Author Topic: Hydrogen Vehicles, Two Million by 2020  (Read 1310 times)

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Offline Ghost1

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Hydrogen Vehicles, Two Million by 2020
« on: Jul 20 2008 - 12:37PM »
Hydrogen Vehicles Coming Soon? Two Million Could Be On Roads By 2020


A transition to hydrogen vehicles could greatly reduce U.S. oil dependence and carbon dioxide emissions, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council, but making hydrogen vehicles competitive in the automotive market will not be easy. While the development of fuel cell and hydrogen production technology over the past several years has been impressive, challenges remain. Vehicle costs are high, and the U.S. currently lacks the infrastructure to produce and widely distribute hydrogen to consumers. These obstacles could be overcome, however, with continued support for research and development and firm commitments from the automotive industry and the federal government, concluded the committee that wrote the report. Light-duty vehicles, such as cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks, are responsible for 44 percent of the oil used in the United States and over 20 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted. Concerns over climate change, oil imports, and recent spikes in gasoline prices have spurred interest in the development of alternative fuels. In 2003, President Bush announced a $1.2 billion initiative to encourage development of hydrogen production technology and fuel cell vehicles, which are powered through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen and emit only water and heat as exhaust. The committee estimated the maximum number of hydrogen vehicles that could be on the road in the coming decades, assuming that practical technical goals are met, that consumers want hydrogen cars, and that government policies are in place to help drive the transition from oil to hydrogen fuel.

The findings therefore represent potential best-case scenarios rather than predictions. According to the committee, it will take many years before hydrogen vehicles will significantly penetrate the light-duty fleet, even though technological developments have been progressing rapidly.

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Offline Colleen2510

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Re: Hydrogen Vehicles, Two Million by 2020
« Reply #1 on: Jul 20 2008 - 01:09PM »
It's kind of weird the way that they can saturate the public with any kind of new technology to play music or watch tv or even a new blend of cigarette almost overnight but when it comes to something that might actually making the world a better place to live it seems to take several generations to make it available at an affordable cost.
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Offline Maggpie

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Re: Hydrogen Vehicles, Two Million by 2020
« Reply #2 on: Aug 24 2008 - 03:17PM »
BMW has just launched theirs.  They made 200 of them this year and they are really neat looking.
Heather & Maggie