Re: Hydrogen-powered engine for new Cobra boosts profile of clean energy

From: G. R. L. Cowan (gcowan_at_eagle.ca)
Date: 06/13/04 

Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 10:48:29 -0400

helmsman wrote:
>
> On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 19:41:57 -0400, Jeffrey Turner <jturner@localnet.com> wrote:>> being
> adopted by the public is very price driven.
>
> If I am not mistaken the Icelanders use underground thermal energy for {ie}
> cracking hydrogen from water = almost free.

They use underground thermal energy to make electricity,
and crack aluminum from aluminum oxide with it.
They don't, IIRC, crack much water because
the hydrogen that would result is hard to handle.

> Couldn't we use Yosemite's National Parks energy for the same purpose?

There might be enough power there to keep one or two people
hydrogen-motoring. All hydrogen cars to date have been one-off
or, maximum ten-to-20-off prototypes. Ranges are short --
very short in the case of hydrogen *fuel cell* cars, which
take a lot more hydrogen per mile than H2 ICE vehicles --
and hydrogen *tanks* cost twice or more the price
of an average whole new regular car. So those Yosemite-powered
hydrogen motorists would both have be very rich and very tolerant.

--- Graham Cowan
http://www.eagle.ca/~gcowan/Paper_for_11th_CHC.doc --
How individual mobility gains nuclear cachet.
Link if you want it to happen.