A New Source of Power
The time is right to develop hydrogen-powered vehicles

President Bush’s State of the Union proposal for development of hydrogen-powered automobiles reminded me of a discussion I had with a Ford Motor Company executive in the 1960s.

A tentative contract agreement had been reached between Ford and the United Auto Workers and as I completed a story interview with Dick, the Ford spokesman, we began talking about the future of the internal combustion engine.

This was a period in which each of the Big Three automakers had tried, with moderate success, to develop alternative power plants for their vehicles. Gasoline pump prices, however, were very reasonable and there really was no pressure to find a substitute for one of the most-popular automotive features – the V-8 power plants of 400-plus cubic inches.

I asked Dick if he thought a practical alternative to the internal combustion engine ever would occur.

“Sure,” he said. “It all depends upon the price of fuel. When oil prices reach the point where it’s cheaper to use a source other than gasoline, it’ll happen. And you can bet that Ford, GM and Chrysler will be breaking their necks to first have that new engine, power source or hybrid vehicle.”

“What would you guess would be the power source for the automobile of the future?” I asked.

“Any simple chemical reaction that produces energy could work as long it’s cost efficient,” he said.

“How about solar energy, batteries or even good ‘ol H2O?” I called as Dick left.

“Who knows?” he smiled. “Maybe you and I still will be around when it happens.”

In his address, the President proposed $1.2 billion in research funding to enable the United States to take the lead in developing hydrogen-powered automobiles. Such a commitment, he said, would enable American scientists and engineers to overcome obstacles and take such cars from the laboratory to the showroom. And that would mean “the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen and would be pollution-free.”

Currently, it’s just not cost effective to build hydrogen-powered fuel-cells, which would be the resulting power plants for automobiles and trucks. I checked some recent data and found that (1) hydrogen is four times as expensive to produce as gasoline, (2) fuel cells are 10 times more expensive than internal combustion engines and (3) hydrogen-storage systems are inadequate for the type vehicles the market demands.

On the other hand, hydrogen, when burned in an engine, produces no emissions and, when used to power a fuel cell, its only waste is water. In addition, hydrogen is abundant as a component of natural gas, coal, biomass and water itself.

And, according to the Department of Energy, the President’s proposal could trigger research initiatives that could reduce the nation’s demand for foreign oil by more than 11-million barrels per day by 2040. That’s about equal to our current daily oil import total.

Since nearly all cars and trucks operate on gasoline, that’s where most of this country’s imported oil is utilized. Also, we’re importing 55 percent of the oil we consume, a figure that’s expected to increase to 68 percent by 2025.

The President’s initiative, called FreedomFUEL, will develop technologies needed for commercially viable hydrogen-powered fuel-cells. During the next five years, this organization will develop technologies and infrastructure required for producing, storing and distributing hydrogen for use in fuel-cell vehicles and the subsequent generation of electricity.

Another presidential initiative, FreedomCAR (Cooperative Automobile Research), will develop hydrogen-powered fuel cells, hydrogen infrastructure and advanced automotive technologies. Such efforts are expected to result in technologies needed for mass production of safe and affordable hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles.

All this, combined with private-sector partnerships, is designed to make it practical and cost-effective for large numbers of Americans to use fuel-cell vehicles by 2020.

If all this works, the nation’s imported-oil needs will drop significantly and the air we breathe will be a lot cleaner.

But, as one who who believes the federal government always promises more than it can deliver, I guess I’m now in a let’s-wait-and-see mode. Congress, of course, also must approve funding for the effort.

But, I am encouraged. It’s an initiative that could make our lives a lot better.

Common sense says oil prices will continue to climb and if research results in a hydrogen-powered fuel cell that’s a less expensive fuel source than gasoline – well, take a bow, Dick.

An automobile powered by hydrogen? Maybe, Dick, one of our grandchildren could take us for a test drive.

Ed Ford is a staff writer for The Lane Report
editorial@lanereport.com

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