The Hype About Hydrogen: Fact and Fiction in the Race to Save the Climate [Paperback]

The bad news, according to Joseph J Romm, is that extracting it from its various sources, including water is, at present very costly.

Romm describes electrolysis from water as a “mature technology” with a huge downside: it costs more than 1.4 units of energy to obtain 1 unit of hydrogen energy. In other words you use more energy getting it that it offers in return.

Using waste heat from nuclear power stations is another option, but do you really want to go down that road to save the planet?

All of which just about sums up the problem with hydrogen: in terms of using it to fuel fleets of vehicles the various fuel cells exist at the R & D stage, but safe storage - given the massive compression needed - is a huge problem, requiring costly materials, and exacting safety standards.

But the biggest problem of all, according to Romm, is that the vehicles and the infrastructure - storage, delivery pipes, and the hydrogen equivalent of gas stations - all need to come online alongside the vehicles. You get both, or neither. And the costs are enormous: it’s down to governments to initiate and subsidise.

The Iceland Experiment, outlined in the second half of the book, looks exciting until you realise Iceland’s unique situation, and its very small population.

(If the Gulf Stream survives climate change - a big if - Iceland looks to be the place that might survive when others go under! I wonder if they take immigrants?!)

Romm writes in easy style, but much of the technical content was way over my head. Don’t let that put you off, Romm offers useful summaries at the end of most chapters, and you will get the big picture. And it’s a grim one.

Like many authors in this field, Romm believes time is not on our side:

“ … if we fail to act during this decade to reduce greenhouse emissions - especially if we do so because we have bought into the hype about hydrogen’s near-term prospects - historians will condemn us because we did not act when we had the facts to guide us, and they will most likely be living in a world with a much hotter and harsher climate than ours, and one that has undergone an irreversible change for the worse.”

Are you paying attention in the White House? Are you paying attention Tony? And you, Melanie Phillips: how many more meretricious denials are you going to write in The Daily Mail?

Hydrogen could save the world’s economy, but will be ready in time for Hubbert's Peak?

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The bad news, according to Joseph J Romm, is that extracting it from its various sources, including water is, at present very costly.

Romm describes electrolysis from water as a “mature technology” with a huge downside: it costs more than 1.4 units of energy to obtain 1 unit of hydrogen energy. In other words you use more energy getting it that it offers in return.

Using waste heat from nuclear power stations is another option, but do you really want to go down that road to save the planet?

All of which just about sums up the problem with hydrogen: in terms of using it to fuel fleets of vehicles the various fuel cells exist at the R & D stage, but safe storage - given the massive compression needed - is a huge problem, requiring costly materials, and exacting safety standards.

But the biggest problem of all, according to Romm, is that the vehicles and the infrastructure - storage, delivery pipes, and the hydrogen equivalent of gas stations - all need to come online alongside the vehicles. You get both, or neither. And the costs are enormous: it’s down to governments to initiate and subsidise.

The Iceland Experiment, outlined in the second half of the book, looks exciting until you realise Iceland’s unique situation, and its very small population.

(If the Gulf Stream survives climate change - a big if - Iceland looks to be the place that might survive when others go under! I wonder if they take immigrants?!)

Romm writes in easy style, but much of the technical content was way over my head. Don’t let that put you off, Romm offers useful summaries at the end of most chapters, and you will get the big picture. And it’s a grim one.

Like many authors in this field, Romm believes time is not on our side:

“ … if we fail to act during this decade to reduce greenhouse emissions - especially if we do so because we have bought into the hype about hydrogen’s near-term prospects - historians will condemn us because we did not act when we had the facts to guide us, and they will most likely be living in a world with a much hotter and harsher climate than ours, and one that has undergone an irreversible change for the worse.”

Are you paying attention in the White House? Are you paying attention Tony? And you, Melanie Phillips: how many more meretricious denials are you going to write in The Daily Mail?

Read this book: hydrogen could save the world’s economy, but its way too far in the future if we do nothing.

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