Hydrogen Economy

The technology is becoming available to convert from a carbon-based to a hydrogen-based Energy Economy. Over the centuries our energy needs have evolved from wood and animal fat, to coal, to petroleum, to propane, to natural gas. Carbon based fuels are used to keep us warm, manufacture our goods, light our lamps, and move us about our planet. Hydrogen burns with oxygen to produce water that can be recycled over and over again like aluminum cans.

Production Today, natural gas (methane) and petroleum products are the primary sources for producing hydrogen. 50 million tons of hydrogen are produced for industrial purposes worldwide each year, which is enough hydrogen to power 200 million vehicles. Major parts of the infrastructure are already in place. With 800 million vehicles in the World, an additional 200 million tons of would be needed, a distribution system and new vehicles.

Service Stations According to General Motors if 12,000 stations were placed in the country's 100 largest cities, 70% of the population within two miles of service stations. The cost of $1 million per station or $12 billion would be half the cost of building the Alaska oil pipeline in today's dollars. California has 16 stations plans to have over 100 planned within the next five years. Royal Dutch/Shell has teamed up with GM to build hydrogen service stations in Washington, DC, New York and California.

Transportation In the April 25, 2005 issue of Fortune magazine, General Motors has spend over $1 billion on hydrogen powered vehicles. Daimler Chrysler has also spent over $1 billion on the technology. Ford and Toyota also have development programs. The cars must be able to go 300 miles between fill-ups. Development of the hydrogen storage tanks is the major obstacle. General Motors has produced a prototype car that can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under 10 seconds and travel 300 miles using compressed hydrogen.

Converting to the Hydrogen Economy will depend upon the availability and cost of oil. At $100 dollar per barrel, the transition will take fifteen to twenty years. The transition can be done in a short period of time if countries want to make the change faster. Within this time frame, off-peak Mirror Power Plants could produce hydrogen and oxygen directly from matter and mirror matter. Replacing old cars with new cars will take at least fifteen to twenty years.