Toyota, Nissan, Honda to jointly support hydrogen station infrastructure development

All the hydrogen ever needed at low cost and easily done according to Maryland company.

http://thomasinstitute.weebly.com/

I will never own a car that only runs on batteries.

They increase air pollution and can't go very far before needing to recharge limiting travel.

Hydrogen will be the future.

err... people should redo their chemistry class...

1) Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe... it can even be subtracted from water... so the Hydrogen being sourced from Methane is nonsense.

2) Hydrogen DOES not ignite when in contact with Oxygen... as any fuel Hydrogen needs to be ignited (say a spark) for it to react with the Oxygen. Though Hydrogen requires very little to ignite compared to gasoline... thus the "common" and wrong assumption that Hydrogen reacts when in contact with Oxygen.

3) The Fuel Cell Engine technology has been tested for more that 40 years (or even more)... I remember when still in primary school there was some announcement of Fuel Cell Engines vehicles that was almost 30 years ago.... I am sure that this technology is relatively safe and secure... but yes... there are dangers and risks... the engine might explode... as do other very dangerous and exploding materials we use to move engines like... gasoline, natural gas (methane), alcohol, etc.... all those engines also "explode" you know....

@volland

Perhaps. But if it wasn't oxygen and non-exploding hydrogen that fizzled off one electrode when doing the electrolysis of water experiment, could you tell me what it was?

@turbostat

Thanks for the information. I'm still trying to work out whether it supports my case or volland's. Or are we both a couple of dunces?

The UK, being worried about the potential of hydrogen cars exploding at the pump, have prepared this literature review, where there is some indication that boundary layer failure can cause spontaneous combustion of mixtures (picture this as high pressure due to shock waves at nozzle exits, etc.).

http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr615.pdf

Spontaneous ignition of hydrogen - Literature Review, 2008

The initial hot spot of the Hindenburg was not Hydrogen it was the paint on the hull of the blimp that ignited. It's well recorded. Hydrogen can be obtained by merely sticking in an electrode into water and connecting it to a solar panel or you can gain hydrogen through extreme heat. It's basically cracking the Hyrdogen-Oxygen molecular bond.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_safety#Ignition

"Hydrogen-air mixtures can ignite with very low energy input, 1/10 that required igniting a gasoline-air mixture. For reference, an invisible spark or a static spark from a person can cause ignition."

"Although the autoignition temperature of hydrogen is higher than those for most hydrocarbons, hydrogen's lower ignition energy makes the ignition of hydrogen–air mixtures more likely. The minimum energy for spark ignition at atmospheric pressure is about 0.02 millijoules."

@albelo

That stuff "you" made might not have exploded.

Hydrogen does....

Could that be the reason?

@voland "Stuff that actually explodes when it comes into contact with air"

It didn't explode when we produced it at chemistry class in high school. We had to ignite it.

I just think of the Hindenburg. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/02/12/3621136/tesla-elon-musk-hydrogen-dumb/

Toyota and Japan is following a wise path. Hydrogen may not be the final solution to energy independence, but it is an important component of it. Better batteries cannot solve all problems. Hydrogen may initially partly be produced from fossil fuels. but the contribution from fossil-free electrolysis can be increased seamlessly and gradually. By going for fuel cells and hydrogen Japan will gain an important industrial advantage. As efforts to fight global warming and air pollution evolve, Japan will gain economical and moral benefits.

Hydrogen must be sources from Natural Gas

Not necessarily.

http://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_358595_en.html

Expect Big Oil efforts to monopolize fossil-based generation leveraging existing infrastructure.

Watch also as vested interests, and the nations they control, close ranks on sustainables-based producers.

From greenfuelonline.com regarding hydrogen, "It tends to be made from methane or other fossil fuels, but it can also be obtained from sources like wind, solar or nuclear power. These are readily available non-fossil energy sources that themselves are unsuited to propelling vehicles, but if used to make hydrogen would allow for a vehicle economy entirely void of carbon dioxide emissions."

Hard to believe... but I guess the excitement that japanese car companies have for this, explains the massive decline of japanese industries and the economy that we witness. It takes a lot of incompetent 85year olds to make decisions like that.

It takes huge amounts of energy and money to produce hydrogen. Stuff that actually explodes when it comes into contact with air...... Unbelievable... well, what to do, lets wait for the first Hydrogen station to explode amongst the wooden houses of Japan.

I agree, Burning Bush. It also seems a deliberate distraction from the ongoing growth and success of electric cars