Q: Is hydrogen an environmentally friendly fuel? Why not use hydrogen to fuel our cars?

A: An internal combustion engine does not use an oxygen tank, instead it uses air from the atmosphere free of charge. That air is 80% Nitrogen (N2) and 20% Oxygen (O2). When you combine hydrogen with “air” you generate water (H2O) and Nitrogen Oxide (NOx).

Most people don’t realize that when you run Nitrogen (N2) through the combustion chamber you end up generating Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), which is the precursor to smog.

If you want to improve urban air quality, hyrdrogen based fuel is probably moving in the wrong direction.

Other issues concerning the use of hydrogen fuel cells:

• Safety.  In case of a collision the car must be able to maintain the safety of the hydrogen. This means the hydrogen fueled car must be built heavier which makes the car less fuel efficient.
• Environmental impact of producing hydrogen. Hydrogen can be produced by two methods:

Electrolysis of water. Electricity can be used to split water molecules to create pure hydrogen and oxygen. Where does that electricity come from? Burning coal, usually.

Reforming Fossil Fuels. Oil and natural gas contain hydrocarbons (molecules that contain hydrogen and carbon) Hydrogen can be split off of the carbon. But when you remove hydrogen from a hydrocarbon you generate a byproduct called carbon dioxide. Generating hydrogen from fossil fuel does not make it a renewable or clean energy.

The environmental impact of an energy source requires us to consider the cradle to cradle life cycle of that energy source. It does not make sense to burn coal to generate electricity to produce hydrogen to fuel our cars. It does not make sense to use a limited supply of a dirt energy source to generate hydrogen. To be successful, the hydrogen economy must have a large supply of electricity to be used in separate hydrogen from water. The electricity MUST be generated from a clean energy source.

• Cost. Hydrogen is NOT cheap.

As consumers we MUST all become technically literate AND participate in the discussions required to help form sensible policy.

We must consider the cradle to cradle life cycle of energy sources we use. The health and well being of our planet and our civilization depends upon it.