3 ms·

Better yet, those fuel cells can be "charged" wherever energy is plentiful then shipped as needed. Sneakergrid anyone?

• jcoffland 10y ago
  This would of course be incredibly inefficient. Maybe you were joking.
  • kragen 10y ago
    Electrolysis is too inefficient for in-place energy storage, but economies of scale could in fact make this acceptably efficient for long-distance energy transport; available solar resource varies by more than a factor of three even within the contiguous US. LNG tankers are already a worldwide business, and LNG equipment can be used to transport hydrogen, albeit at much lower energy density. (Generating methane or ammonia from the hydrogen to improve its transportability might be worthwhile.) Transmission losses in the electric power grid are around 6.5%, but that's because the energy is typically only transmitted a few hundred kilometers; about 4000 km is the longest cost-effective distance for AC power transmission. LNG tankers can travel further than that.
• ssmoot 10y ago
  Is there an alternative to platinum yet? Fuel cells sound really neat, and I had no idea you could actually by your own until a couple days ago. But the estimate of a small continuous use unit needing to have the catalyst replaced up to annually seems to make them a novelty for now (the existing units that is). Interested in knowing more if you keep up with it though.