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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group

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To: LindyBill who wrote (27104)	4/26/2002 2:41:30 AM
From: frankw1900	Read Replies (2) of 281500

There are two driving forces behind the development of hydrogen power technology. One is the increasing demand for clean air. Increasing prosperity throughout the world means vast increase in power consumption accompanied by equally vast increase in urbanization and vast increase in filthy air. California's clean air laws are harbingers of what is happening/will happen elswhere. The other is the fact that an electric motor only has one moving part. Car manufacturers are hypnotized by this. This looks like a virtuous circle to me. (See California-Ballard-Chrysler-Shell). Forces impeding development and application of hydrogen power technology are lack of infrastructure and the difficulties presented in handling hydrogen for which new technology must also be developed, and relative cheapness of oil and gas. I believe the impeding forces are weaker than promoting forces. The promoting forces come from demand and the possibility of great prosperity. The impeding forces are mostly opportunities. The relative cheapness of oil and gas eventually will be made irrelevant by rising price levels which will allow profitable businesses based on hydrogen power technology. The cheapest to develop source of hydrogen is oil and gas.... The solar constant probably doesn't allow for solar powered elctrolysis of H2O though I'd love to be proven wrong on this point. Obstacles to hydrogen power technology don't look formidable. What is difficult to judge is the speed of its development. One way to perhaps judge how quickly it might develop is to look at the development of the automotive and petroleum industries. Power densities of fuel cells are now approaching those of IC engines and effort is being turned to reducing costs of production. Car manufacturers are salivating at the prospect of replacing the world's fleet and so am I, because the industry is the world's biggest value added industry, and it's going to be party time. Government involvement only has to be a response to citizens' need for clean air. Hydrogen power using fuel cells is more efficient than combustion and will lessen dependence on petroleum producers such as Saudi Arabia, They, of course, will continue to sell into the world market but at a reduced per capita rate.

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