Fuel Cells
One vision for the future is that of a 'hydrogen economy'. This would replace the current carbon based energy system. The fuel cell is not like a bettery. It creates electricity on demand. The negative aspect is that with the currrent technology, the hydrogen fuel needs to be stored in a large, heavy duty tank.
However the storage problem will be overcome, and there are significant advantages to such a change:
- reduction in overall carbon emissions
- the use of hydrogen gas as a fuel. One kg of hydrogen contains the same energy as 2.5 kg of natural gas or 2.7 kg of petrol.
- internal combustion engines can be redesigned to use hydrogen as a fuel
Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEM)
image source: image in public domain