Originally published April 21 2005
Hydrogen fuel cells are safe and effective, but technology is not yet ready for mass market
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
People have many questions about hydrogen fuel cells, which bind hydrogen to oxygen to produce electricity, but the biggest question is whether they are safe. The answer is that, yes, they are safe, despite all the concerns created by the disaster with the hydrogen-filled Hindenburg. In fact, the Hindenburg was destroyed mostly because its skin was covered with a flammable coating. Of course, there are other concerns about hydrogen, such as the fact that, currently, it is being extracted from natural gas and oil. Thus, it is not that great for the environment but people are hoping to someday use wind and solar power to produce hydrogen from water.
A. Basically, it introduces hydrogen atoms to oxygen atoms and encourages them to hook up.
That kicks some electrons loose, and they can be used to power anything from a cell phone to a car.
The key is to store it in a rugged container that will survive collisions and to keep sparks and static electricity away from it.
It's easier to control the emissions from a big industrial refinery than from millions of cars, but the preferred long-term solution is probably using electricity to break water down into hydrogen and oxygen.
Producing enough hydrogen to power lots of cars and trucks will require much more electrical generating capacity.
Q. Is hydrogen more expensive than gasoline?
Q. How long does it take to refuel?
A. It's too early to say, since scientists and engineers are still trying to figure out the best way to store hydrogen in a car.
However, the car companies say the technology won't be ready for prime time until refueling time is the same or less than with gasoline.
A. Probably at filling stations set up to handle hydrogen.
Q. How often do I have to plug a fuel cell car in?
Q. If I left my Honda FCX sitting at the airport for two weeks, would its capacitor still have any electricity when I needed it?
The tank holding liquid oxygen for a fuel cell exploded because NASA increased the voltage to some electrical components and didn't upgrade the rest of the system to deal with the higher power and greater heat.
Keep it compressed in tanks as in the FCX.
This will require new materials that are very tough and much less expensive than anything available today.
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