First and most obvious is the explosive potential. This goes beyond just one car going up. Shrapnel from a single explosion might cause a chain reaction of other cars. Logistics of transporting bulk hydrogen are certainly more expensive as a result.
Second one I've heard is that hydrogen is harder to store than propane. I'm no expert on the science, but I've heard it said that the smaller size of the atoms makes leaks more common. Don't quote me on that.
Third is emissions. IIRC, hydrogen emissions include some sort of nitrogen molecule that is really bad for the lungs. I'm unclear on if this is any worse than oil-fuels. Again, not a scientist, but I'm sure there's some articles that cover this. The emissions from plants that would produce the hydrogen must also be considered.
I think any real future for hydrogen power will lie with on demand production. As pembo mentioned, there have been some interesting experiments with electrolysis, but I believe the electricity required is prohibitive. Perhaps once solar cells become more efficient, a hydrogen-supplemented combustion-electric design will come around. Time will tell.
I've heard a few reasons.
First and most obvious is the explosive potential. This goes beyond just one car going up. Shrapnel from a single explosion might cause a chain reaction of other cars. Logistics of transporting bulk hydrogen are certainly more expensive as a result.
Second one I've heard is that hydrogen is harder to store than propane. I'm no expert on the science, but I've heard it said that the smaller size of the atoms makes leaks more common. Don't quote me on that.
Third is emissions. IIRC, hydrogen emissions include some sort of nitrogen molecule that is really bad for the lungs. I'm unclear on if this is any worse than oil-fuels. Again, not a scientist, but I'm sure there's some articles that cover this. The emissions from plants that would produce the hydrogen must also be considered.
I think any real future for hydrogen power will lie with on demand production. As pembo mentioned, there have been some interesting experiments with electrolysis, but I believe the electricity required is prohibitive. Perhaps once solar cells become more efficient, a hydrogen-supplemented combustion-electric design will come around. Time will tell.
I've heard a few reasons.
First and most obvious is the explosive potential. This goes beyond just one car going up. Shrapnel from a single explosion might cause a chain reaction of other cars. Logistics of transporting bulk hydrogen are certainly more expensive as a result.
Second one I've heard is that hydrogen is harder to store than propane. I'm no expert on the science, but I've heard it said that the smaller size of the atoms makes leaks more common. Don't quote me on that.
Third is emissions. IIRC, hydrogen emissions include some sort of nitrogen molecule that is really bad for the lungs. I'm unclear on if this is any worse than oil-fuels. Again, not a scientist, but I'm sure there's some articles that cover this. The emissions from plants that would produce the hydrogen must also be considered.
I think any real future for hydrogen power will lie with on demand production. As pembo mentioned, there have been some interesting experiments with electrolysis, but I believe the electricity required is prohibitive. Perhaps once solar cells become more efficient, a hydrogen-supplemented combustion-electric design will come around. Time will tell.