The Hydrogen Economy

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1. Hydrogen Economy

1.1 Introduction
Coal, oil and natural gas have been at the forefront of powering the world since the industrial revolution. Whether this power is used for new technology, transport links or energy the threat that fossil fuels has on the environment is colossal. Energy availability for the masses is the main dominant challenge in the 21st century and is driven by the world’s forever increasing population and the industrialization of developing countries (Crabtree, Dresselhaus, Buchanan, n.d.). Global supplies of fossil fuels are only available in certain areas of the world and are becoming increasingly difficult to extract. This is where hydrogen comes into the picture and the proposal of a hydrogen economy.
The main components of the hydrogen economy are to use it as a fuel for transport, stationary power and as an energy store. There are a few methods for the generation of hydrogen; this could be from steam reformation, carbon gasification, biofuels or water electrolysis. This replacement for fossil fuels needs a lot more research to be completed before it can match the supply of energy that is needed to power the world. The development of hydrogen to be a major power source needs to be invested in soon due to the unpredictability of when the fossil fuels will run out and the economic grip that some countries have on them.
1.2 Sustainable Energy for the future
Nowadays fossil fuels are classed as unsustainable due to the possibility of them running out in the near future and that the waste produced by them, greenhouse gases, cannot be absorbed by nature. The way forward for future generations is sustainable energy which has had recent advancements like: solar power, hydroelectric, geothermal. These are all ...

... middle of paper ...

...newable techniques are on the rise and should be looked out for in the near future especially in the automobile industry with biofuels and electric cars making large

Works Cited

Audus, H, Kaarstad, O, and Kowal, M, Decarbonisation of fossil fuels: Hydrogen as an energy carrier,[ presented at the CO2 Conf., Boston/Cambridge, MA, 1997, published in Energy Conversion Management, vol. 38, Suppl., pp. 431–436.
Bossel, U., 2006. Does a Hydrogen Economy Make Sense? Proc. Ieee 94, 1826–1837.
Crabtree, Dresselhaus, Buchanan, n.d. The hydrogen economy20.
Fueleconomy, n.d. Hydrogen [WWW Document]. Fueleconomy.gov. URL https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hydrogen.shtml
Institute, G., London, I.C., Clark, D., 2012. What’s the “hydrogen economy”? The Guardian.
Why a hydrogen economy doesn’t make sense [WWW Document], n.d. URL http://phys.org/news85074285.html (accessed 3.9.14).

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