[Vwdiesel] Fw: interesting article on fuel cells

[Bill Truesdell]

Scott Kair wrote:
>
>     A fellow listee sent this link to a German environmental agency article
> on fuel cell technology.  Fuel cells are the "correct" alternative to
> internal combustion engines being pushed by the USEPA, although this article
> points out that they won't be cost effective.
>     It might prove useful in discussions with those uninformed folks who
> take issue with our dirty, nasty compression ignition engines.
>     Dissemination of this might forestall those of us who name our vehicles
> from having to christen a future replacement "Hindenburg." :)
> >
> > http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/uba-info-daten-e/daten-e/brennstoffzelle.htm
>

The problem with all articles like this is that they are static, in that
they take today's technology and project it into the future. There is no
way to see what breakthroughs may occur. There were some interesting
articles in Technology which noted that fuel cells would not be
practical for auto use until well after 2030, much later than that
envisioned in this article, but then they would probably be competitive.

There have been some interesting new developments in fuel cell
technology, but in small cells which can be used for laptops and other
portable devices. They are competitive with batteries, especially since
they can be refueled and require no recharging source. Great for long
trips without the need for extra batteries or places to plug in.

I tend to agree that internal combustion engine will be the standard for
a long time mainly because we are making them more efficient, cleaner,
and -most important- finding more and more oil so that now estimates of
oil reserves run to 150 years (conservative) to 250 and natural gas to
10,000 years (yes, that is 10,000- from the ocean shelf). Just check the
price of oil adjusted for inflation. We are still in the era of cheap
fuel. As long as that holds, forget alternate fuels. And you bet the oil
producers want to keep it that way.

Bill