"Developing those cells and coming up with a way to transport the hydrogen is a big challenge, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in releasing energy-related details of the administration’s budget for the year beginning Oct. 1. Dr. Chu said the government preferred to focus on projects that would bear fruit more quickly."
The above quotation from the Times of May 7th demonstrates how misguided and disconnected bureaucrats and elected officials are from the real world of energy. Transporting hydrogen has never been a good idea. Why are they even thinking about it?
On March 9, 2009, only two months ago, the following news was released by the Department of Energy:
"Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Successfully Powers Truck Cab and Sleeper in DOE-Sponsored Test
DOE, Delphi, Peterbilt Join to Test Auxiliary Power Unit for Commercial Trucks"
The fuel cell was constructed by Delphi Corporation and ran on straight-from-the-pump diesel fuel. The release went on to say, "The unit is compact and can be configured to use natural gas, bio-diesel, propane, gasoline, coal-derived fuel, or military logistics fuel."
If Dr. Chu and our government would like to focus on projects that will bear fruit more quickly, they need to start paying attention to their own research apparatus at the DOE and the money tax payers are spending on this really outstanding research.
The current liquid fuels transportation infrastructure can support fuel cells run on methanol and diesel. This is the future of automotive propulsion.
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