Transcript Hydrogen Fuel Cells - The Global Change Program at the

Hydrogen Fuel Cells:
A Dream or Reality?
Section 007
Andrew Scheidel
Emily Skaer
Elizabeth Golanski
The Obvious Energy Problem
 Developing countries population continues
to grow along with their Per Capita GDP
 The World currently derives 80% of its
Energy from fossil fuels
 Believe it or not, fossil fuel will hit a
production peak in the VERY near future
 Higher demand + lower supply =
X
1,000,000,000,000 which means
no more Escalades and Hummers
Animation of a petrochemical refinery
Currently the United States uses 45 % of oil for gasoline purposes
Economics Lesson
 Crude oil prices are linked with inflation
(high oil = higher costs = prices raised in
order to offset higher cost = inflation.
 Inflation leads to many problems like:
- Less purchasing power
- A decrease in consumer spending
The Solution!
 Renewable and alternate forms of energy.
NOW!
 Wind, hydro, solar, tidal, geothermal, and
HYDROGEN
 The forefront of hydrogen fuel development
relates to hydrogen utilization in automobiles
 The Hydrogen Fuel Cell System utilizes
electrochemical energy yielding water as
exhaust
First, How Does a Hydrogen Fuel
Cell Work?
Hydrogen Consists of 1 proton and 1 electron
orbiting that proton.
How Does a Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Work?




Hydrogen gas enters anode
At the same time oxygen enters cathode
Catalysts causes H to split
Protons go through the proton exchange
membrane and electrons go through circuit
to power motor
 Protons, electrons, oxygen recombine to
form water
Moving on to the Benefits of
Hydrogen Fuel Cells
 Experience with fuel cells already
-NASA
 Abundance of Hydrogen
-2/3 of the planet is water 2/3 of water is
hydrogen
 Ensures more stable economy, the abundance
offers less energy cost fluctuation
 Reduction of CO2 emissions
 Only by-product is water
Benefits of Hydrogen Fuel Cells
 Hydrogen manufacture can be
environmentally friendly
 Lessons global warming
 Reduction in health problems
 Energy dependence on foreign nations is
reduced
 Can be more efficient
Benefits of Hydrogen Fuel Cells
 Very appealing to consumers
 In fact, it is already becoming a reality in
California
TO THE LEFT shows 15 Hydrogen
stations in operation and 9 that are
planned in California
Now, the Other Side of the Story:
Problems with Hydrogen Fuel Cells
 Hydrogen may be abundant in water on
Earth but it is not directly available like
Oxygen is
 There are no hydrogen pipelines and there
are only 15 stations in the ENTIRE country
 Very difficult to distribute
 Very difficult to store
 Very difficult to transport
HYDROGEN STORAGE SYSTEM
= $$$$$
Problems with Hydrogen Fuel Cells
 There are hydrogen reformers that convert
other fuels like gasoline to hydrogen
-These reformers emit pollution and still
use fossil fuels as fuel source
- Also reduce hydrogen efficiency
 This problem cannot be ignored and leads
many to look toward other viable fuel
sources using similar technology
Solutions to the Problems
 Many say there are too many problems with
this technology for it to be viable
 Incentives for gas stations to start offering
hydrogen along with gasoline (subsidies, tax
breaks)
 To take care of transportation, reformers
should be located close to hydrogen fuel
stations
HYDROGEN FUEL
DISPENSOR
Solutions to the Problems
 New studies have show alternate fuels other
than hydrogen would be as efficient
-Methanol, propane, natural gas
 Increase investment in research and
development….big time.
A methanol fueled
automobile developed
by Daimler Chrysler
Concluding Remarks
 Supporters of hydrogen fuel cells are much too
optimistic and are having difficulty thinking
realistically
 Opposition is too quick to dismiss this as actually
being a viable fuel source
 These two groups need to begin working together
to solve the problems
-The government should act as a liaison
between the two in order to encourage
progress
Concluding Remarks
 There is not nearly enough being done now
 Action must be taken immediately by all
groups in order to make this fuel source
viable and prevent the economic
implications previously mentioned
 Must be a collaboration between,
government, universities, national research
laboratories etc. in order for this to be viable
WORKS CITED
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