The Hydrogen Economy

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The Hydrogen Economy

• Scott Clark
• Union College
• ME Department

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Basic Outline

• What is the Hydrogen Economy?
• Why do We Need it?
• Will it Work?
• My Project Info
• How are These Things Related?

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The Hydrogen Economy

• What the heck is it?
• The Hydrogen Economy would be a transition from
  using fossil fuels to Hydrogen based energy
  usage.
• It is not currently in existence, so its all just
  a theory at this point in time.

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But Why?

• Whats wrong with what we have now?
• Foreign Dependence on Oil
• Air Pollution
• Transportation uses of fuels alone are a cause
  for 70 of CO emissions, 41 of NOx, and 38 of
  hydrocarbons.
• Global Warming
• Increasing Costs
• Limited Supply

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How will Hydrogen Help?

• Hydrogen burns cleanly, with only a slight amount
  of NOx emitted. The rest of the emissions are
  water.
• Hydrogen can be created virtually anywhere.
• The supply of hydrogen is virtually infinite.
• Hydrogen can be created by a number of means,
  making it versatile.
• Hydrogen can be used with existing technologies,
  or future applications such as fuel cells.

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Hydrogen Facts

• Hydrogen is the most abundant element on the
  planet, but is not naturally occurring.
• It is not a fuel, but an energy carrier.
• It is the only element that can escape the
  Earths atmosphere on its own.
• It has the highest energy density by mass of any
  available fuel.
• It is not more dangerous than any other fuel,
  just different safety measures need to be taken.

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Whats the Catch?

• Sound too good to be true? Unfortunately, there
  are quite a few hurdles to overcome before
  Hydrogen can become a dominant player in the
  energy world.
• Biggest problem is lack of infrastructure
• Hydrogen is 3 to 9 times as expensive as Natural
  Gas to produce, 1.5 to 9 times more expensive
  than gasoline.

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Whats the Catch?

• Hydrogen needs energy to be refined, and
  currently most methods burn fossil fuels.
• Three times as much hydrogen must be used to
  equal the same amount of natural gas.
• General public acceptance of hydrogen as a safe
  alternative.
• Technology needs to advance in the area of
  hydrogen storage

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Tell Me More.

• Hydrogen has the potential to alleviate pollution
  problems, relieve the United States of foreign
  dependency, and preserve the limited resources we
  have.
• Hydrogen has a potential higher efficiency than
  many other fossil fuels.
• Production of Hydrogen can be undertaken by
  environmentally friendly means. (Solar, Wind,
  Biomass, etc.)

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My Project

• Conversion of a two-cycle gasoline engine to
  hydrogen.
• Small engines are point sources of hydrocarbons,
  especially two-cycle engines.
• Small engines typically are not tuned well, and
  therefore pollute more.
• There are few regulations regarding the emissions
  from these engines.

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How Will a Lawnmower Help?

• Hydrogen storage not nearly as great a concern.
• Large reduction of hydrocarbons and greenhouse
  gases.
• Consumer acceptance of hydrogen as a fuel.
• Help to develop a fueling infrastructure, even if
  it is at a hardware store.
• Will help break the Catch-22 hydrogen is
  currently in.

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So What You Are Really Trying to Say is.

• The hydrogen economy is a definite possibility,
  hinging upon a few technological breakthroughs.
• Current world climate may help push development
  in this area.
• People will need an incentive to change to a fuel
  that isn't as convenient as they are used to.
• We will not totally stop use of fossil fuels in
  the foreseeable future.
• Storage is a major hurdle right now.

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Conclusion

• Hydrogen has its advantages, but right now a full
  scale conversion just isn't possible.

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Questions?