[extropy-chat] Fuel cell vehicles arriving in 2005

[Brent Neal]

 (1/9/05 18:59) Dan Clemmensen <dgc at cox.net> wrote:

>Forget the "hydrogen economy" because there are far too many technical 
>hurdles and
>there is far to high an infrastructure investment. Use "battery" powered 
>EVs, which can be
>developed with no major new fuel infrastructure. Charge them up from the 
>power grid,
>but use off-peak power. The real cost of off-peak power is a lot lower 
>than peak power,
>and the real problem with using off-peak power has always been storage. 
>But to use an
>EV, you already had to purchase storage.
>
>Where base power is provided by nukes or hydro, this is a huge win. 
>Where base power
>is fossil fuel, it's less of a win, but still a win.
>
>In addition to all of the above, we have the possibility of shifting a 
>higher percentage of
>the power from "base" generators to "peak" generators. As an increasing 
>percentage of the
>power goes to EVs, the power company can depend on the ability to shut 
>off the EV chargers
>temporarily to meet peak loads. This also allows the power companies to 
>make better use
>of unreliable sources such as wind or solar, at least to some extent.
>
>This has little to do with fuel cells, except to the extent that a fuel 
>cell might be a rechargeable
>battery.

Don't forget that there is a huge untapped energy source in our waste stream.  From biodiesel to TDP, tapping this energy remains a closed loop (since we're adding no carbon that has been deeply sequestered, i.e.out of play for more than thousands of years, back into the carbon cycle.)

Until we make direct alcohol cells efficient and cheap, fuel cell technologies are going to be prey to the infrastructure problem you mention. But the hurdle isn't as high as you believe it is. There is no fundamental science necessary to be solved for this; it lies in the realm of engineering now. That doesn't mean, "expect it soon," but it is a hopeful sign.


B
-- 
Brent Neal
Geek of all Trades
http://brentn.freeshell.org

"Specialization is for insects" -- Robert A. Heinlein