Hydrogen Power Blog

Abhishek Agarwal


The branches under the military know that they have to seek new ideas, in the new, post-Cold War world of the 21st century, about how to tackle “the theatre of war”. What are the major interests of the US military? The forces in the battlefield, which are used in the theater, to be more energy-independent is what is desired the most. The forces of the military require proper energy and clean water when they battle it out in foreign military campaigns. The US military, currently, has its own policies and procedures intact to communicate with allies or sympathetic general public in such a case. But however this alone is not reliable when the US military have to carry on their military actions successfully as there can be a situation when its allies cannot help with its resources it needs or when they face unilateral military activities.

The keen interest of the military in the US is to make certain alternative sources of energy energy-independent sources on the battle field with the help of research and development technologies. Portable nuclear reactors can make such a thing happen. Development of portable small nuclear reactors for delivering theater-local electricity is of great interest to the military. The clean-burning nuclear reactors, which are energy efficient, have captivated the military to a large extent. Perhaps, making such reactors portable for the intense warfare of today’s well mobile and miniature military operations is something they are researching. Perhaps, these nuclear reactors are capable of removing hydrogen from seawater and obtaining hydrogen fuel from seawater can in a way have less effect on our environment than it does during current practices. This in-turn makes it less susceptible to pollution.

Seawater can be an answer to all the problems of the US military. Seawater being available in plenty can be a potential alternative source of energy. The military’s utmost interest is on seawater in the arena of alternative sources of energy supply. Seawater can be relentlessly excavated for hydrogen, which can in turn power advanced fuel cells. Desalinated and portable water can also be generated endlessly from seawater with the help of OTEC. Resources such as portable water and hydrogen will be needed, by the anticipated military force, to generate power. Hence such resources should be utilized to maximum effect.

Temperatures inside the cores of the portable nuclear reactors, those which interested the military, run over a 1000 degree Celsius. At such high temperatures water can be broken down to its component parts of molecular oxygen and hydrogen. The former happens when high temperatures get combined with the thermo-chemical water-splitting procedure. This is the most efficient way of breaking water to its component parts. Extraction of minerals and salts, from seawater through the desalination process, is needed to clear the way for this process. Such salts can be either recycled by draining it to the ocean or utilized using vitamin or salt shakers. The power of the nuclear reactors is needed to extract hydrogen from the seas. The US’s top-most priority in the R&D is to use them as fuel cells which power high-level tanks, airplanes and ground vehicles.

Gregg Hall


The world in its run for progress and mechanization has almost exhausted all non-renewable energy sources that Mother Earth had provided. Global warming, depleted water sources and increased pollution have paused serious threat to the well-being of mankind. We are now looking desperately for renewable energy sources and alternate fuel. In our tryst the latest addition is hydrogen fuel cells. Developed as a part of the space program initially, more and more car manufacturers are now edging towards adopting Hydrogen Fuel Cells to power the cars.

What are Hydrogen Fuel Cells?

The hydrogen fuel cell is same as our battery cells except for the fact that in case of hydrogen fuel cells the power is produced only when hydrogen is fed to the fuel cell. The electricity produced in hydrogen fuel cell is dependent on the rate of Hydrogen flow to the cell and also on size of the hydrogen fuel cell.

What are the advantages of Hydrogen Fuel Cells?

Although along with electricity it produces heat and water, the hydrogen fuel cells produce a lot less heat than the traditional rod cells. Hydrogen fuel cells are a lot more efficient than the gasoline engines by about 20 to 30%.

These cells can be created in different sizes and as a result can be used to power smaller instruments like an MP3 player to factory buildings and towns.

For the automobile industries the biggest challenge today are its dependence on gasoline and the rate of pollution. Hydrogen fuel cells if used as internal combustion engines for cars can reduce the petroleum dependency and environmental pollution.

Not just for cars, hydrogen fuel cells can be used to power remote areas, provide electricity where roads have not yet been built and in general alleviate the living conditions. It can also be used as a portable source of energy.

It is estimated that hydrogen fuel cells may replace the traditional batteries all together in the next 50 to 100 years. If it has been successful in the space programs, it is quite evident that it will leave its mark in day-today life as well. Different government and environment agencies are also supporting the use of hydrogen fuel cells. However with all boons comes its accompanying bane. To produce hydrogen we need energy. Fossil fuels are widely used to produce that energy. Now as we all know fossil fuel too is a non-renewable energy source. So the need of the hour is a lot more research so that we can get hydrogen from a renewable energy source in order to power hydrogen fuel cells in generating electricity.

However there is no denying the fact that today we need such energy alternatives like hydrogen fuel cells that are customizable, can be used everywhere, can power anything from a small walkman to a town and the best of all reduces pollution and generated less heat. As we all know it is time that we do away with global warming!

Todd Ash


The largest blockade to hydrogen cars is no longer the technology. Sure, it isn’t 100 percent perfect yet, but advancements are being made steadily that should see hydrogen become a perfectly viable alternative to gasoline in the next few years. Rather, the problem is infrastructure, and therefore dollars and cents from a business perspective.

Since a hydrogen car requires hydrogen refueling stations, just like a gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicle does, the introduction of these clean-burning machines much be accompanied by the introduction of hydrogen filling stations; and vice versa. This reality has led to a number of pairings between manufacturers and oil companies, the latest of which is a new strategic partnership between BMW and European petroleum giant TOTAL.

It isn’t exactly a new pairing, as BMW and TOTAL have both been working with one another in Berlin on the practical testing of hydrogen as a source of energy. TOTAL itself opened a public gas station that incorporated both gasoline and hydrogen in March of this year, which takes the place of the pilot test station that had been operating in Berlin since 2002. Before the end of this year, TOTAL will finish construction on another hydrogen station in Munich near the BMW testing grounds, with a third station at an undecided location to come later.

As a leading company in processing and marketing petroleum products in Europe, TOTAL also wishes to play a leading role in the industrial and technical development of hydrogen as a fuel. As a source of energy and from the perspective of environmental care, hydrogen offers clear benefits already proven and substantiated in practice, emphasizes Michel Bzit, TOTALs Director General for Refinery Operations and Marketing.

The other half of this dynamic duo; BMW, isn’t resting on its laurels either. After years of testing a fleet of hydrogen-powered MINIs and 7-Series sedans, Professor Burkhard Gaschel, a board member at BMW AG claims that in less than two years BMW will debut a production-ready hydrogen-powered 7-series. That’s somewhat behind other manufacturers, such as Ford, which introduced a hydrogen-powered Ford Focus last year and has since distributed them in small quantities to municipalities around the USA and Canada.

Even farther ahead is German competitor Mercedes-Benz which recently celebrated its hydrogen test fleet of more than 100 cars passing the cumulative two million kilometer milestone. The vehicles, which are a varied array of hydrogen powered Europe-only A-class passenger cars, buses, and Sprinter cargo vans make up the largest real-life test of hydrogen fueled vehicles in the world, and Mercedes is looking to expand that even further by taking more hydrogen test cars to Japan, Australia, China, America, and Singapore for everyday use.

Our world-wide fleet trial is running at full steam, and after two million kilometers covered, we are gaining valuable results and findings for the further development of the emission-free fuel cell powertrain, said Prof. Dr. Herbert Kohler, Vice President Group Research and Advanced Engineering Vehicle and Powertrain and DaimlerChrysler Chief Environmental Officer.

Conversely, the third German luxury car manufacturer, Audi, seems to be lagging behind, with no news or rumours of a hydrogen test fleet or potential hydrogen cars since showing its A2H2 Fuel Cell Concept car at the World Environment Day in San Francisco during the summer of last year.

Simon Legree


I recall hearing of some source of alternative energy that was based on the motion of the waves. Basically, the waves provided the energy(no giant turbines) and these things functioned like wind mills of the sea. Everything else was blah blah. The inventor of this ingenious device was some high school or college student, I think.
Whatever it is, just tell me the name of the inventor, the name of the thing he/she made, and how it works. I may have placed this question in the wrong place because there really isn’t enough about alternative energy to devote a link to. Remember, inventor, invention and how it works.

KnottedBrain asked:


The byproduct of hydrogen is water, right? Water is H2O and can be processed again to make hydrogen gas, can’t it? I guess this follows the law of conservation of energy, except with hydrogen it’s simpler?