I’d really like to see hydrogen get some attention with subsidies and other govt funding. Will probably never have the same energy density as gasoline and diesel, but would be much more practical than electric.
It’s like the push for CFLs over incandescent lights all over again. LEDs we’re a natural successor to incandescent lights, and government mandates on CFLs likely delayed the maturation and adoption of LEDs by several years.
Have you ever worked with / in the same facility as #hydrogen?
Invisible. Odourless. Leaks through all known engineering materials. Insanely explosive at proportions from around 15% to 96% in air. And invisible even then - gives of most radiation as UV.
But best of all, it turns almost any steel except the most rubbish mild steels as brittle as cheap glass. By mere exposure.
The only safe way to store hydrogen is bonded to C or O.
Or underneath a politicians office. That makes the rest of us safer, anyway, sooner or later.
This is what Toyota is quietly working on. Akio Toyoda himself wants this to be the future and I completely align with it. This is the logical next step
The only thing wrong with Japan's economy is its leadership.
Norway threw socialist oil billions into developing #hydrogen vehicles for two decades, but it kept killing people so they stopped.
Toyota is butthurt they jumped the wrong way on EVs, but hydrogen is not the messiah they need.
(I drive a Toyota Camry hybrid as my daily. Toyota needs to stay with what works, and stop trying to impress SoftBank and friends).
As has been the case with battery technology, portable hydrogen technology will evolve. Here’s an example of relatively recent progress on using hydrogen released from the reaction between aluminum and water. The concept isn’t new, and the slow walk of it is an example of alternatives to electric/battery being sidelined as a carbon replacement.
Much better - no hydrogen stored, generated as needed. Mature technology too - replaced the Otto II fuel in NATO torpedoes in the '70s, I believe.
Energy density is low but acceptable for marine use where water is everywhere and free.
On land, forget it, even lead-acid has better power density than aluminium-water.
Aluminium-air, OTOH, has potential, but the technology is far from ready.
Toyota, according to its CEO, is working on two fronts: Hydrogen based and ammonia based engines.
