--- In biofuels-biz@yahoogroups.com, Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > MIT study skeptical about fuel cell vehicles > > A new study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) > concluded that diesel hybrids will be better than hydrogen fuel cell > vehicles in terms of total energy efficiency and greenhouse gas > emissions until at least 2020. Furthermore, adoption of the hydrogen- > based vehicle will require major infrastructure changes to make > compressed hydrogen available.
Keith- The MIT study has been thoroughly discussed on the Yahoo Finance Ballard Power Board. A few points: 1. The study was partially funded by American Petroleum Institute. Don't know who funded the rest. 2. It underestimates the efficiency of reforming natural gas into hydrogen, key to the overall outcome. I would suggest you read this posting by gomor9 http://messages.yahoo.com/bbs?.mm=FN&action=m&board=8728891&tid=bldpf&; sid=8728891&mid=84558 to get a grip on the issue. Although several have claimed gomor9 was wrong, he has effectively answered them, IMO. This efficiency factor is one of the keys to the outcome of the study, and the bias was against fuel cells and towards diesel hybrids. As gomor9 points out, Osaka Gas already claims to have a reformer with significantly higher efficiency, even though it is for very small volumes. 3. The conversion efficiency of oil into diesel is overestimated for likely future scenarios. If we are relying on heavy oils from California, Athabasca, Trinidad, or Venzuela, there is a loss for steam injection into those wells. And at some point, even Middle Eastern oil, which had extremely high natural pressure to begin with, will need secondary and tertiary recovery techniques. 4. As an example of how unrealistic the study is, it is based on oil being available for a price of $12 to $32 per barrel in 2020. Nor does it consider the externalities of acquiring oil or the externalities of pollution. Likewise, it never considers compressed hydrogen generated by hydrolysis as a fuel. And, to be fair, my bias is that I own some Ballard stock. Steve ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Make Money Online Auctions! Make $500.00 or We Will Give You Thirty Dollars for Trying! http://us.click.yahoo.com/yMx78A/fNtFAA/i5gGAA/9bTolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuels at Journey to Forever http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel at WebConX http://webconx.green-trust.org/2000/biofuel/biofuel.htm List messages are archived at the Info-Archive at NNYTech: http://archive.nnytech.net/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
