Transition to hydrogen

The transition to hydrogen-powered vehicles is an important step the nation can take towards preserving American transportation freedoms and strengthening U.S. energy security. 

Transition to hydrogen in the transport DP sector complete market for hydrogen and hydrogen vehicles... 

W.C. Lattin and V.P. Utgikar. Transition to hydrogen economy in the United States A 2006 status report, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 32,3230-37 (2007)... 

Implications of a Transition to Hydrogen in Vehicles for the U.S. Energy System... 

Figures 6-12 and 6-13 show that the increases in natural gas use, measured in quads, are of similar magnitude to the decreases in gasoline use, although the natural gas increases with the possible future technologies will be somewhat smaller than the decreases in gasoline use will be. These figures suggest that it is unlikely that a transition to hydrogen based on natural gas would significantly increase energy security.

It must be stressed, however, that the issue raised here would not be relevant for the other domestically produced resources or if large new sources of domestic natural gas are found. Technologies based on coal, biomass, nuclear power, or the two renewables—wind turbines and photovoltaics— would not result in such compensating increases of energy imports. A transition to hydrogen using these feedstocks could thus improve energy security. 

Finding 6-1. In the committee s optimistic vision of a transition to hydrogen for light-duty vehicles, 25 years from now the demand for hydrogen for these vehicles would be about equal to the current production of 9 million tons per year. This is only a small fraction of the 110 million tons required for full replacement of gasoline for light-duty vehicles. 

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