O hidrogénio como fonte de energia

Use of Hydrogen Grows To Fuel Vehicles, Produce Electricity

"As a fuel source and an energy carrier, hydrogen -- the most abundant element in the universe -- is beginning to move from science fiction and basic research to the world’s warehouses, airports, cell phone towers and highways. Hydrogen is the most versatile of renewable energy resources -- a universal fuel that can be burned in an engine or used in a fuel cell to power vehicles, buildings and homes, utility power plants and anything else that uses electrical energy.
When burned in an engine, hydrogen is about 30 percent more efficient than gasoline. When a fuel cell is used to power a vehicle, the fuel cell is 100 percent to 200 percent more efficient than gasoline. Hydrogen engines do not emit carbon dioxide, and the only byproduct of fuel cells is clean water.

“The three major challenges for producing hydrogen,” George Sverdrup, a government researcher, told America.gov, “are how to produce hydrogen at a cost of $2 to $3 per equivalent gallon of gasoline; for storage, it’s how to store enough hydrogen on board a vehicle to economically allow a 300-mile [483-kilometer] driving range; and for fuel cells, it’s how to get them to the point where they’re cost competitive with gasoline engines and as durable.”

ON THE ROAD

Hundreds of hydrogen cars are on the road around the world, at least three manufacturers -- BMW, Honda and General Motors -- are rolling out their first vehicles. Vehicle manufacturers are putting hydrogen vehicles into the hands of consumers for extended test drives. The cars have hydrogen engines or run on electricity from fuel cells.
According to DOE, the system cost for automotive fuel cells has gone from $275 per kilowatt in 2002 to $95 per kilowatt in 2008 and is projected to be $60 per kilowatt in 2009. The target is $30 by 2015. The estimated cost for a gasoline engine is about $50 per kilowatt, Serfass said.
BMW’s Hydrogen 7 is the world’s first production-quality vehicle, and Honda is leasing its FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell sedan to a limited number of drivers in southern California this summer -- a three-year, $600-per-month lease in an area that has operating hydrogen fueling stations and participating auto maintenance facilities.
In the United States, DOE’s National Hydrogen Learning Demonstration, which has about 70 hydrogen cars on the road, is a government-industry partnership created to test, demonstrate and validate hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and fueling stations.
Many countries have strong hydrogen vehicle programs, Serfass said, including the United States, Canada and countries in Asia and Europe.
DOE, car manufacturers and the National Hydrogen Association say consumers can expect to see hydrogen vehicles in auto showrooms by 2020, “but at least a few auto manufacturers have said that they will have a production-ready hydrogen vehicle as early as 2012,” he added.
Early and growing applications for fuel cells that already are providing cost savings in some markets include back-up emergency power for cell phone towers and emergency facilities, forklifts or materials-handling trucks, airport vehicles of all kinds, and hydrogen injection systems for trucks that can save 10 percent of fuel costs."

in America.gov (04 March 2008)