quote:
Currently a vehicle of this kind is about three times as expensive as a conventional one. On the other hand, the costs of fuel cell systems alone have, over the past few years, dropped by a factor of ten, and the end of this trend is not yet in sight.
Comment:
Would economy of scale help this? In the article, a part broke down and had to be replaced. The cost and delivery times were affected by the fact that it was a one of a kind part. If it was mass produced, it may be cheaper. The problem is that it isn't mass produced, which means that it isn't adopted because it is too expensive, which means that it won't be mass produced... Well, it is chicken and egg problem.
Update:
A related post about producing hydrogen for fuel cells using artificial photosynthesis:
quote:
By 2013, HyperSolar aims to have a prototype that produces hydrogen using nanotechnology and conventional photovoltaic elements. The next obstacle would be creating a fueling infrastructure to provide cars with hydrogen energy.
Comment:
No problema! If you've got hydrogen, you can make ammonia. Ammonia can be sent to distribution centers, where it can be electrolyzed back into hydrogen. The "waste" is nitrogen, which simply goes back into the atmosphere from which it came.
The energy source: LFTRs. Another process for making liquid fuels is described here. But if you have the hydrogen on hand, making ammonia using the Haber process comes into play. Having the ammonia in aqueous solution could eliminate the distribution problem altogether.
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