Hydrogen as a Transportation Fuel

Some hydrogen proponents promote hydrogen as a potential transportation fuel for cars, boats, airplanes, and to meet the energy needs of buildings and portable electronics. They believe a hydrogen economy could greatly 

---

In the end, both approaches require the calcination of limestone to lime. The energy penalty in this process is about 4.5-5 GJ/ton of C02, which amounts to a 30-40% energy penalty of a transportation sector that uses air extraction for managing its own C02 emissions. This is comparable to the energy penalty incurred in the conversion of fossil fuels into hydrogen as a transportation fuel (Zeman and Lackner, 2004). 

To improve the efficiency of combined hydrogen production and C02 capture, several technologies are in development that combine catalytic reactions and the separation of either hydrogen or C02. Major targeted areas of application are the production of bulk hydrogen as a transport fuel and electricity production with pre-combustion C02 capture. 

In an effort to promote near-term use of hydrogen as a transportation fuel, the Program is investigating the development of cost-effective, highly efficient, and ultra-low... 

The Clean Energy Partnership" is an alliance between the government and major auto manufacturers to demonstrate hydrogen as a transportation fuel. 

Give an estimate of how much land (or water surface) area should be set aside for allowing world-wide needs for hydrogen as a transportation fuel to be derived by microbial photosynthesis. How much arable land would be used if the same amount of hydrogen were to be produced by fermentation. Discuss the possibility for combining the land (or ocean/waterway) use with other uses. 

Our goal is not to refute these hydrogen proponents—they could be correct. Yet it seems apparent to us that the use of hydrogen as a transportation fuel faces many, if not all, of the same obstacles faced by other nonpetroleum fuels. These obstacles include the following ... 

What, if anything, does the 15-year experience with alternative fuels, and the lessons learned, tell us about the upcoming hydrogen transition We think the lessons learned should be studied in detail by those who have the most to gain from a successful introduction of hydrogen as a transportation fuel, and also by those who have the most to lose from less than full success. We believe the numerous analyses and models developed to assess alternative fuels should now be harnessed to help chart the most effective course toward a hydrogen future. In particular, we have made five overarching observations drawn from the experience with alternative fuels in the United States to date. 

Chapter 7 will describe the use of hydrogen as a transportation fuel. It will show how it can be used in automobiles with current technology internal combustion engines. It will show how hydrogen fuel cells have the potential to provide advanced automobiles with excellent performance and zero pollution. It will show that aircraft and heavy industrial equipment can be converted to hydrogen. 

---