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Can you give a brief report on hydrogen as a fuel
The most common modern uses for hydrogen do not involve power production. Hydrogen is widely used in the refining and fertilizer industries, both of which are important Texas businesses. These uses include the manufacture of ammonia-based nitrogen fertilizer and the removal of sulfur in petroleum refining processes that produce gasoline.
But hydrogen can also be used in fuel cells for transportation or power generation. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, hydrogen fuel cells have a wide variety of potential applications in several major areas.
Portable applications include consumer electronics or auxiliary power units. In transportation, hydrogen fuel cells can be used for basic propulsion. In addition, hydrogen can be burned directly as a fuel in an appropriately adapted internal combustion engine; this is considered a transition strategy toward widespread use of hydrogen for transportation. Finally, hydrogen fuel cells can be used for power at remote locations, in backup power units for conventional power plants or as stand-alone, stationary power plants.6 Stationary power systems, commonly referred to as Distributed Power Generation, can operate independently or in parallel with an existing power grid.

Today, NASA is a leading user of hydrogen outside of the petrochemical industry. NASA uses it to generate spaceship power, heat and water. Space shuttles use fuel cells to power such things as computers, life-support systems and lighting. In addition, the cells perform double duty by also providing heat and synthesizing pure water for astronauts to drink and use.
Hydrogen fuel cells are being used for stationary and transportation power in various places around the world, mostly notably in Japan, Europe and California. Some emerging commercial products use fuel cell technology as well, such as portable power generation systems and fuel cell modules that can be used to replace battery packs in forklifts. Most economic activity in the fuel cell industry, however, is still focused on research and product development.

Expectations for the evolution of this energy carrier are evident in the official goals of the federally funded Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, which is intended to improve the state of related technology so that various industries including transportation can make a decision on its commercial viability by 2015. The next step would be to have these technologies, including commercially available hydrogen-powered cars, start to penetrate consumer markets by 2020. DOE does not expect hydrogen power to begin displacing petroleum in a significant way before 2030.


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