Hydrogen

Hydrogen is potentially an emissions-free fuel, as well as an abundant chemical element present in hydrocarbons and water (H2O). Since pure hydrogen gas is very rare in the Earth’s atmosphere, hydrogen must be produced by separating it from other compounds. There are several ways to produce hydrogen, but in the United States hydrogen is mostly produced using natural gas reforming: natural gas is combined with very hot steam to produce a synthetic gas, which is then reacted with water to produce hydrogen— nearly 9 million tons of it! That many tons of hydrogen could fuel more than 34 million cars.

According to the US Department of Energy, hydrogen can be produced from diverse domestic resources, with the potential for near-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Once produced, it generates power without exhaust emissions in fuel cells. It holds promise for economic growth in both the stationary and transportation energy sectors.

There are several hundred fuel cell vehicles in the US, mainly in California. They store hydrogen on the vehicle and convert the hydrogen into electricity for the motor using a fuel cell. Unfortunately, the cost of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is far more expensive than conventional vehicles, partly because of the high initial cost of producing the fuel cell itself. But, while fuel cell vehicles are not yet commercially viable, they do still offer a promising long term solution. No hydrogen retail stations exist in Ohio, though there is one private hydrogen station located at Ohio State University’s Center for Automotive Research.