Hydrogen fuels future's cars-USA Today
More polyanna form Robert Stemple, former chairman of GM and inventer of front wheel drive. What wo8uld he know?
4/29/2002
By Robert C. Stempel
Neither the energy bill approved by the Senate late last week nor the sharply different House version approved earlier would do enough to begin ending our dangerous dependency on Middle East oil. Our major energy focus today ought to be on transforming our system to one based on the most abundant and non-polluting element on earth: hydrogen.
The auto industry is clearly the key to speeding up our transition to this flexible energy source. America's transportation sector is currently 95% reliant on petroleum as fuel, and 67% of the petroleum in the United States is used for transportation.
Critics contend that using hydrogen energy to power autos is decades away. They are simply wrong. The transformation to hydrogen power is underway. Major oil companies recognize this and have made significant investments in hydrogen systems, including better batteries using hydrogen (nickel-metal-hydride batteries), photovoltaics and fuel cells.
Some 100,000 hybrid-electric vehicles made by Toyota and Honda now are in use. They are powered by a combination of small gasoline engines and powerful nickel-metal-hydride batteries. The hybrids get from 40 to more than 60 miles per gallon of gas in city driving and easily exceed the most stringent emissions standards.
These hybrids are more expensive, but when they are produced in greater numbers, the unit costs will drop sharply. Their greater fuel economy will lower operating costs. Ultimately, the USA could become almost energy self-sufficient.
The critics doubt such a sea change in the auto market can happen fast enough to make a difference. But Ford already has announced plans to launch a hybrid-electric SUV by the end of next year. Hybrid-electric-powered vehicles by GM and DaimlerChrysler are expected to follow suit. By 2005, some industry experts predict 3 million hybrid-electric vehicles on the road.
Intermediate step
These hybrid electric vehicles are only a stopgap solution to our energy needs. But they likely will be replaced later in the decade by internal combustion engines that will burn only hydrogen. The real wave of the future — hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars — could hit the market by 2010 or shortly thereafter.
The increasing importance of hydrogen is driven not only by its abundance. It is non-polluting (the result of its combustion is water), and it can be produced and stored safely. Hydrogen can be generated from traditional fuels such as oil and natural gas, but also through renewable means such as photovoltaics. It can also be used to produce energy in a variety of ways, from electric batteries to fuel cells.
Forget Hindenburg fears
Again, critics contend that hydrogen gas is too volatile for use in cars and that it will scare consumers away. But while in storage and during its transportation, hydrogen can be made inert through combination with metals, as it is in the nickel-metal-hydride batteries that power hybrid-electric vehicles. Even in its gaseous form, hydrogen also can be transported and consumed just as gasoline is today.
Government incentives are needed to help end existing cost differentials between hybrid-electric vehicles and standard internal-combustion gas-driven cars. The FreedomCAR (Cooperative Automotive Research) program announced in January by the Bush administration does just that. It promotes hydrogen as a primary vehicle fuel and helps develop the infrastructure, while also supporting internal-combustion-engine technologies that reduce gas consumption.
Keeping this broad-based approach, and budgeting for it, will let us start investing in the infrastructure needed for the new hydrogen economy. Filling your car with hydrogen must be as easy as going to your corner station. If it isn't, consumers will not buy it.
The United States' hydrogen economy is here and now. We all need to embrace it.
Robert C. Stempel, former chairman of General Motors Corp., heads Energy Conversion Devices, which is developing and manufacturing fuel cells, solid hydrogen storage, nickel-metal-hydride batteries and photovoltaics.
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