Hydrogen.. the way forward?

[Rouxenator]

So you're saying that it will fail because people will be freaked out by doing a battery swap instead of filling up with fuel in a tank?

Many insanely good things have failed purely because of people. But lets hope that electric battery powered cars make it big. As I have said before - I prefer them above hydrogen. I am just not sure if the rest of humanity feels the same. Remember, we are technophiles online, there is a whole world outside our window.

 

[BCO]

Its even better, it just falls from the sky - all you need is a way to separate the hydrogen atoms.

Therein lies the problem.

 

[J0n0]

Oooh, I can't wait for hydrogen cars! Imagine the explosions in car chase scenes! A car blows up then POW!, there goes a building.

Cars in movies already explode for the simplest reason. But the building part...Nice hahaha.

Ps. Which is fastest? Top Gear had to mention that right? Who cares about the ommisions and moss growing on some mountain in Scotland.

 

[BCO]

This might have a big impact on making hydrogen production viable:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090406102555.htm

Discovery of an efficient artificial catalyst for the sunlight-driven splitting of water into oxygen and hydrogen is a major goal of renewable clean energy research. So far, Milstein’s team has demonstrated a mechanism for the formation of hydrogen and oxygen from water, without the need for sacrificial chemical agents, through individual steps, using light. For their next study, they plan to combine these stages to create an efficient catalytic system, bringing those in the field of alternative energy an important step closer to realizing this goal.

 

[TestMate]

I don't know how the usage of an H2-car will unveil but Battery operated vehicles will probably require a bit of lifestyle adjustment and understanding.

Here is how I see a everyday "home-work-home routine":

You wake up, go through your morning chores...and:
Unplug the charger and hit the road for work.
Say up to +/-50km max in the morning traffic. Average speed 60-70km/H. Can't do 120km/H for more than a few km's anyway due to traffic.

Arrive at work say 8:00. Park and Plug the charger. If your employer is smart will provide power points and some kind of billing for the electricity. It's not impossible. This is where the understanding comes... It's very easy to charge for electricity and not that expensive to set up. Hell, you can have Pay points at the Mall parkings too.

4 hours charge later you Unplug and go for lunch.
One hour later the charger is again ON for another 3-4 hours depending on your work hours. So far almost 8 hours batteries charge.

You set for home 5 o'clock unplugging the charger and hour (or two ) later the car is back in the garage. Last plug in before you "call it a day". Batteries get to be charged for another +/- 12Hrs?

Almost 20Hr's out of 24 you actually can charge. This type of use will keep the bat's always topped and ready for that unpredicted long trip or prolonged drive of (for now 200km?)

Those chargers are smart, so batteries only get what they need and can stay on-charge forever. You don't need the rapid charger either, which avoids the need for high currents.

I believe, in future, we will be able to produce mass electricity almost for free, like solar, so to me this is the 'cleaner way'. Also batteries get smarter by the day...anyone remember what the Cell phone batteries looked like in 2000. Oh, you have a 'banana' cell too...remember that Nokia?