Hydrogen is the only way to go. They could convert gas stations over and install these autonomous systems that could produce hydrogen from nothing more than electricity and water. Batteries are a stupid moronic technology for cars....only 300 miles and then what you going to be able to charge it up in like 5 minutes and be on your way again? Not only that but imagine the toxic dangers of having landfills full of car batteries from millions of spent vehicles??
Batteries are a stupid moronic technology for cars....only 300 miles and then what you going to be able to charge it up in like 5 minutes and be on your way again?
You're right. Better to use a hydrogen car that costs several hundred thousand dollars and goes 25 miles.
And remember -- to get that 25 miles, you have to be making hydrogen all night. If you're thinking about simply refilling your tank with hydrogen every 100 miles or so, you'll be interested to know that there are currently a grand total of 61 operational hydrogen filling stations. In the country.
Hydrogen is a stupid, moronic technology in a car (or pretty much anywhere for that matter). The ratio of energy available from it versus the energy it costs to produce it is even worse than that of producing ethanol as a fuel.
Hydrogen is only a viable solution when they start producing the generation 5 nuclear power plants. When those come online, the excess energy they produce can be easily used to create hydrogen. On top of that we need a mass transit system for the hydrogen. There was a "Modern Marvels" episode on the gas pipelines. Very interesting but it really shows why it would be so difficult to convert to something other than gasoline.
A standardize battery would be the way to go. Battery stations would swap out an uncharged battery with a charged one. Moreover, the battery stations could have a solar cells roofs and a windmill to augment the power generation by the local nuclear power plant.
Yup, hydrogen (and ethanol and other biofuels) is an attempt by the gas companies to find some way of maintaining control. There is simply no current argument that can be made that makes a fuel cell hydrogen vehicle more viable than a battery powered electric one. There are some benefits to hydrogen, yes, but when you add up all of the negatives--or even just a few like the efficiency lost to hydrogen generation and the immense cost of pipeline infrastructure (PLEASE don't tell me you expect millions of these little electrolysis stations to be used in lieu of pipelines given their cost and extreme conversion inefficiencies) or the insane cost of even the most inexpensive fuel cells--then you can't possibly come to the conclusion that hydrogen has any real future in consumer transport.
Electricity already has the infrastructure, the moderate to low power loss, and even (almost) the technology to be 100% viable. Five to ten minute charges ARE a reality. It is expensive now, but about 10-20 time less so than a fuel cell and will come down dramatically with technology and manufacturing advancements. Fuel cells themselves might also come down should rare earth metals not be required for the catalyst, but even so it is HIGHLY unlikely that adding all of this on top of the electric drive components will ever come down to the price or efficiency level of a pure battery-electric vehicle.
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Hydrogen is the only way to go. They could convert gas stations over and install these autonomous systems that could produce hydrogen from nothing more than electricity and water. Batteries are a stupid moronic technology for cars....only 300 miles and then what you going to be able to charge it up in like 5 minutes and be on your way again? Not only that but imagine the toxic dangers of having landfills full of car batteries from millions of spent vehicles??
Batteries are a stupid moronic technology for cars....only 300 miles and then what you going to be able to charge it up in like 5 minutes and be on your way again?
You're right. Better to use a hydrogen car that costs several hundred thousand dollars and goes 25 miles.
And remember -- to get that 25 miles, you have to be making hydrogen all night. If you're thinking about simply refilling your tank with hydrogen every 100 miles or so, you'll be interested to know that there are currently a grand total of 61 operational hydrogen filling stations. In the country.
Damn non-HTML supporting comments...
The link relating to the cost of fuel cell cars [WSJ.com]:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121364017994578203.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
The link relating to the number of hydrogen fueling stations [hydrogenassociation.org]:
http://www.hydrogenassociation.org/general/fuelingResults.asp
Hydrogen is a stupid, moronic technology in a car (or pretty much anywhere for that matter).
The ratio of energy available from it versus the energy it costs to produce it is even worse than that of producing ethanol as a fuel.
Hydrogen is only a viable solution when they start producing the generation 5 nuclear power plants. When those come online, the excess energy they produce can be easily used to create hydrogen. On top of that we need a mass transit system for the hydrogen. There was a "Modern Marvels" episode on the gas pipelines. Very interesting but it really shows why it would be so difficult to convert to something other than gasoline.
A standardize battery would be the way to go. Battery stations would swap out an uncharged battery with a charged one. Moreover, the battery stations could have a solar cells roofs and a windmill to augment the power generation by the local nuclear power plant.
Yup, hydrogen (and ethanol and other biofuels) is an attempt by the gas companies to find some way of maintaining control. There is simply no current argument that can be made that makes a fuel cell hydrogen vehicle more viable than a battery powered electric one. There are some benefits to hydrogen, yes, but when you add up all of the negatives--or even just a few like the efficiency lost to hydrogen generation and the immense cost of pipeline infrastructure (PLEASE don't tell me you expect millions of these little electrolysis stations to be used in lieu of pipelines given their cost and extreme conversion inefficiencies) or the insane cost of even the most inexpensive fuel cells--then you can't possibly come to the conclusion that hydrogen has any real future in consumer transport.
Electricity already has the infrastructure, the moderate to low power loss, and even (almost) the technology to be 100% viable. Five to ten minute charges ARE a reality. It is expensive now, but about 10-20 time less so than a fuel cell and will come down dramatically with technology and manufacturing advancements. Fuel cells themselves might also come down should rare earth metals not be required for the catalyst, but even so it is HIGHLY unlikely that adding all of this on top of the electric drive components will ever come down to the price or efficiency level of a pure battery-electric vehicle.