Should We Wait and Build Hydrogen Cars Instead of Making Expensive Electric Hybrids?

It is simply amazing all the money going into hybrids and all-electric vehicle research these days, but there are some significant hurdles to cross if we are going to make all this work and keep the costs down for consumers. Plus, we have to deal with all those old batteries in our landfills, and whereas, some will be able to get recycled, they will not last forever, and those casings will be discarded along with the toxic waste in and around them.

Not more than a month ago, I was discussing this with an overseas acquaintance who lives near a Volvo Plant in Europe. They too were interested in "other-than-fossil-fuel" run vehicles. Such as all-electric, hybrids running bio-diesel, and the future of hydrogen cell powered transportation. "I think Hydrogen can be a very good thing when it gets going, however by the time hydrogen fuel hits the market, is there not a big chance that batteries and solar cell tech is also ready then?"

Meaning, cars can run all-electric and keep the batteries charged and topped off with the sun. Okay so, right, then why do it at all? That is to say why make 30 million electric cars, get stuck with all those less-than-efficient batteries in landfills with all that light and heavy metal pollution seeping in ground water, when you can wait until they are viable, and you have those problems figured out? Besides by then Hydrogen tech will be viable, so invest in research, not subsidies, or tax credits to buy stuff that is not good enough yet?

Are you beginning to see the relevant arguments against such technologies, forgetting about the most important challenge - cost to the consumers, and thus, perhaps like you, my acquaintance asks; "and if so, what is best to choose? The US already has infrastructure for hydrogen, but not so many other countries I guess?" Referring of course to the reality that most US homes are piped for natural gas, which has lots of hydrogen atoms to separate out for hydrogen fuel.

Also, within 5-10 years we will have a low energy electrolysis technique and one can separate water H20 - two hydrogen atoms, release the oxygen into the atmosphere. If a country doesn't have fresh water it's not a viable place to live anyway, or they have desalination happening to serve those populations. Now then, I don't wish to trash anyone's vision for our future, but we risk killing everyone's dream if we don't act prudently.

Plus, very soon we will have conquered another hurdle for hydrogen fuel and that is we will have carbon nano-tubes and other materials for the hydrogen fuel tanks for our future flying cars.

Indeed, I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.







Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 22,700 articles was a lot of work - because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off.