H2 Economy: Hype, Horizon, or Here?

The Hype About Hydrogen: Fact and Fiction in the Race to Save the Climate is a book by Joseph J. Romm, an expert on clean energy, advanced vehicles, energy security, and greenhouse gas mitigation [Romm was DOE's Undersecretary of Energy under Bill Clinton].

"Over 200 publications, including Scientific American, Forbes magazine and The New York Times, have cited this book. The book was named one of the best science and technology books of 2004 by Library Journal."

"The thrust of the book is that hydrogen is not economically feasible to use for transportation, nor will its use reduce global warming, because of the cost and greenhouse gases generated during production, the low energy content per volume and weight of the container, the cost of the fuel cells, and the cost of the infrastructure. The author argues that a major effort to introduce hydrogen cars before 2030 would actually undermine efforts to reduce emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide."

Germany, which has allocated $10 billion to its nascent hydrogen industry, is one of a growing number of governments whose spending to satisfy climate commitments while restarting their economies could provide a major funding kickstart.

One of the more interesting stories with hydrogen, in my opinion, is the jockeying for different countries to really be the 'winners' of the blossoming opportunities. Germany shows it's betting big, but they are certainly not alone. This is the kind of competition that could benefit everyone in the end, though, if the solutions are successful.