[extropy-chat] Fuel cell vehicles arriving in 2005
Dan Clemmensen
dgc at cox.net
Sun Jan 9 20:51:48 UTC 2005
Hydrogen -fueled vehicles reduce point-of-use pollution. This is a very
good thing
in polluted urban areas.
Whether or not they reduce oil usage depends on where the hydrogen comes
from.
I think that most hydrogen-fueled vehicles will use hydrogen generated
from electricity, yes?
if so, then those vehicles are in effect being powered by whatever new
electrical generation
capacity must be added to the power grid. I think that this new capacity
will mostly be
coal and oil fired plants. For oil-fired plants, we gain almost nothing,
and we may actually lose.
For coal-fired plants, coal-rich countries gain some energy
independence, but only at the environmental
cost of providing the coal. From a global warming perspective coal (pure
carbon) emits the most
CO2 per unit of energy, yes?
Even if the vehicle is perfectly efficient, the total environmental
efficiency must include all steps in the
energy production chain. This is of course as true for gasoline and
diesel as for hydrogen.
Now I must go google for real numbers.
In a very few cases the new electrical generators will be hydro, but
there are few remaining places
in the world for massive hydro without associated massive environmental
effects. If the new generators
are nuclear, there is a clear win.
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