Availability and Affordability of Hydrogen for Cars by Bob Jent

Hydrogen technology for use in hydrogen cars in the United States is expected to be safe and available by 2010. Many consumers wonder where they will buy the hydrogen. It will be available at service stations like we use today for our gasoline. It will take time before it is as widely available as gasoline but diesel fuel today is only available in 5000 locations throughout the United States and it works.

There is a national hydrogen infrastructure today serving the industrial market. Naturally, making hydrogen available to consumers will involve developing new production and delivery systems. Studies have been done to determine what it would cost to build a national hydrogen distribution system and the general consensus is about $15 billion. However, these facilities don't have to be built at once. They can be developed over time. Hydrogen fueling pumps and a national hydrogen pipeline are being discussed. Home fuel cell stations are also being developed.

Hydrogen cars are much more efficient than gasoline cars. Fuel cell vehicles are 50 per cent efficient compared to 15 per cent for gasoline engines. The per mile costs for fuel cell vehicles are the key issue to focus on as hydrogen may be more expensive by weight or volume than gasoline.

The Department of Energy has a hydrogen cost target of $2.50/gallon of gasoline on an energy equivalent basis by 2010. H2Gen, a manufacturer of hydrogen generators, was recently awarded a "DOE Hydrogen Program R+D Award for its development of hydrogen generation technology that is expected to meet the hydrogen cost target. H2Gens hydrogen generator converts natural gas extracted by companies like, Western Pipeline Corporation, to hydrogen at the point of use. This eliminates the high cost associated with transporting hydrogen. It also eliminates the need for installing a hydrogen pipeline system. H2Gen was awarded a contract by DOE to scale up their generator and to reduce equipment costs so that hydrogen can be produced at a gas station resulting in a cost per mile for fuel cell vehicles at par with gasoline vehicles.

Existing hydrogen fueling stations look like regular service stations. The pumps have digital displays that show volume, price and total cost like regular pumps. The nozzle goes in the same place in would in a gas fueled car. There is a cable which measures pressure attached to a receptacle on the bumper which is the only difference.

Improved technologies will reduce the cost of hydrogen as well as the cost of hydrogen vehicles which offer a clean, sustainable alternative to gasoline and relief from our dependence on oil.
About the Author

Bob Jent is the CEO of Western Pipeline Corporation. Western Pipeline Corp specializes in identifying, acquiring and developing existing, producing reserves on behalf of its individual clients.