Most of us have heard of the promised hydrogen economy. What hydrogen proponents don’t tell us is that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are not practical. The reasons are numerous and include cost, infrastructure, reliability, security …
In all likelihood, there will never be a hydrogen-based economy, at least not for the automotive industry and not during our lifetime. Most likely, there are a variety of different technologies, led by plug-in electric vehicles and gas / electric hybrids.
One of the main drawbacks of fuel cell technology is that hydrogen is not used as a fuel, but rather a means of storing energy. As a storage medium, hydrogen is very ineffective compared to other alternatives. For example, lithium ion batteries provide better energy density, efficiency, and infrastructure is not a major issue compared to hydrogen distribution.
In addition to lithium ion batteries, there are other energy storage options that are more practical and closer to realization than hydrogen fuel cells. One of those options is compressed air. Compressed air vehicles have zero emissions, are inexpensive to produce, and do not suffer the same magnitude of infrastructure development problems.
Compressed air cars will be commercially available at competitive prices in the near future. In fact, Engine Development International (MDI), the French manufacturer of compressed air vehicles, and Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) are targeting a larger vehicle for the American market in 2010. If the rumors are true, the car may have a 1000 mile range. using a dual power source.
The aerial car has some environmental advantages over other types of vehicles. There are no battery disposal issues that an electric vehicle would have. Maintenance and parts replacement will be required less frequently than for internal combustion engines simply because of the simplicity of the engine design. On the downside, air technology doesn’t work at lower temperatures.
