Viable alternative fuel, hydrogen

The alternative fuels and drive systems available only seem to be viable on the mass market, if the oil price stays above 60 to 70 /bbl for a sustained period. Oil prices peaked above 140 /bbl in summer 2008 and many experts believe that stable oil prices over 100 /bbl could be reached in the next one or two decades. The higher the market prices of fossil fuels, the more competitive low-carbon alternatives will become The principal choice here is between biofuels, electricity and hydrogen, provided that they are produced either from low/zero-carbon feedstock or that the C02 generated during their production is captured and stored. But higher priced conventional oil resources, on the other hand, can also be replaced by high-carbon alternatives such as oil sands, oil shale or synthetic fuels from coal and gas. 

Fig. 1.1 A novel vision of refueling/retail station for fuel ceU-powered vehicles based on the concept of the off-board recharging of spent hydride fuel and the mechanochemical synthesis of nanostructured hydrogen storage materials in baU-miU plants. Such is not the currently accepted vision of hydrogen economy but one which may turn out to be viable alternative to onboard...

C02 sequestration technology is a viable contender among a set of options to stabilize the atmospheric C02 level over the next few decades (Lackner, 2002). The technical ability to start such a process exists today, but the institutional structures required to reduce C02 emissions are still missing. For hydrogen production, carbon sequestration at the very least will buy time for alternatives to fossil fuels to become competitive. It is, however, equally possible that carbon sequestration removes the major environmental obstacles to the use of fossil fuels in which case it may prove competitive with alternatives for a long time to come. 

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