The Hydrogen Economy

SpaceDaily.com recently published an article entitled Vast New Energy Source Almost Here. The new source? Hydrogen. You are probably wondering why hydrogen is being called a new energy source, as we already know it can be harnessed for use in fuel cells. The big deal here is the collection of hydrogen in a environmentally clean and green manner. Generally, the creation of one energy source requires some use of another. For example, many car manufacturers in the 90s touted their all-electric vehicles as green, yet in order to recharge them, they were plugged in at home and pulled energy from the grid—energy created from fossil fuels. So much for clean power! The same principles apply to hydrogen: some energy is required to evolve the gas from water, but if that initial energy is renewable, the hydrogen economy of the future can truly be green.

Enter solar power. Using a combination of solar power and catalysts, scientists have created a viable system to splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen gases in a clean manner. I have often spoke to my friends about a future energy supply that is completely renewable, the idea stemming from the use of solar energy to produce hydrogen, which can be stored for later use. Certainly there still exist some caveats to a hydrogen economy such as distribution, storage, and safety, but cost and ease of production is hardly an issue with this and other new innovations.

Imagine a distributed hydrogen economy where every household produces its own solar hydrogen for use in a small fuel cell generator. There would be fewer issues with distribution, far greater efficiencies as power would not be lost as heat over long-distance electricity grids, and cost would really only include the initial outlay for the generator/solar system and maintenance.

Still, this is all years out, but with the research surrounding fuel cells and the rise in production and use of fuel cell generators, it shouldn’t be long now.