http://auto.ndtv.com/news/honda-fcv-...brain_auto_row
I've talked about this technology before but it's getting less expensive and has longer range and smaller size. Some day people will have solar units at their house that can capture sunlight and generate electrical power that can be used to split water molecules into Pure Hydrogen gas and pure Oxygen gas that's stored on site. The hydrogen can be compressed and pumped into the houses fuel cell storage tanks and used to heat and cool the house or pumped into the family car.
The hydrogen gas and oxygen is run though the fuel cell which combines them into pure water and electrons. Water Vapor is the only thing expelled. There are not harmful hydrocarbons burned or expelled with this technology.
In the future Japan will start to build the infra structure to fuel these new cars though out Japan. We have this going on out in California as a test project and it's been going on for a few years now. I've not hear much about the California experiment lately. But as the cost of these FCT cars comes down the masses will start to get more interested in this technology.
Imagine driving though LA on the free way and not seeing the smog anymore? Image doing away with foreign Oil forever. Imagine not having to worry about what goes on in the Middle East concerning oil?
Imagine using the sunlight to power the world and expanding business and commerce that are restricted now due to the high cost and uncertain future of coal and oil and other hydrocarbon products?
Imagine clear blue skies and less air pollution around the world.
Did you know that WWII was about Oil? The reason the Japanese attached Pearl Harbor was because the Allies cut of the oil supply of the Japanese to the Dutch West Indies. The leaders in Japan knew that they had to have the oil and they figured if they took out the USA at Pearl they could run wild though the Dutch West Indies and get the oil they needed for a few more years. We have gone to war over oil and other resources many times in the past. But I doubt that we will fight anyone over access to the sunlight other than the coal companies and the oil companies that would stand to lose billions of dollars if the worlds economy switched to an alternative fuel source and didn't have to depend on dirty coal and messy oil.
The only down side to using Hydrogen is that it's very explosive and vehicles tend to run into things that caused lots of damage to the vehicles. Those Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCV) will have to be made super strong and leak proof before the public will feel safe driving them around.
Today Germany and Sweden are making fuel cells that power submarines. These type of submarines are so quiet that they can sneak up on the US Carrier Fleet undetected by all our current naval assets. This has be done in training exercises in the past when our Navy trained against a Swedish Fuel Cell Powered Submarine that was on loan to the US Navy. A Chinese submarine also surfaced right in firing range of one of our Air Craft Carriers once.
To me fuel cells are the future and will help the human race advance farther than we have in the past. It will be as important to us as the discovery of fire. Why do I say this? Because it does not pollute the air at all. Look at the skies over China as they continue to burn more coal to power the industrial revolution in China. They have people going around in masks so that they can breath better. That can't be a good thing in the long run. So imagine if the Chinese follow Japan's example and start to use Fuel Cells to generate electrical power for their cars/home/factories etc.
Right now current Clean Air Act Rules prohibit development in areas with high levels of air pollution. What if those area's had clean air instead of dirty air? They could expand and produce more jobs and use clean technology to power the new businesses.
Note: Toyota is also developing a new FCV to be sold in 2016. This is a BIG DEAL.
http://www.toyota.com/fuelcell/