tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post2114631885457930522..comments2023-11-19T17:31:49.939+00:00Comments on Bristling Badger: hydrogen zombies from murdoch hellUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-44578613855499947372010-09-29T17:17:23.077+01:002010-09-29T17:17:23.077+01:00Danny,
Whilst batteries drastically limit the ra...Danny, <br /><br />Whilst batteries drastically limit the range of vehicles, I wonder how well hydrogen would do for such things as shipping. <br /><br />BMW's liquid hydrogen fuelled car, the H7, needed burned a litre every 2km, three times what the petrol version consumed.<br /><br />If this is a decent ballpark, then we need fuel tanks three times the size, or refuelling after a third of the distance. Additionally, hydrogen needs to be cooled to -253 degrees C before it liquefies; making it do that takes a lot of energy, as would keeping it that cold on a ship.<br /><br />The alternative is compressed hydrogen gas, which takes no energy to maintain, but has a far worse energy density. <br /><br />I can't really see how the long-distance thing works for hydrogen in anything lie the way oil does, even if it is far better than batteries.merrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10959849087751101034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-88796345569648528202010-09-29T13:19:13.932+01:002010-09-29T13:19:13.932+01:00Great stuff, as ever. One thing to add, though: th...Great stuff, as ever. One thing to add, though: the latest version of the Centre for Alternative Technology's Zero Carbon Britain report points out that some forms of long-distance public transport, like coaches, passenger ships, or airships(!) would be difficult to run on electricity because the batteries would need changing too often. They suggest that hydrogen generated from renewables - whilst far less efficient than electric batteries - might be useful in a few "niche" cases.<br /><br />This is obviously very different from the examples in your post, with hydrogen being touted as an easy replacement for all vehicles today that will allow us to all keep driving private cars. That's clearly nonsense. The real question is: how do we get enough democratic control over energy and transport decisions to make sure that we use these kinds of technologies appropriately, rather than leaving it up to profit-seeking corporations and responsibility-ducking politicians who'll use it in whatever stupid way brings them short-term benefits (helped along by an unquestioning corporate media)?<br /><br />There are, of course, lots of possible answers to this. If anyone has any favourite suggestions, please do let me know...<br /><br />DxDannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-85938317533230435002010-09-22T14:47:09.379+01:002010-09-22T14:47:09.379+01:00The only thing I'm querying here is your use o...The only thing I'm querying here is your use of the word "friend", rather than "raving idiot who I pity", in paragraph 3.John Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17024263999778310292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-10299254094163211262010-09-22T11:47:29.989+01:002010-09-22T11:47:29.989+01:00Fantastic news: by 2015 you will be able to buy a ...<i>Fantastic news: by 2015 you will be able to buy a reasonably priced family car that runs entirely on hydrogen</i><br /><br />But does it fly? Will my monkey butler or domestic robot be able to drive it? Is there enough space in the back for my jet pack?Duncnoreply@blogger.com