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Friday, 4 September 2009
Has hydrogen had its day?
I've been doing some research into the current stage of the hydrogen economy for Innovation Scout. Back in the late 90s and early 00s, hydrogen was the fuel of future - and on Teesside, where I was working in that period, it was held up as the saviour of the chemical industry. In fact, any project that might get in the way of the march of hydrogen was simply brushed aside (including one of mine, but I'm not bitter. Well, not much).But then what? Some major motor manufacturers brought forward concept cars and there were a number of fuel cell systems installed in buildings and road signs. But not much more has progressed as technical and economic issues have hindered the commercialisation of the technology. President Obama's Energy Secretary Steven Chu pulled the plug on hydrogen research and everybody seems to be focussed on the electric vehicle. Honda alone seems to have stuck with the hydrogen model with its FCX Clarity model (lauded by the Top Gear petrolheads) and there the open-source Riversimple hydrogen car was launched this summer. The latter will be leased in cities where the hydrogen infrastructure is provided by industrial gas giant BOC.
So there may be life in hydrogen yet, the only question is, with huge distribution networks required for both, can it compete with the upsurge in interest in electric vehicles? Looks like a classic battle along the lines of Betamax/VHS and, like that videotape war, it will probably won on entrepreneurial ability rather than technical prowess.
BTW, if you are interested in the current state of affairs in the electric car industry, check out this interesting BBC Radio 4 programme which includes an interview with Shai Agassi who is launching a distributed network of charging points and automatic battery exchanges.
Labels: cars, electric vehicles, hydrogen economy
# posted by Gareth Kane : 08:43
0 Comments
Monday, 1 June 2009
"Nice idea, but it will never work"
There is a lovely story (probably apocryphal*) of a student taking a design proposal to the head of Cambridge University Engineering Department. The Prof looked at the plans and said"Nice idea, Whittle, but it will never work."
The student was of course Sir Frank Whittle and the design was for the jet engine.
Whether or not exchange really happened, there is a whole cadre of such eminent thinkers, either retired or in the twilight of their careers, who regularly try to throw similar sticks into the spokes of green/low carbon technology. Letters regularly appear in the press from these chaps, typically saying:
"Before everyone rushes to embrace wind power/the hydrogen economy/electric vehicles/biomass (delete as appropriate), a few simple sums show that to replace all electricity/gasoline vehicles/domestic heating systems would require [something impossible/very expensive]. This headlong rush to do [X] is foolhardy if not downright dangerous".
Those simple sums usually assume that the technology involved is intended to replace its conventional equivalent entirely, without any change to usage patterns, without any evolution in the technology concerned and at current prices. They ignore the immutable laws of technological development - as technologies mature their costs plummet, efficiencies improve, synergies emerge and user behaviour changes to suit. But you have to start at the beginning of that cycle, you can't just parachute into the maturity phase.
The annoying thing for me is that these would-be Cassandras know this better than anyone. I don't know if they're just stuck in their ways, need to feel important and relevant, or whether they just resent the world passing them by. But given all their knowledge and experience, the world would be a better place if they would open their minds and become part of the solution, not part of the problem.
* The Cambridge angle to the story doesn't seem to match up with Whittle's biog, but he did apparently meet such resistance in the RAF.
Labels: biomass, hydrogen economy, technology, wind turbines
# posted by Gareth Kane : 05:47
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Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Some Ideas to Chu On...
While the last year has seen Barack Obama hogging the limelight of US politics, his new Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel prize-winning physicist, has been emerging as a refreshingly honest and practical voice to combat climate change. Unlike most politicos in his position, Chu is more concerned with results than process.His calls for flat roofs to be painted white (to reflect more solar energy back into space without contributing to climate change), his embracing of ideas such as 'negawatts' - energy you don't use, and his energetic participation in bike-to-work day have really endeared him to me, but green groups are not so sure. He has been attacked for changing his mind on permitting coal fired powerstations and has slashed funding for the hydrogen economy. His focus instead has been on energy efficiency and biofuels.
But his biggest challenge will be to win over his fellow US politicians in Congress - resistance to carbon reductions is fierce and entrenched, with Rep Joe Barton declaring recently "Carbon dioxide is natural - you can't regulate God". Quite.
Good luck to him!
Labels: climate change, energy efficiency, hydrogen economy, Steven Chu
# posted by Gareth Kane : 09:01
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Sunday, 2 November 2008
No Solace for the Fuel Cell Industry
I won't give away the plot, but a key, if clunky, exchange between two baddies towards the end of the new Bond film, Quantum of Solace, goes:Baddie #1: What's that sound?
Baddie #2: Oh, it must be the fuel cells - this whole place runs on them.
Baddie #1: Sounds unstable!
And guess what, ten minutes later the 'whole place' goes up as the 'unstable fuel cells' blow, creating fireballs left, right and centre. This is the technology that has been successfully and safely installed in schools and other safety critical applications and could form a key part of a sustainable future. The fuel cell industry will not be terribly pleased with how they have been portrayed. And quite rightly.
Oh, if you're wondering, the film's pretty good, but not as good as Casino Royale.
Labels: fuel cells, hydrogen economy, james bond, quantum of solace
# posted by Gareth Kane : 18:07
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A highly accessible, practical guide to those who want to introduce sustainability into their business or organization quickly and effectively.
