HydrogenFuelCells.docVIP

Hydrogen Fuel Cells Damian Randle, Open University CAT-UEL. Original date: Jan 06, slightly revised, Jan 07 ‘And what will they burn instead of coal?’ ‘Water,’ replied Harding. ‘Water!’ cried Pencroft, ‘water as fuel for steamers and engines! Water to heat water!’ ‘Yes, but water decomposed into its primitive elements,’ replied Cyrus Harding, ‘and decomposed, doubtless, by electricity, which will then have become a powerful and manageable force…. ‘Yes, my friends, I believe that water will some day be employed as a fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen, which constitute it, used singly or together, will furnish an inexhaustible source of heat and light of an intensity of which coal is not capable. ‘Some day the coalrooms of steamers and the tenders of locomotives will, instead of coal, be stored with these two condensed gases, which will burn in the furnaces with enormous calorific power.’ Jules Verne, The Mysterious Island, 1874 Abstract Why favour hydrogen, and how? Hydrogen history. Fuel Cells [FC’s]: technicalities, types, historical development. The transition to FC use: how big a problem? FCs: what is on the market now for power generation and vehicles? Technology Challenges for FC’s in the next few years. What are the controversial questions? Introduction In the discussion of hydrogen and FCs, there are technical questions, and philosophical ones. We may disagree which is which, making life interesting, and on what our answers are, making life even more so. The discussion is further complicated by the fact that the technical and the philosophical interact. Some key words worth returning to later, in question form, might be: ? Transition - from one energy regime to another: how ambitious to be? ? Decentralisation – how important is it, as an aim in itself? ? Technical Fix - is it always not OK? ? Many “Business-as-Usual” ‘s proponents favour H/FC: is that bad? ? Sellout – are we asked to abandon efficiency, conservation, renewables? I have omitted the combusti