Energy | August 26, 2008 |
Hydrogen Energy Turns Over New Leaf
We all know the big knock on hydrogen fuel: you’ve got to spend lots of energy and spew tons of carbon to produce the hydrogen gas. But taking inspiration from the world of plants, an international team of researchers has created a catalyst that is halfway to getting us hydrogen fuel from a much cleaner source: the sun.
Piggybacking on untold millennia of evolution, the researchers pinpointed the manganese-containing catalyst most plants use to speed photosynthesis, and modeled their own compound on it. Though the scientists’ development is not soluble in water, it can be implanted in a polymer sheet with water channels to allow it to oxidize water in the presence of light. From there, a catalytic hydrogen-producing cathode cell could complete the creation of hydrogen.
Only a few years ago, the hydrogen car seemed a distant, infeasible technology, requiring near-miracles in several fields of production to make it a market reality. But as fiscal pressures have changed due to high energy costs and the looming prospect of carbon caps, researchers have dramatically lowered the obstructions to the “hydrogen economy” promised by President Bush. While many important hurdles still remain, research continues at an astonishing rate.
Reddit
Digg
Stumble
ShareThis
Comments By Readers
Over the last several decades, we have witnessed different kinds of technologies evolve and impact our lives in ways we couldn’t have completely imagined. Everything from cell phones to computers to televisions have evolved and improved in speed, reception, size and capabilities. This advancement in technology became possible by supporting research. The same is true for hydrogen technologies today. Researchers are continuing to explore, improve and diversify how hydrogen can impact our lives. In fact, some hydrogen technologies are already improving our lives. The next cell phone call you make could be powered by hydrogen since fuel cell power supplies support cell phone towers. The next time you shop at Wal-Mart, the box of Oreo cookies and the new Blue Ray movie you purchase could be transported with a fuel cell forklift, or may have been driven across the country on a semi-truck using a hydrogen injection system.
It is true that it requires energy to produce hydrogen, but that is true for any type of energy we use. For instance, it currently takes approximately 116 btu’s of crude oil to make 100 btu’s of gasoline. On the flip side, there hydrogen technologies use hydrogen fuel more efficiently. In the past several months, the industry has made several advancements with efficiency in both production and use of hydrogen. Here are few stories that highlight the progress made:
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/06/3m-fuel-cell-me.html
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/toyota-fuel-cell-hybrid-vehicle-hydrogen.php
http://www.smartpower.org/blog/?p=422
As a representative of the Hydrogen Education Foundation, I am helping people understand how hydrogen can help the US achieve a clean energy future. Instead of seeking a single solution, a portfolio of energy choices will emerge in different ways all over the world. In some areas solar might make more sense, in others, wind or hydropower, and nuclear or coal might be used elsewhere – and all of these sources can be used to create hydrogen. Incorporating hydrogen within the world’s energy portfolio will simultaneously reduce dependence on oil, while improving the country’s carbon footprint by reducing greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.
To learn more about the benefits of hydrogen, we invite everyone to please visit and ask us questions at <a href="http://www.h2andyou.org" target="_blank">www.h2andyou.org</a>.
Post Your Comment