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Most hydrogen is already produced using natural gas as a stop-gap. So making a hydrogen truck operate on gas is just cutting out the middle man.

more_corn 3y ago
Wait so hydrogen is just petroleum with extra steps? Was this whole thing a scam by the oil industry?
- MobiusHorizons 3y ago
  The cheapest way to produce hydrogen today does indeed involve methane as the starting material, but the promise of hydrogen was that there is a clear path to producing hydrogen from renewables. We can easily do it today, it’s just currently more expensive. If you think of hydrogen like just the energy storage / transport mechanism this isn’t any different than electric infrastructure, where electricity can be produced by fossil fuels or greener alternatives. Lots of people get upset at hydrogen for this reason, but I really don’t think it is warranted. The real reasons to be upset with hydrogen are the various impracticalities with the infrastructure and storage. Hydrogen leaks out of solid metal tanks because the atom is so small, and it has to be kept under enormous pressure because it doesn’t liquefy without cryogenic temperatures. There is no reason that I know of to assume these practicality concerns will ever be solved for car sized applications.
- ianburrell 3y ago
  Most hydrogen today is produced by steam reforming from natural gas. Which means hydrogen cars are more expensive natural gas cars. There is green hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water. But it more expensive than other sources. It only makes sense when fossil fuel sources aren't allowed. Hydrogen cars are a bad idea. Now, they aren't green and don't have infrastructure. In clean electricity future, battery cars will be better. Hydrogen will be important in the future for industrial processes that need heat. And maybe for long-distance transportation like planes and ships where electricity won't work. But those only make sense with green hydrogen.
  - thatcat 3y ago
    There is also microbe produced hydrogen extracted from ch4. This would allow using corn as the input similar to ethanol fuel, which already has a large scale production infrastructure.
    - adrianN 3y ago
      Solar panels provide orders of magnitude more energy per area than corn and don't require fertilizer or pesticides.

more_corn 3y ago

Wait so hydrogen is just petroleum with extra steps? Was this whole thing a scam by the oil industry?

MobiusHorizons 3y ago
The cheapest way to produce hydrogen today does indeed involve methane as the starting material, but the promise of hydrogen was that there is a clear path to producing hydrogen from renewables. We can easily do it today, it’s just currently more expensive. If you think of hydrogen like just the energy storage / transport mechanism this isn’t any different than electric infrastructure, where electricity can be produced by fossil fuels or greener alternatives. Lots of people get upset at hydrogen for this reason, but I really don’t think it is warranted. The real reasons to be upset with hydrogen are the various impracticalities with the infrastructure and storage. Hydrogen leaks out of solid metal tanks because the atom is so small, and it has to be kept under enormous pressure because it doesn’t liquefy without cryogenic temperatures. There is no reason that I know of to assume these practicality concerns will ever be solved for car sized applications.
ianburrell 3y ago
Most hydrogen today is produced by steam reforming from natural gas. Which means hydrogen cars are more expensive natural gas cars. There is green hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water. But it more expensive than other sources. It only makes sense when fossil fuel sources aren't allowed. Hydrogen cars are a bad idea. Now, they aren't green and don't have infrastructure. In clean electricity future, battery cars will be better. Hydrogen will be important in the future for industrial processes that need heat. And maybe for long-distance transportation like planes and ships where electricity won't work. But those only make sense with green hydrogen.
- thatcat 3y ago
  There is also microbe produced hydrogen extracted from ch4. This would allow using corn as the input similar to ethanol fuel, which already has a large scale production infrastructure.
  - adrianN 3y ago
    Solar panels provide orders of magnitude more energy per area than corn and don't require fertilizer or pesticides.