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Technology Stocks : Energy Conversion Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jacq who wrote (3485)	4/2/1999 6:17:00 PM
From: Ray	Respond to of 8393

You are right, Jacq - reformer/fuel-cell units do emit CO2 (don't know about CO). The "only water out the tail pipe" statements refer to fuel cells run on stored hydrogen. Only if this hydrogen is obtained from solar or hydro (or other non-fuel-burning means) electricity is the fuel cell truly a non-polluter. Of course, EV autos also involve some pollution if their charging electricity is from fuel-powered electrical generation. However, it may someday be possible to run ICEs on essentially non-polluting fuel - if the fuel (ethanol, say) is derived from fermentation or, better yet, the direct manufacture of fuel from water, CO2, sunlight, and clever chemistry (like living plants do). The ICE's would emit CO2, but nothing else significantly polluting, and the CO2 would then be removed form the air by synthesizing more fuel. A closed cycle for CO2. This is not a "pipe" dream. It will, IMO, happen; but we first have to become as good at chemistry as living plants, which are master chemists.