FCVs; we can do both. In the long term, however, the gasoline HEV is a dead-end road for both GHGs and oil import reductions. ...gasoline HEVs will temporarily reduce GHGs and oil imports, but that advantage is wiped out within a decade or so by increased vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Hence we have to move to hydrogen to assure a long-term solution to GHGs and oil imports. These charts assume that all hydrogen is made from natural gas initially, gradually transitioning to hydrogen from renewables, such that 50% of all hydrogen comes from renewables by 2050." Don't be fooled into thinking Romm is an expert. There is a lot of jealousy over the money going into hydrogen R & D. The ethanol lobby is a prime example. Ask yourself what Romm's cheerleaders have to gain before swallowing his line. Romm is wrong. This propaganda text is a example of educated sophistry at its worst. Richard D. Masters International Clearinghouse for Hydrogen Based Commerce

The real deal on the future of the hydrogen economy:
Having read Jeremy Rifkin's interesting, but rose-colored and somewhat tangential take on the future of the hydrogen fuel cell: The Hydrogen Economy: The Creation of the World-Wide Energy Web and the Redistribution of Power on Earth (2002), I was pleased to read something from a full-time energy professional. Joseph Romm, author of this sobering volume, worked in the Department of Energy in the Clinton administration and has been involved intimately with hydrogen research and development for many years. His main point is that we must eventually have a hydrogen economy based on the hydrogen fuel cell, but that we must not expect this to happen without some major technological breakthroughs. His book is a warning that the global warming clock is ticking and ticking, and that we need to do something now if we hope to avoid a possible catastrophe. The really scary thing about global warming is that we may pass over the point of no return without knowing it. Furthermore, a full-blown, runaway greenhouse effect would make nuclear winter look like a walk in the park. Look what happened to Venus, where on any spring day (or winter day for that matter) the surface is hot enough to melt lead. Could that happen here? The real and direct answer to that question is: we don't know. Romm is not painting any such dire scenarios in this book, but he does state most clearly that "the primary reason why we should pursue fuel cells and a hydrogen economy is to help respond to global warming." (p. 188) He adds, "global warming is the most intractable and potentially catastrophic environmental problem facing...the planet this century." (p. 152) Romm identifies carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere as the primary cause of global warming. What to do and how to do it? Because Romm addresses these questions in such compelling detail, this is the book I believe that will be--if it hasn't already been--read by high-ranking government officials and the CEOs of energy corporations throughout the world. I hope that Sen. John Kerry and President George W. Bush will read it. What they will find is that it will require a closely co-ordinated effort on the part of both government and the private sector to bring about a cost-effective hydrogen technology. This technology will include the building of an infrastructure for making and distributing hydrogen that will cost hundreds of billions of dollars. Romm makes it clear that none of this will happen until hydrogen becomes competitive with fossil fuels in terms of cost and efficiency. Right now hydrogen is most cheaply made from fossil fuels themselves, a process that does not reduce green house gases, and furthermore is much more expensive, no matter what currently-available technology is used, than gasoline itself, and will remain so for many years, probably decades, to come. Ultimately the goal is to manufacture hydrogen from water using renewable resources such as biomass, wind, sun, downward running water, evaporation, ocean currents, etc. to split the water molecule into its component elements. Romm's immediate future scenario has us obtaining hydrogen from natural gas while using our renewable energy resources to produce electricity in an effort to begin to slow the belching of carbon dioxide into the air. Romm believes that oil production will probably peak in the first half of this century. He adds that "Some believe this will occur by 2010." (p. 16) Given this, it is obvious that we will have to come up with some sort of fuel to replace oil. Since only "a limited number of fuels are plausible alternatives for gasoline" (p. 16), and since the one with the most going for it is hydrogen, it will be hydrogen. But transporting hydrogen the way we transport gasoline will be more expensive, perhaps prohibitively expensive since it has to be condensed and/or made into a very cold liquid under pressure. One might think we could transport water instead and make hydrogen at hydrogen stations, but the most efficient conversion methods require large scale operations at high temperatures. There are several other very challenging problems to be faced, not the least of which is what Romm identifies as "the chicken or the egg" conundrum. That is, automakers will not make hydrogen fuel cell cars until the hydrogen infrastructure is in place, and the infrastructure will not appear until there are a sufficient number of fuel cell cars on the road. While I think Romm maintains a cautious level of optimism in the face of these difficulties, he does on occasion let his pessimism show: "If the actions of Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden and record levels of oil imports couldn't induce lawmakers, automakers, and the general public to embrace EXISTING vehicle energy efficiency technologies...I cannot imagine what fearful events must happen before the nation will be motivated to embrace hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which will cost much more to buy...to fuel, and require massive government subsidies to pay for the infrastructure." (p. 162) If you want to know where we really are vis-vis the so-called hydrogen economy, read this book.

Hydrogen is no quick fix:
This book gives the reader a very good idea of the daunting technical, economic and environmental issues to be tackled in the transition to the hydrogen economy. Clearly, we need to take some tough measures to contain global warming until a hydrogen economy is ready.

Explaining why hydrogen isn't the quick fix touted:
Can hydrogen solve our energy and environmental problems? Some claim emission-free hydrogen fuel sells will solve the environmental crisis: author Joseph J. Romm says otherwise, explaining why hydrogen isn't the quick fix touted, and arguing that hydrogen's promise will not be realized until the long term. Politics and economics blends with social and environmental analysis to provide a scientific and social survey of hydrogen in The Hype About Hydrogen: Fact And Fiction In The Race To Save The Climate.