An Introduction to the U.S. Hydrogen Program (Text Alternative Version)

This is the text alternative transcript for the U.S. Hydrogen Program podcast titled: An Introduction to the U.S. Hydrogen Program. The media files can be accessed on the DOE Hydrogen Program Media Files page.

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Welcome to The Hydrogen Report. I'm Mike Weiner.

In this episode, we'll try to answer a few fundamental, questions like why hydrogen? What's a fuel cell? And what's all the buzz about? We'll also introduce you to the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program and explain how hydrogen fits in our Nation's energy portfolio.

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The first question is ...why hydrogen? The answer lies primarily in our need for energy independence. Here's the Department of Energy's Pat Davis:

"Well, today, more than half of our oil comes from foreign sources; that figure is projected to grow to more than two-thirds by 2025. Two-thirds of the oil we consume is used for transportation, so by replacing petroleum and our gasoline internal combustion engines with alternative fuels and more efficient technologies, we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

There are also environmental considerations. About 50% of Americans live in areas where air pollution affects public health and/or the environment. There's also the issue of greenhouse gases. Fossil fuel combustion accounts for most of the human-made greenhouse gas emissions — primarily carbon dioxide. The largest sources of CO₂ emissions are the electric utility and transportation sectors.

So how can hydrogen help tackle these problems? It's all in how it's produced and used.

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Hydrogen is often — mistakenly — called an energy source. Like electricity, hydrogen is an energy carrier. It can store and deliver energy in a usable form, but it must be produced from compounds that contain it. Basically we need to make hydrogen from other things. We can do that with many different resources found here in the U.S.: fossil fuels like natural gas and coal, nuclear energy, and renewables like biomass, and solar, wind, hydro-electric, and geothermal energy. This great diversity of energy supply means we don't need to rely on a single energy resource or on foreign sources of energy — and that hydrogen can be produced just about anywhere.

Using hydrogen can also help emissions issues. Hydrogen from renewable and nuclear resources produces near-zero emissions, and hydrogen from fossil-based systems can also result in near-zero emissions when combined with technology that captures and stores carbon dioxide before it's released into the atmosphere.

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That covers producing hydrogen, but what about using it? Well, hydrogen can be used in a device called a fuel cell to generate electricity, with no emissions. The only byproducts are water and heat. Individual fuel cells can come in different sizes, so they can be used for just about anything. Fuel cells can power cars, trucks, and buses, our homes and businesses, and even portable electronic equipment like laptops and cell phones. And they can provide clean and reliable power, and at two to three times the efficiency of today's combustion technologies.

Take vehicles, for example. DOE's Pat Davis explains:

"Today's gasoline engine is less than 20% efficient in converting gasoline's chemical energy into the power that actually moves the vehicle. A hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, which uses an electric motor, uses 40 to 60% of the fuel's energy. This translates to more than a 50% reduction in fuel consumption compared to a conventional vehicle. And it has the added benefit of zero emissions from the tailpipe."

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Perhaps the next logical question then, is if hydrogen and fuel cells provide such great benefits, why aren't we all using them today?

Well, there are a few challenges in the way. A big one is cost. Hydrogen costs more than the fuels we use today, and fuel cells also cost more than traditional energy conversion technologies like the internal combustion engine. Hydrogen and fuel cells must be cost-competitive with what we use today in order to succeed in the marketplace.

Another big issue for vehicles is driving range. Most of us are used to driving more than 300 miles on a single tank of gasoline. Today's hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can't go that far without refueling. That's because while hydrogen has a high energy content by weight, it does not have a high energy content by volume. Meaning that it's hard to store a lot of it in a tank on board a vehicle.

Delivery infrastructure is also an issue. Pat Davis explains:

"Well today we have about 700 miles of hydrogen pipeline in the U.S. — and that compares to more than a million miles of natural gas pipeline and an even larger gasoline delivery infrastructure. If we're going to drive hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, we need a place to refuel them and we need a way for the fuel to get there."

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These are big challenges, but brilliant minds across the country and around the world are focused on overcoming them. Automotive and power equipment manufacturers; energy companies; electric and natural gas utilities; Federal, state, and local government agencies; universities; national laboratories; and others are investing their resources and working toward the common goal of bringing hydrogen and fuel cell technology to the commercial market.

And there is exciting progress to report. The technology is developing and costs are indeed coming down. Once more, here's Pat Davis:

"The costs have come down. The Department of Energy's research and development program has lead to reductions in costs of both hydrogen and fuel cell technology. We need to reduce costs but we're meeting our targets and we're moving in the right direction."

In fact, fuel cells are now available for specialty markets like emergency back-up power and material handling equipment. You may even see hydrogen fuel cell vehicles or hydrogen fueling stations in your area as part of what's called technology demonstration efforts. But the move to using hydrogen as an energy carrier or fuel isn't going to happen overnight. Hydrogen has great potential as a clean, sustainable, and secure form of energy over the long term. But in the near term, gasoline hybrid-electric vehicles and biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel offer excellent options for reducing the amount of oil we use for transportation.

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Thanks for listening. If you'd like to learn more about hydrogen — and increase your H2IQ — visit hydrogen.energy.gov. And be sure to listen for future episodes of The Hydrogen Report.