thanx Anne.
nice to see you come on board regarding hydrogen for mechanised
transport.

hope this worx - here is the 'hydrogen economy' document - if it's
too big and fails to work, subscribers feel free to request a copy,
which i can forward by attachment.

ah cool. it worx. except for diagrams. which if anyone needs, the
offer of forwarding by attachment still satands.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy
and the
Hydrogen Economy
Ulf Bossel
Fuel Cell Consultant
Morgenacherstrasse 2F
CH-5452 Oberrohrdorf / Switzerland
+41-56-496-7292
and
Baldur Eliasson
ABB Switzerland Ltd.
Corporate Research
CH-5405 Baden-Dättwil / Switzerland
08 January 2003
1
Abstract
Between production and use any commercial product is subject to the
following
processes: packaging, transportation, storage and transfer. The same
is true for
hydrogen in a "Hydrogen Economy". Hydrogen has to be packaged by
compression or liquefaction, it has to be transported by surface
vehicles or
pipelines, it has to be stored and transferred. Generated by
electrolysis or
chemistry, the fuel gas has to go through these market procedures
before it can
be used by the customer, even if it is produced locally at filling
stations. As there
are no environmental or energetic advantages in producing hydrogen
from natural
gas or other hydrocarbons, we do not consider this option, although
hydrogen can
be chemically synthesized at relative low cost.
In the past, hydrogen production and hydrogen use have been addressed
by
many, assuming that hydrogen gas is just another gaseous energy
carrier and
that it can be handled much like natural gas in today's energy
economy. With this
study we present an analysis of the energy required to operate a pure
hydrogen
economy. High-grade electricity from renewable or nuclear sources is
needed not
only to generate hydrogen, but also for all other essential steps of
a hydrogen
economy. But because of the molecular structure of hydrogen, a
hydrogen
infrastructure is much more energy-intensive than a natural gas
economy.
In this study, the energy consumed by each stage is related to the
energy content
(higher heating value HHV) of the delivered hydrogen itself. The
analysis reveals
that much more energy is needed to operate a hydrogen economy than is
consumed in today's energy economy. In fact, depending on the chosen
route the
input of electrical energy to make, package, transport, store and
transfer hydrogen
may easily double the hydrogen energy delivered to the end user. But
precious
energy can be saved by packaging hydrogen chemically in a synthetic
liquid
hydrocarbon like methanol or dimethylether DME. We therefore suggest
modifying
the vision of a hydrogen economy by considering not only the closed
hydrogen
(water) cycle, but also the closed carbon (CO2) cycle. This could
create the
intellectual platform for the conception of a post-fossil fuel energy
economy based
on synthetic hydrocarbons. Carbon atoms from biomass, organic waste
materials
or recycled carbon dioxide could become the carriers for hydrogen
atoms.
Furthermore, the energy consuming electrolysis may be partially
replaced by the
less energy intensive chemical transformation of water and carbon to
synthetic
hydrocarbons. As long as the carbon comes from the biosphere
("biocarbon") the
synthetic hydrocarbon economy would be as benign with respect to
environment
as a pure hydrogen economy. But the use of "geocarbons" from fossil
sources
should be avoided to uncouple energy use from global worming.
2
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 3
2. Properties of Hydrogen 4
3. Energy Needs of a Hydrogen Economy 6
4. Production of Hydrogen 7
4.1 Electrolysis 7
4.2 Reforming 9
5. Packaging of Hydrogen 10
5.1 Compression of Hydrogen 10
5.2 Liquefaction of Hydrogen 12
5.3 Physical Packaging of Hydrogen in Hydrides 14
5.4 Chemical Packaging of Hydrogen in Hydrides 14
6. Delivery of Hydrogen 17
6.1 Road Delivery of Hydrogen 17
6.2 Pipeline Delivery of Hydrogen 20
6.3 Onsite Generation of Hydrogen 22
7. Transfer of Hydrogen 22
8. Summary of Results 26
8.1 The Limits of a Pure Hydrogen Economy 28
8.2 A Liquid Hydrocarbon Economy 29
8.3 Liquid Hydrocarbons 31
9 Conclusion 32
10 References 33
About the Authors 34
3
1. Introduction
Hydrogen is a fascinating energy carrier. It can be produced from
electricity and
water. Its conversion to heat or power is simple and clean. When
combusted with
oxygen, hydrogen forms water. No pollutants are generated or emitted.
The water
is returned to nature where it originally came from. But hydrogen,
the most
common chemical element on the planet, does not exist in nature in
its pure form.
It has to be separated from chemical compounds, by electrolysis from
water or by
chemical processes from hydrocarbons or other hydrogen carriers. The
electricity
for the electrolysis may eventually come from clean renewable sources
such as
solar radiation, kinetic energy of wind and water or geothermal heat.
Therefore,
hydrogen may become an important link between renewable physical
energy and
chemical energy carriers.
Hydrogen has fascinated generations of people for centuries including
visionary
minds like Jules Vernes. A "Hydrogen Economy" is projected as the
ultimate
solution for energy and environment. Hydrogen societies have been
formed for
the promotion of this goal by publications, meetings and exhibitions.
But has the
physics also been properly considered?
Both the production and the use of hydrogen have attracted highest
attention
while the practical aspects of a hydrogen economy, Figure 1, are
rarely
addressed. Like any other product hydrogen must be packaged,
transported,
stored and transferred to bring it from production to final use.
These ordinary
market processes require energy.


The energy lost in today's fossil energy economy amounts to about 12%
between
well and consumer. We would now like to present rough estimates of
the energy
required to operate a "Hydrogen Economy".
Without question, technology for a hydrogen economy exists or can be
developed.
In fact, enormous amounts of hydrogen are generated, handled,
transported and
used in the chemical industry today. But this hydrogen is a chemical
substance,
not an energy commodity. Hydrogen production and transportation costs
are
absorbed in the price of the synthesized chemicals. The cost of
hydrogen remains
irrelevant as long as the final products find markets. Today, the use
of hydrogen is
governed by economic arguments and not by energetic considerations.
But if hydrogen is used as an energy carrier, energetic arguments
must also be
considered. How much high-grade energy is used to make, to package,
to handle,
to store or to transport hydrogen? It would be difficult to establish
a sustainable
energy future if most of the energy harvested from nature is wasted
to avail it to
the energy consumer. But how much energy is consumed for compression,
liquefaction, transportation, storage and transfer of hydrogen? Will
there be only
the hydrogen path in future? We have examined the key market
procedures by
physical reasoning and conclude that the future energy economy is
unlikely to be
based on pure hydrogen alone. Hydrogen will certainly be the main
link between
renewable physical and chemical energy, but most likely it will come
to the
consumer chemically packaged in the form of one or more synthetic
consumerfriendly
hydrocarbons.
Preliminary results of our study have already been presented at THE
FUEL CELL
WORLD conference in July 2002 [1].
2. Properties of Hydrogen
The physical properties of hydrogen are well known [2, 3]. It is the
smallest of all
atoms. Consequently, hydrogen is the lightest gas, about 8 times
lighter than
methane (representing natural gas). The gravimetric higher heating
value "HHV"
[4] of a fuel gas are of little relevance for practical applications.
In general, the
volume available for fuel tanks is limited, not only in automotive
applications. Also,
the diameter of pipelines cannot be increased at will. Therefore, for
most practical
assessments it is more meaningful to refer the energy content of fuel
gases to a
reference volume. Also, it is proper to use the higher heating value
HHV (heat of
formation) for this energy analysis, because it reflects the true
energy content of
the fuel based on the energy conservation principle (1 st Law of
Thermodynamics).
By contrast, the lower heating value LLV is a technical standard
created in the
19th century by boiler engineers confronted with problems of
corrosion in the
chimneys of coal-fired furnaces caused by condensation of sulfuric
acid and other
5
aggressive substances. Since the production of hydrogen is governed
by the heat
of formation or the higher heating value, its use should also be
related to its HHV
energy content. The following volumetric higher heating values for
hydrogen and
methane at 1 bar and 25°C will be used in this study.

Figure 2 shows the volumetric HHV energy densities of different
energy carrier
options. At any pressure, hydrogen gas clearly carries less energy
per volume
than methane (representing natural gas), methanol, propane or octane
(representing gasoline). At 800 bar pressure gaseous hydrogen reaches
the
volumetric energy density of liquid hydrogen. But at any pressure,
the volumetric
energy density of methane gas exceeds that of hydrogen gas by a
factor of 3.2
(neglecting non-ideal gas effects). The common liquid energy carriers
like
methanol, propane and octane (gasoline) surpass liquid hydrogen by
factors 1.8
to 3.4, respectively. But at 800 bar or in the liquid state hydrogen
must be
contained in hi-tech pressure tanks or in cryogenic containers, while
the liquid
fuels are kept under atmospheric conditions in unsophisticated
containers.
6


3. Energy Needs of a Hydrogen Economy
Hydrogen is a synthetic energy carrier. It carries energy generated
by some other
processes. Electrical energy is transferred to hydrogen by
electrolysis of water.
But high-grade electrical energy is used not only to produce
hydrogen, but also to
compress, liquefy, transport, transfer or store the medium. In most
cases the
electrical energy could be distributed directly to the end user. For
all stationary
application hydrogen competes with grid electricity. Furthermore,
liquid synthetic
hydrocarbons could also serve as the general energy carrier of the
future. Carbon
from biomass or CO2 captured from flue gases could become the carrier
for
hydrogen atoms generated with electrical energy from renewable or
nuclear
sources. There are environmentally benign alternatives to hydrogen.
Certainly, the cost of hydrogen should be as low as possible. But the
hydrogen
economy can establish itself only if it makes sense energetically.
Otherwise, better
solutions will conquer the market. Also, infrastructures exist for
almost any
synthetic liquid hydrocarbon, while hydrogen requires a totally new
distribution
network. The transition to a pure hydrogen economy will affect the
entire energy
supply and distribution system. Therefore, all aspects of a hydrogen
economy
should be discussed before investments are made.
The fundamental question: "How much energy is needed to operate a
hydrogen
economy?" will be analyzed in detail. We consider the key elements of
a hydrogen
economy like production, packaging, transport, storage and transfer
of pure
hydrogen and relate the energy consumed for these functions to the
energy
content of the delivered hydrogen. Our analysis is based on physics
and verified
by numbers obtained from the hydrogen industry. Throughout the study,
only
representative technical solutions will be considered.
7
4. Production of Hydrogen
4.1 Electrolysis
Hydrogen does not exist in nature in its pure state, but has to be
produced from
sources like water and natural gas. The synthesis of hydrogen
requires energy.
Ideally, the energy input equals the energy content of the synthetic
gas. Hydrogen
production by any process, e.g. electrolysis, reforming or else, is a
process of
energy transformation. Electrical energy or chemical energy of
hydrocarbons is
transferred to chemical energy of hydrogen. Unfortunately, the
process of
hydrogen production is always associated with energy losses.
Making hydrogen from water by electrolysis is one of the more energy-
intensive
ways to produce the fuel. It is a clean process as long as the
electricity comes
from a clean source. But electrolysis is associated with losses.
Electrolysis is the
reversal of the hydrogen oxidation reaction the standard potential of
which is
about 1.23 Volts at NPT conditions. But electrolyzers need higher
voltage to
separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. The over-potential is needed
to
overcome polarization and ohmic loss es caused by electric current
flow under
operational conditions.
The electrolyzer and fuel cell characteristics are schematically
shown in Figure 3.
Under open circuit conditions the electrochemical potential is 1.23
Volts at 20°C.

8
Assuming that the same electrolyte and catalysts are used, the
polarization losses
are typically 0.28 Volt for solid polymer or alkaline systems. The
apparent open
circuit voltages thus become 0.95 and 1.51 Volt for fuel cell and
electrolyzer,
respectively. For both we assume an area-specific resistance of 0.2
Wcm2 and
construct the characteristics for a low temperature fuel cell (dashed
line) and a
corresponding electrolyzer (solid line).
Fuel cells are normally operated at 0.7 Volt to optimize the system
efficiency. We
assume the same optimization requirements also hold for an
electrolyzer. In this
case the corresponding voltage of operation is 1.76 Volts as
indicated by the
dash-dot lines in Figure 3.
The standard potential of 1.23 Volts corresponds to the higher
heating value HHV
of hydrogen. Consequently, the over-potential is a measure of the
electrical losses
of the functioning electrolyzer. The losses depend on the current
density or the
hydrogen production rate. As shown in Figure 4, at 1.76 Volt 1.43
energy units
must be supplied for every HHV energy unit contained in the liberated
hydrogen.
At higher hydrogen production rates (higher current densities) this
number
increases further. Nevertheless, electrolysis is perhaps the only
practical link
between physical renewable energy (kinetic energy from wind, water
and waves,
radiation from the sun, geothermal heat) and chemical energy needed
for
transportation. Also, electrolysis offers a way of virtual storage of
electricity from
intermittent sources.

9
4.2 Reforming
Hydrogen can also be extracted from hydrocarbons by reforming. This
chemical
process is, in principle, an energy transfer process. The HHV energy
contained in
the original substance can be transferred to the HHV energy of
hydrogen.
Theoretically, no external energy is needed to convert a hydrogen-
rich energy
carrier like methane (CH4) or methanol (CH3OH) into hydrogen by
autothermal
steam reforming.
But in reality, thermal losses cannot be avoided and the HHV energy
content of
the original hydrocarbon fuel always exceeds the HHV energy contained
in the
generated hydrogen. The efficiency of hydrogen production by
reforming is about
90%. Consequently, more CO2 is released by this "detour" process than
by direct
use of the hydrocarbon precursors. But no obvious advantages can be
derived
with respect to well-to-wheel efficiency and overall CO2 emissions.
For most practical application natural gas can do what hydrogen also
does. There
is no need for a conversion of natural gas into hydrogen which, as
shown in this
study, is more difficult to package and distribute than the natural
energy carrier.
The source energy (electricity or hydrocarbons) could be used
directly by the
consumer at comparable or even higher source-to-service efficiency
and lower
overall CO2 emission. Upgrading electricity or natural gas to
hydrogen does not
provide a universal solution to the energy future, although some
sectors of the
energy market may prefer hydrogen. Fleet operation of vehicles may be
one such
application.
At today's energy prices, it is considerably more expensive to
produce hydrogen
by water electrolysis than by reforming of fossil fuels. According to
[5] it costs
around $5.60 for every GJ of hydrogen energy produced from natural
gas, $10.30
per GJ from coal, and $20.10 per GJ to produce hydrogen by
electrolysis of water.
10
5. Packaging of Hydrogen
5.1 Compression of Hydrogen
Energy is needed to compress gases. The compression work depends on
the
thermodynamic compression process. The ideal isothermal compression
cannot
be realized. The adiabatic compression equation [6]

is more closely describing the thermodynamic process for ideal gases.
The
compression work depends on the nature of the gas. This is
illustrated by the
comparison of hydrogen with helium and methane in Figure 5:

11
The energy consumed by an adiabatic compression of monatomic Helium,
diatomic hydrogen and five-atomic methane from atmospheric conditions
(1 bar =
100,000 Pa) to higher pressures is shown in Figure 2. Clearly, much
more energy
per kg is required to compress hydrogen than methane.
Isothermal compression follows a simpler equation:
W = p 0 V0 ln(p1/p0)
The same result is derived from the Nernst equation for the pressure
electrolysis
of water. In both cases, the compression work is the difference
between the final
and the initial energy state of the hydrogen gas.
Figure 6 illustrates the difference between adiabatic and isothermal
ideal-gas
compression of hydrogen. Multi-stage compressors with intercoolers
operate
between these two limiting curves. Also, hydrogen readily passes
compression
heat to cooler walls, thereby approaching isothermal conditions.
Numbers
provided by a leading manufacturer [7] of hydrogen compressors show
that the
energy invested in the compression of hydrogen is about 7.2% of its
higher
heating value (HHV). This number relates to a 5-stage compression of
1,000 kg of
hydrogen per hour from 1 to 200 bar. For a final pressure of 800 bar
the
compression energy requirements would amount to about 13% of the
energy
content of hydrogen. This analysis does not include electrical losses
in the power
supply system.

12
5.2 Liquefaction of Hydrogen
Even more energy is needed to compact hydrogen by liquefaction.
Theoretically
only about 3.6 MJ/kg have to be removed to cool hydrogen down to 20K
(-253°C)
and another 0.46 MJ/kg to condense the gas under atmospheric
pressure. About
4 MJ/kg are removed from room temperature hydrogen gas in the
process, little
compared to its energy content of 142 MJ/kg. But cryogenic re
frigeration is a
complex process involving Carnot cycles and physical effects (e.g.
Joule-
Thomsen) that do not obey the laws of heat engines. Nevertheless, the
Carnot
efficiency is used as a reference for the foregoing process analysis.
For the
refrigeration between room temperature (TR = 25°C = 298 K) and liquid
hydrogen
temperature (TL = -253°C = 20 K) one obtains a Carnot efficiency of
hc = T L / (TR – TL) = 20 K / (298 K -20 K) = 0.072
or about 7%. The assumed single-step Carnot-type cooling process would
consume at least 57 MJ/kg or 40% of the HHV energy content of
hydrogen. This
simple analysis does not include mechanical, thermal, flow-related or
electrical
losses in the multi-stage refrigeration process. But by intelligent
process design
the Carnot limitations may be partially removed. But the lower limit
of energy
consumption of a liquefaction plant does not drop much below 30% of
the higher
heating value of the liquefied hydrogen.
As a theoretical analysis of the complicated, multi-stage
liquefaction processes is
difficult, we present the energy consumption of existing hydrogen
liquefaction
plants [8].

13
The compilation reveals the following. Small (10 kg/h) liquefaction
plants need
about 100 MJ/kg, while large plants of 1000 kg/h or more capacity
consume about
40 MJ of electrical energy for each kg liquefied hydrogen. The actual
liquefaction
energy consumption for plants between 1 to 10,000 kg/h capacity is
shown in
Figure 7. The specific energy input decreases with plant size, but a
minimum of
about 40 MJ per kg H2 remains.
In Figure 8 the required energy input is compared to the higher
heating va lue HHV
of hydrogen. For small liquefaction plants the energy needed to
liquefy hydrogen
may exceed the HHV of the gas. But even with the largest plants
(10,000 kg/h) at
least 30% of the HHV energy is needed for the liquefaction process.

14
5.3 Physical Packaging of Hydrogen in Hydrides
At this time only a generalized assessment can be presented for the
physical (e.g.
adsorption on metal hydrides) storage of hydrogen in spongy matrices
of special
alloys like LaNi5 or ZrCr2. Hydrogen is stored by physical/chemical
adsorption, i.e.
by a very close, but not perfect bond between hydrogen atoms and the
storage
alloys. Heat is released when a hydrogen storage container is filled.
The release
of hydrogen at lower pressure is driven by an influx of heat
proportional to the
hydrogen liberation rate. According to [9] metal hydrides store only
around 55-60
kgH2/m3 compared to 70 kgH2/m3 for liquid hydrogen. But 100 kg of
hydrogen are
contained in one cubic meter of methanol.
The energy balance shall be described in general terms. Again, energy
is needed
to produce and compress hydrogen. Some of this energy input is lost
in form of
waste heat. When hydrogen is released heat must be added. No
additional heat is
required for small liberation rates and for containers designed for
efficient heat
exchange with the environment. Also waste heat from the fuel cell may
be used to
heat the hydrogen storage cartridge.
One may wish to consider the transport energy for the heavy metal
hydride
cartridges. Not even two grams of hydrogen can be stored in a small
230 g metal
hydride cartridge. This makes this type of hydrogen packaging
impractical for
automotive applications.
But the energy needed to package hydrogen in physical metal hydrides
is more or
less limited to the energy needed to produce and compress hydrogen to
30 bar
pressure. The energy cost of hydrogen delivered to the customer in
physical metal
hydrides is thus lower than of compressed hydrogen gas delivered at
200 bar
pressure.
15
5.4 Chemical Packaging of Hydrogen in Hydrides
Hydrogen may also be stored chemically in alkali metal hydrides.
There are many
options in the alkali group like LiH, NaH, KH, CaH2. But also complex
binary
hydride compounds like LiBH4, NaBH4, KBH4, LiAlH4 or NaAH4 are of
interest and
have been proposed as hydrogen sources. None of these compounds can be
found in nature. All have to be synthesized from metals and hydrogen.
Let us consider the case of calcium hydride CaH2. The compound is
produced by
combining pure calcium metal with pure hydrogen at 480°C. Energy is
needed to
extract calcium from calcium carbonate (lime stone) and hydrogen from
water by
the following endothermic processes
CaCO3 à Ca + CO2 + 1/2 O2 + 808 kJ/mol
H2O à H2 + 1/2 O2 + 286 kJ/mol
Some of the energy is recovered when the two elements are combined at
480°C
by an exothermic process
Ca + H2 à CaH2 - 192 kJ/mol
The three equations c ombine to the virtual net reaction
CaCO3 + H2O à CaH2 + CO2 + O2 + 902 kJ/mol
Similarly, one obtains for the production of NaH and LiH from NaCl or
LiCl
NaCl + 0.5 H2O à NaH + Cl + 0.25 O2 + 500 kJ/mol
and
LiCl + 0.5 H2O à LiH + Cl + 0.25 O2 + 460 kJ/mol
The material is then cooled under hydrogen to room temperature,
granulated and
packaged in airtight containers.
The hydrides react with water vividly under release of heat and
hydrogen.
CaH2 + 2 H2O à Ca(OH)2 + 2 H2 - 224 kJ/mol
NaH + H2O à NaOH + H2 - 85 kJ/mol
LiH + H2O à LiOH + H2 - 111 kJ/mol
In fact, the reaction of hydrides with water produces twice the
hydrogen contained
in hydride itself. Apparently, water is reduced while the hydride is
oxidized to
16
hydroxide. The generated heat has to be removed by cooling and is
lost in most
cases. For the three representative hydrides the energy balances are
tabulated.
Ca-Hydride Na-Hydride Li-Hydride
Hydride production from CaCO3 NaCl LiCl
Energy to make hydride kJ/mol 902 500 460
H2 liberated from hydride mol/mol 2 1 1
Production of H2 g/mol 4 2 2
Energy input / H2 kJ/g 225 250 230
= MJ/kg 225 250 230
HHV of H2 MJ/kg 142 142 142
Energy input / HHV of H2 - 1.59 1.76 1.62
The results of this analysis are presented in Figure 9. The energy
losses
associated with the electrolytic decomposition of water, NaCl and
LiCl have not
even been considered.
Figure 9 Energy needed to produce hydrides relative to HHV content of
the
liberated hydrogen
At least 160% of the HHV energy content of the librated hydrogen has
to be
invested to produce the hydrides. The chemical packaging of hydrogen
in alkali
metal hydrides will therefore remain a solution for a limited number
of practical
applications. at least 60% of the input energy is lost in the process.

The results of this analysis are presented in Figure 9. The energy
losses
associated with the electrolytic decomposition of water, NaCl and
LiCl have not
even been considered.


At least 160% of the HHV energy content of the librated hydrogen has
to be
invested to produce the hydrides. The chemical packaging of hydrogen
in alkali
metal hydrides will therefore remain a solution for a limited number
of practical
applications. at least 60% of the input energy is lost in the process.
17
6. Delivery of Hydrogen
6.1 Road Delivery of Hydrogen
A hydrogen economy also involves hydrogen transport by trucks and
ships. There
are other options for hydrogen distribution, but road transport will
always play a
role, be it to serve remote locations or to provide back-up fuel to
filling stations at
times of peak demand.
The comparative analysis is based on information obtained from the
fuel and gas
transport companies Messer-Griesheim [10], Esso (Schweiz) [11], Jani
GmbH [12]
and Hover [13] some of the leading providers of industrial gases in
Germany and
Switzerland. The following assumptions are made: Hydrogen (at 200
bar), liquid
hydrogen, methanol, propane and octane (representing gasoline) are
trucke d from
the refinery or hydrogen plant to the consumer. Trucks with a gross
weight of 40
tons (30 tons for liquid hydrogen) are fitted with suitable tanks or
pressure
vessels. Also, at full load 40 kg of Diesel are consumed per 100 km.
This is
equivalent of 1 kg per ton per 100 km. The fuel consumption is reduced
accordingly for the return run with emptied tanks. We assume the same
engine
efficiency for all transport vehicles.
While in most cases the transport is weight-limited, it is limited by
volume for liquid
hydrogen as shown by the following sample. The useful volume of a
large moving
van, a box 2.4 m wide, 2.5 m high and 10 m long, is 60 m3. But only
4.2 tons of
liquid hydrogen can be filled into this box, because the density of
the cold liquid is
only 70 kg/m 3 or slightly more than that of heavy duty Styrofoam.
But space is
needed for container, thermal insulation, equipment etc. In fact,
there is room for
only about 2.1 tons of liquid hydrogen on a large-size truck. This
makes trucking
of liquid hyd rogen expensive, because despite of its small payload,
the vehicle
has to be financed, maintained, registered, insured, and driven as
any truck by an
experienced driver. For the analysis we assume the gross weight of
the liquid
hydrogen carrier is only 30 tons.
Furthermore, hydrogen pressure tanks can be emptied only from 200 bar
to about
42 bar to accommodate for the 40 bar pressure systems of the
receiver. Such
pressure cascades are standard praxis today. Otherwise compressors
must be
used to completely empty the content of the delivery tank into a
higher-pressure
storage vessel. This would not only make the gas transfer more
difficult, but also
require additional compression energy as discussed below. As a
consequence,
pressurized gas carriers deliver only 80% of their freight, while 20%
of the load
remains in the tanks and is returned to the gas plant.
Each 40-ton truck is designed to carry a maximum of fuel. For
methanol and
octane the tare load it is about 26 tons, for propane about 20 tons.
At 200-bar
18
pressure a 40-ton truck can carry 4 tons, but deliver only 3.2 tons
of methane.
Today, at 200 bar pressure only 320 kg of hydrogen can be carried and
only 288
kg are delivered by a 40-ton truck. This is a direct consequence of
the low density
of hydrogen, as well as the weight of the pressure vessels and safety
armatures.
In anticipation of technical developments, the analysis was performed
for 4000 kg
methane and 500 kg of hydrogen, of which 80% or 3200 kg and 400 kg,
respectively, are delivered to the consumer. With this assumption, a
dead weight
of 39.6 tons has to be moved on the road to deliver 400 kg of
hydrogen. On the
return run a heavy empty hydrogen truck consumes more diesel fuel
than a much
lighter empty gasoline carrier. The numbers in the following tables
have been
obtained for a 100 km delivery distance.

The results of this analysis are presented in Figure 10. The energy
needed to
transport any of the three liquid fuels is reasonably small. It
remains below 3% of
the HHV energy content of the delivered commodity for a one-way
delivery
distance of 500 km.
But at almost any distance the relative energy consumption associated
with the
delivery of pressurized hydrogen becomes unacceptable. About 32 times
more
diesel fuel is required to deliver in the form of gaseous hydrogen
compared to
liquid gasoline. This factor is only about 4.5 for liquid hydrogen,
but recall how
much energy is required to liquefy the carried energy in initially.
In our analysis we do not consider improvements of the fuel economy
of both
conventional engine and fuel cell vehicles. Today, the fuel economy
of modern,
clean Diesel engines is excellent, but does not quite reach the HHV
fuel economy
of fuel cells vehicles. In both cases, the economy can be
significantly improved by
hybrid systems, mainly due to regenerative breaking. But from well to
wheel either
fuel path leads to similar results with respect to energy and CO2
emissions. As
19
both technology offer potentials for improvements, no distinctive
answer can be
given at this time.

The following note may serve to illustrate the consequences of the
scenario. A
mid-size filling station on any major freeway easily sells 26 tons of
gasoline each
day. This fuel can be delivered by one 40-ton gasoline truck. But 22
tube-trailer
hydrogen trucks or four liquid hydrogen trucks would be required to
deliver the
same amount of energy to the station. Because of a potentially
superior tank-towheel
efficiency of fuel cell vehicles, we assume that hydrogen-fuelled
vehicles
need only 70% of the energy consumed by gasoline or Diesel vehicles
to travel
the same distance. Still, it would take 15 tube-trailer hydrogen
trucks to serve the
same number of vehicles that are nowadays energized by a single 26
ton gasoline
truck. Also, the transfer of pressurized hydrogen from those 15
trucks to the filling
station takes much more time than draining gasoline from a single
tanker into an
underground storage tank.
Today about one in 100 trucks is a gasoline or diesel tanker. For
surface
transportation of hydrogen one may see 115 trucks on the road, 15 or
13% of
them transporting hydrogen. One out of seven accidents involving
trucks would
involve a hydrogen truck. Every seventh truck-truck collision would
occur between
two hydrogen carriers. This scenario is certainly unacceptable for
many reasons.

20
6.2 Pipeline Delivery of Hydrogen
Hydrogen pipelines exist, but they are used to transport a chemical
commodity
from one to another production site. The energy required to move the
gas is of
secondary importance, because energy consumption is part of the
production and
energy expenditures are one part of the overall production costs.
This is not so for
hydrogen energy transport through pipelines. Normally, pumps are
installed at
regular intervals to keep the gas moving. These pumps are energized
by energy
taken from the delivery stream. About 0.3% of the natural gas is used
every 150
km to energize a compressor to pus h the gas at 10 m/s through the
pipe [14].
The assessment of the energy consumed to pump hydrogen through
pipelines is
derived from this natural gas pipeline operating experience. The
comparison is
done for equal energy flows. The same amount of energy is delivered
to the
customer through the same pipeline either contained in natural gas or
hydrogen.
In reality, existing pipelines cannot be used for hydrogen, because
of diffusion
losses, brittleness of materials and seals, incompatibility of pump
lubrication with
hydrogen and other technical issues. The comparison further considers
the
different viscosities of hydrogen and methane.
The theoretical pumping power requirement N [W] is presented by
N = Vo ?p = A v ?p = p/4 D2 v ?p = p/4 D2 v L/D 1/2 ? v2 ? (2)
with ? = 0.01 (assumed for turbulent flow) (3a)
or ? = 0.31164 / Ren (assumed for laminar flow) (3b)
and Re = ? v D / ? (4)
The symbols have the following meaning:
Vo volumetric flow rate [m 3/s]
A cross section of pipe [m2]
v flow velocity of the gas [m/s]
?p pressure drop [Pa]
D pipeline diameter [m]
L pipeline length [m]
? density of the gas [kg/m3]
? resistance coefficient
Re Reynolds number
n = 0.25 for turbulent pipe flow (Blasius equation) [15]
? dynamic viscosity [kg/(m s)]
Furthermore, the flow of energy through the pipeline, Q [W] is given
by
Q = Vo ? HHV (5)
21
with HHV being the higher heating value of the transported gas.
Combining equations (2), (3a or 3b), (4) and (5) one can asses the
theoretical
pumping power NH2 for hydrogen and NCH4 for methane and relate both
to each
other. One obtains for turbulent and laminar flow, respectively
NH2 / NCH4 = (?CH4/ ?H2)2 (HHVCH4 / HHVH2)3 (6a)
NH2 / NCH4 = (? H2 / ?CH4)n (?CH4/ ?H2 )2 (HHVCH4 / HHVH2)3-n (6b)
Turbulent flow is likely to exist in pipelines, but in this context
we would also like to
know if the energy consumption in pipelines can be improved by choice
of the flow
regime. Since the pumps run continuously, the power ratio also
represents the
ratio of the energy consumption for pumping.
Because of the low volumetric energy density of hydrogen, the flow
velocity must
be increased by over three times. Consequently, the flow resistance
is increased
significantly, but the effect is partially compensated for by the
lower viscosity of
hydrogen. Still, for the same energy flow about 3.84 and 4.60 times
more energy
is needed to move hydrogen through the pipeline compared to natural
gas for the
turbulent and laminar case respectively. This energy is taken from
the gas stream.
Thus more gas is fed into the pipeline than is delivered at the far
end of the tube.

22
Figure 11 shows the results of this rough estimate. While the energy
consumption
for methane (representing natural gas) appears reasonable, the energy
needed to
move hydrogen through pipelines makes this type of hydrogen
distribution difficult.
Not 0.3% but about 1.4% of the hydrogen flow is consumed every 150 km
to
energize the compressors. Only 30 to 40% of the hydrogen fed into a
pipeline in
Northern Africa would actually arrive in Europe.
Our analysis appears to indicate that based on equal energy flow
significantly
more pumping power is needed for hydrogen than for natural gas
transport
through pipelines. This information was extracted by projecting
existing natural
gas experience into a hydrogen future. The final answers must be left
to the
engineers responsible for the design and optimization of hydrogen
pipelines.
6.3 Onsite Generation of Hydrogen
One option for providing clean hydrogen at filling stations and
dispersed depots is
the on-site generation of the gas by electrolysis. Again, the energy
needed to
generate and compress hydrogen by this scheme is compared to the HHV
energy
content of the hydrogen delivered to local customers. Natural gas
reforming is not
considered for reasons stated earlier.
The analysis is done for single gas station serving 100 to 2,000
conventional road
vehicles, cars and trucks, per day. On the average, each vehicle is
assumed to
accept 60 liters (= 50 kg) of gasoline or diesel. For the 100 and
2000 vehicles per
day the energy equivalent would be about 1,700 to 34,000 kg of
hydrogen per
day, respectively. But on a tank-to-wheel basis fuel cell vehicles
consume less
energy per driven distance than cars equipped with IC engines. Based
on the
HHV of both gasoline and hydrogen, we assume that fuel cell vehicles
need only
70% of the energy consumed by IC engine vehicles to travel the same
distance.

23
The key assumptions for continuous operation of the onsite hydrogen
plant and
the most important results are presented in the table. The
electrolyzer efficiency
varies with size from 70 to 80% for 100 and 2,000 vehicles per day,
respectively.
Also, losses occur in the AC-DC power conversion. Between 3 and 51 MW
of
power are needed for making hydrogen by electrolysis. Additional
power is
needed for the water make-up (0.09 to 1.52 MW) and for the
compression of the
hydrogen to 200 bar (0.29 to 4.45 MW). In all, between 3 and 57 MW of
electric
power must be supplied to the station to generate hydrogen for 100 to
2,000
vehicles per day.
It may be of interest that between 11 and 214 m3 of water are
consumed daily.
The higher number corresponds to about 2.5 liters per second.
The results of this analysis are presented in Figure 12. The total
energy needed to
generate and compress hydrogen at filling stations exceeds the HHV
energy of
the delivered hydrogen by 50%. The availability of electricity may
certainly be
questioned. Today, about one sixth of the energy for end-use is
supplied by
copper wires. The generation of hydrogen at filling stations would
require a 3 to 5
fold increase of the electric power generating capacity. The energy
output of a 1
GW nuclear power plant is needed to serve twenty to thirty hydrogen
filling
stations on frequented highways.

24
7. Transfer of Hydrogen
Liquid can be drained fro m a full into an empty container by action
of gravity.
There is no energy required, unless the liquids are transferred from
a lower to a
higher tank, under controlled flow rates or under accelerated
conditions.
The transfer of pressurized gases obeys different laws. Figure 13 may
illustrate
the point. Assume two tanks of equal volume, one full at 200 bar and
the other
empty at 0 bar pressure. After opening the valve between the vessels
gas will flow
into the empty tank, but the flow will cease when pressure
equilibration is
accomplished. Both tanks are half full or half empty. A pump is
required to transfer
the remaining content of the supply tank into the receiving tank. The
transfer
process may be complicated by temperature effects. The content of the
full tank is
cooled by the expansion process. At equal pressures, the density of
the remaining
gas is higher than that of the transferred gas in the other tank. As
a consequence,
more mass remains in the original vessel than is transferred into the
empty one.
Equal mass transfer is accomplished only after the temperatures have
reached
equilibrium after some time.

For the sample case considered, and for an ideal isothermal
compression, the
amount of energy required to complete the gas transfer by pumping is
given by
the difference of the total compression energy contained in the gas
at the final
pressure p2 and the intermediate pressure p 1. The product p V (= R
T) is the same
for both compression processes.
25
W = p 0 V0 ln(p2/p0) - p0 V0 ln(p1/p0)
with W [J/kg] specific compression work
p0 [Pa] initial pressure
p1 [Pa] intermediate pressure
p2 [Pa] final pressure
V0 [m3/kg] initial specific volume
For the sample case
p0 = 1 bar = 1.0 x 105 Pa
p1 = 100 bar = 1.0 x 107 Pa
p2 = 200 bar = 2.0 x 107 Pa
V0 = 11.11 m3/kg
p0V0 = 1.111 GJ/kg
one obtains for the energy needed to transfer the remaining hydrogen
from the
half empty supply tank into the receiving tank by an isothermal
compression
W = 0.77 GJ/kg
or about 0.5% of the HHV energy content of the compressed hydrogen.
For a
more realistic adiabatic compression and including mechanical and
electrical
losses one would have obtained about 1%.
This number depends on the actual transfer conditions. Much more
energy is
needed to transfer hydrogen from a large 100 bar tank into a small
container at
500 bar pressure. But it takes no additional energy to fill a small
tank from a high
pressure vessel of substantial size. For automotive application, one
aims at high
pressure tanks in vehicles and, as a consequence, has to use energy
to transfer
the hydrogen from large storage containers which cannot be subjected
to high
internal pressures. In any event, the transfer of hydrogen may add to
the energy
needs of a hydrogen economy.
26
8. Summary of Results
The reported results are by no means final. The readers of this study
are invited to
refine the analysis and to contribute further details. The energy
cost of producing,
packaging, distributing, storing and transferring hydrogen must have
been
analyzed in different contexts. The results of those studies may be
used to verify,
correct, or reject our numbers. Whatever, the intent of this
compilation is to create
an awareness about the weaknesses of a pure hydrogen economy. We are
surprised to discover that, apparently, the energy needed to run a
hydrogen
economy have never been fully assessed before.
Again, we would like to emphasize that the conversion of natural gas
into
hydrogen cannot be the solution of the future. Hydrogen produced by
natural gas
reforming may cost less than hydrogen obtained by electrolysis, but
natural gas
itself is as good as hydrogen or even better for many applications.
For given
energy demand the well-to-wheel efficiency is reduced and, as a
consequence,
the emission of CO2 is increased when natural gas is converted to
hydrogen for
daily use. For the final discussion the key results are tabulated
below.

27
Four typical energy paths have been considered to interpret the
results. These
are:
A. Hydrogen is produced by electrolysis, compressed to 200 bar
and distributed by road to filling stations or consumers
B. Hydrogen is produced by electrolysis, liquefied and
distributed by road to filling stations or consumers
C. Hydrogen is produced onsite at filling stations or consumers
D. Hydrogen is produced by electrolysis and used to make alkali
metal hydrides.
The analysis for ideal processes reveals that considerable amounts of
energy are
lost between the electrical source energy and the HHV hydrogen energy
delivered
to the consumer. For onsite hydrogen production, path C, the
electrical energy
input exceeds the HHV energy of the delivered hydrogen by a factor of
at least
1.65. In the case of liquid hydrogen, path B, the factor is at lest
2.12. For all
stationary applications the distribution of energy by copper wire
will be a better
choice than the use of hydrogen as energy carrier.
But the problems of road delivery of compressed hydrogen have been
discussed.
It is unlikely that Path A can be realized. A better option would be
the hydrogen
distribution by short pipelines. To deliver hydrogen by chemical
hydrides may
provide practical solutions in some niche markets, but path D cannot
become an
important energy vector in a future economy.
Today, about 12% of the original fossil energy is lost between oil
wells and filling
stations for transportation, refining and distribution. In a pure
hydrogen economy
the losses would be considerably higher. If hydrogen could be
chemically
packaged in a synthetic liquid fuel, the overall energy consumption
would be
considerably lower.
28
8.1 The Limits of a Pure Hydrogen Economy
The results of this analysis indicate the weakness of a "Pure-
Hydrogen-Only-
Economy" as depicted in Figure 14. Hydrogen is not only obtained by
electrolysis,
but also by chemical conversion of biomass. The economy is based on
the natural
H2O cycle, but the natural CO2-cycle is truncated and not fully used.

All difficulties with the pure Hydrogen Economy appear to be directly
related to the
nature of hydrogen. Most of the problems cannot be solved by
additional research
and development. We have to accept that hydrogen is the lightest of
all gases
and, as a consequence, that its physical properties do not fully
match the
requirements of the energy market. Production, packaging, storage,
transfer and
delivery of the gas, in essence all key component of an economy, are
so energy
consuming that alternatives should and will be considered. Mankind
cannot afford
to waste energy for idealistic goals, but economy will look for
practical solutions
and select the most energy-saving procedures. The "Pure-Hydrogen-Only-
Solution" may never become reality.
The degree of energy waste certainly depends on the chosen path.
Hydrogen
generated from rooftop solar electricity and stored at low pressure
in stationary
tanks may be a viable solution for private buildings. On the other
hand, hydrogen
29
generated in the Sahara desert, pumped to the Mediterranean Sea
through
pipelines, then liquefied for sea transport, docked in London and
locally distributed
by trucks may not provide an acceptable energy solution at all. Too
much energy
is lost in the process to justify the scheme. But there are solutions
between these
two extremes, niche applications, special cases or luxury
installations. This study
provides some clues for strengths and weaknesses of the energy carrier
hydrogen.
As stated in the beginning, hydrogen may be the only link between
physical
energy from renewable sources and chemical energy. It is also the
ideal fuel for
modern clean energy conversion devices like fuel cells or even
hydrogen engines.
But hydrogen is not the ideal medium to carry energy from primary
sources to
distant end users. New solutions must be considered for the
commercial bridge
between electrolyzer and fuel cell.
8.2 A Liquid Hydrocarbon Economy
The ideal energy carrier is a liquid with a boiling point above 80°C
and a
solidification point below -40°C. Such energy carriers stay liquid
under normal
climate conditions and at high altitudes. Gasoline, diesel and
methanol are good
examples of such fuels. They are in common use not only because they
can be
extracted from crude oil, but mainly, because they qualify for
widespread use
because of their physical properties.
Oil companies convert crude oil into gasoline and diesel fuels. Even
if oil had
never been discovered, the world would not use synthetic hydrogen,
but one or
more synthetic hydrocarbon fuel. Gasoline, diesel, heating oil etc.
have emerged
as the best solutions with respect to handling, storage, transport
and energetic
use. With high certainty, such liquids will also be synthesized from
hydrogen and
carbon in a distant energy future. Fortunately, methanol and ethanol
can also be
derived from plants by biological fermentation processes.
There are a number of syn thetic hydrocarbons to be considered. One
of the prime
choices may be methanol. It carries four hydrogen atoms per carbon
atom. It is
liquid under normal conditions. The infrastructure for liquid fuels
exists. Also,
methanol can either be directly converted to electricity by Direct
Methanol Fuel
Cells (DMFC), Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFC) and Solid Oxide Fuel
Cells
(SOFC). It can also be reformed easily to hydrogen for use in Polymer
Electrolyte
Fuel Cells (PEFC or PEM). Methanol could become a universal fuel for
fuel cells
and many other applications.
30

Figure 15 shows a schematic of a "Liquid Hydrocarbon Economy" (in
short: "LH
Economy"). It is based on the two natural cycles of water and carbon
dioxide.
Carbon from the biosphere may become the key element in a sustainable
energy
future. It could come from biomass, from organic waste and from
captured CO2.
Typically, biomass has a hydrogen-to-carbon ratio of two. In the
methanol
synthesis two additional hydrogen atoms are attached to every bio -
carbon.
Instead of converting biomass into hydrogen, hydrogen from renewable
sources
or even water could be added to biomass to form methanol by a chemical
process. In a LH economy carbon atoms will stay bound in the energy
carrier until
its final use. They are then returned to the atmosphere (or
recycled). This is true
not only for methanol, but also for ethanol or other synthetic
hydrocarbons. The
suggested scheme should be seriously considered for the planning of a
clean and
sustainable energy future.
31
8.3 Liquid Hydrocarbons
Any synthetic liquid fuel must satisfy a number of requirements. It
should be liquid
under normal pressure at temperatures between -40°C and 80°C, be
nontoxic, be
useful for IC engines, easy to synthesize etc. The chemicals
tabulated below
satisfy the liquidity criteria. They may serve to illustrate that a
number of options
exist for the synthesis of liquid hydrocarbons from hydrogen and
carbon. But
aspects of manufacturing, safety, combustion etc., all well -known to
the experts,
will eliminate some or add new options to the list.
The following liquid hydrocarbons are considered:
A Methanol CH4O or CH3OH
B Ethanol C2H6O or CH3CH2OH
C Dimethlyether (DME) C2H6O or CH3OCH3
D Ethylmethylether C4H10O or CH3OC2H5
E 2-Methylpropane (Isubutane) C4H10 or CH3CH(CH3)CH3
F 2-Methylbutane (Isopentane) C5H12 or CH3CH(CH3)CH2CH3
G Ethylbenzol C8H10 or C6H5CH2CH3
H Methylcyclohexane (Toluol) C7H14 or C6H5CH3
I Octane C8H18 or CH3(CH2)
3CH3
J Ammonia NH3
K Hydrogen (for comparison) H2
Methanol, Ethanol, DME, Toluol and Ammonia, all having relatively
simple
molecular structures, may become the preferred synthetic energy
carriers of the
future in competition with liquid (or 800 bar) hydrogen. The ten
substances are
characterized by the following technical numbers:

32
The results are depicted in Figure 16. Any one of the nine hydro
carbon fuels
contains more hydrogen per cubic meter than is contained in the same
volume of
liquefied or 800 bar compressed hydrogen. Ammonia even contains even
136 kg
of hydrogen per cubic meter. Also, the energy carried by the
hydrocarbons is
between two and almost four times greater than the energy contained
in the same
volume of liquid hydrogen. If one wants to distribute hydrogen,
obviously the best
way is combining it with carbon to a liquid fuel. It may be of
interest to observe
that the gasoline-like Octane seems to be the best hydrogen carrier
and also
ranks among the best with respect to energy content per volume. The
synthesis of
Octane from bio-carbon and water may pose an attractive solution for
an energy
economy based on renewable energy sources and the recycling of carbon
dioxide.

9. Conclusions
Time has come to shift the attention of energy strategy planning,
research and
development from a "Hydrogen Economy" to a "Synthetic Liquid
Hydrocarbon
Economy" and to direct manpower and resources to find technical
solutions for a
sustainable energy future which is built on the two closed clean
natural cycles of
water and CO2 or hydrogen and carbon. If carbon is taken from the
biosphere or
recycled from power plants ("bio-carbon") and not from fossil
resources ("geocarbon"),
the "Synthetic Liquid Hydrocarbon Economy" will be environmentally as
benign as a "Pure Hydrogen Economy".

10. References
[1] Ulf Bossel and Baldur Eliasson, Energy Efficiency of a Hydrogen
Economy. To be published
[2] Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, recent editions
[3] G. H. Aylward, T. J. V. Findlay, Datensammlung Chemie in SI-
Einheiten,
3. Auflage (German Edition), WILEY-VCH, 1999
[4] Synthetic Fuels, R. F. Probstein and R. E. Hicks, Mc -Graw
Hill,1982
[5] H. Audus, Olav Kaarstad and Mark Kowal, Decarbonisation of Fossil
Fuels:
Hydrogen as an Energy Carrier, CO2 Conference, Boston/Cambridge
1997, published in Energy Conversion Management, Vol. 38, Suppl., pp.
431-436.
[6] E. Schmidt, Technische Thermodynamik. 11th Edition, Vol.1, p287
(1975)
[7] Burckhardt Compression AG, Winterthur / Switzerland (private
communication)
[8] Linde Kryotechnik AG, Pfungen / Switzerland (private
communication)
[9! Hydrogen as an Energy Carrier, C. J. Winter and J. Nitsch,
Editors,
Springer Verlag, 1988
[10] Messer-Griesheim AG, Krefeld / Germany (hydrogen gas, private
communication)
[11] Esso (Schweiz) AG, Zurich / Switzerland (gasoline and diesel,
private
communication)
[12] Jani GmbH & Co. KG, Seevetal / Germany (propane, private
communication)
[13] Hoyer GmbH, Köln / Germany (liguid natural gas, private
communication)
[14] Swissgas Schweiz AG, Zurich, Switzerland (private Communication)
[15] VDI Wärmeatlas, VDI Düsseldorf, Germany 1977
34
About the Authors
Ulf Bossel
Born 1936 in Germany, studied Mechanical Engineering in Darmstadt
(Germany)
and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, where he
received his
Diploma Degree (fluid mechanics, thermodynamics) in 1961. After a
short work
period at BBC, he continued his graduate education at the University
of California
at Berkeley. He received his Ph.D. degree in 1968 for experimental
research in
the area of space aerodynamics. After two years as Assistant
Professor at
Syracuse University he returned to Germany to lead the free molecular
flow
research group at the DLR in Göttingen. He left the field for solar
energy in 1976,
was founder and first president of the German Solar Energy Society,
and started
his own R&D consulting firm for renewable energy technologies. In
1986 BBC
asked him to join their new technology group in Switzerland. He
became involved
in fuel cells in 1987 and later director of ABB's fuel cell
development efforts
worldwide. After ABB's decided to concentrate its resources on the
development
of more conventional energy technologies, he established himself as a
freelancing
fuel cell consultant with clients in E urope, Japan and the US. He has
created and is still in charge of the annual fuel cell conference
series of the
European Fuel Cell Forum in Lucerne.
Baldur Eliasson
Born1937 in Iceland, studied Electrical Engineering and Astronomy at
the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, where he received his
doctorate in 1966
on a theoretical study of microwave propagation. He then worked for
three years
as radio astronomer at the California Institute of Technology at
Pasadena before
joining the newly founded Brown Boveri (later ABB) Research Center in
Switzerland in 1969. He is in charge of ABB's Energy and Global Change
Program worldwide and reports directly to ABB's Chief Technology
Officer. He
represents ABB in a number of international programs. For instance,
he is Vice
Chairman of the "R&D Program on Greenhouse Gas Mitigation
Technologies" of
the International Energy Agency. He has received many international
awards for
his contributions to environmental sustainability.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

--- In ClimateChangeAction@..., "Anne Goddard"
<winter___@d...> wrote:
>
> Nice to find some good news, thought i would pass it on and in the
process maybe start a new thread, on
>
> "positive websites"
>
> http://www.ichet.org/hydrogen_world.php
>
> "UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION INTERNATIONAL
CENTRE FOR HYDROGEN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES"
>
> can you add a website to this tread?
>