Transition to hydrogen power

The term “hydrogen economy,” coined at General Motors in 1970, caught the imagination of the popular press. The term envisions a future in which the world abandons reliance on fossil fuels in favor of alternative sources of energy, primarily hydrogen. But for the first many years of its development, an emerging hydrogen economy will depend on fossil fuels.

The fates of the hydrogen economy and the fuel cell are inseparable. Fuel cells use hydrogen, which can be supplied from processing conventional hydrocarbon fuels like natural gas and propane. In this sense, fuel cells are a bridge to the hydrogen economy: an infrastructure to produce and distribute hydrogen will grow as fuel cells proliferate, and vice versa. Acceptance of fuel cells will be slow if hydrogen is hard to get. Likewise, if a hydrogen infrastructure outpaced demand, the industry could suffer economic failure.

The development of a hydrogen economy would bring about an enormous economic shift. But initially, expecting hydrogen to be cheaper than fossil fuels is unrealistic. Automobiles were not cost-effective compared to horse-drawn carriages, and word processors were not cost effective when compared to typewriters; yet vibrant industries were created as the new displaced the old. The race is on to commercialize fuel cells and create a hydrogen infrastructure.