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Transportation
The automobile, in spite of reductions of
emissions and improvements in fuel economy, remains the largest source
of greenhouse gases. And as developing countries such as China and
India begin to purchase and use automobiles at a higher per-capita
level, this problem will greatly increase.
Ford, Honda, GM, BMW, Mazda, and others are developing hydrogen cars,
powered either by fuel cells, or by internal combustion engines designed
to run on hydrogen (such engines have to be tuned for the different
combustion ratio and density of hydrogen, and also must be designed to
resist the embrittlement of metal in the engine that exposure to
hydrogen causes). In fact, Honda has said they plan to sell or lease
about 100 of their sleek fuel cell vehicles in 2008 in the U.S., and BMW
will introduce their 2008 model 7 Series that is bimodal, in that it
runs on hydrogen or gasoline.
The problems with hydrogen vehicles are (1) the difficulty of onboard
hydrogen storage, (2) the cost of fuel cells, and other issues such as
cold starting capability, (3) the lack of a hydrogen filling station
infrastructure, and (4) the cost of hydrogen.
Hydrogen as an onboard fuel would burn essentially clean, with only
water vapor and a very small amount of NOx released (if internal
combustion). However, if the hydrogen is produced by steam methane
reformation (SMR) which produces 10X or more, by weight, the carbon
dioxide greenhouse gas for every unit of hydrogen produced, hydrogen
cannot be claimed as a clean fuel. And producing hydrogen from
water with electrolysis produces even more carbon if the electricity is
generated by coal or oil fired generators.
Nanoptek’s Solar Hydrogen Generators plans to supply carbon-free
locally-produced hydrogen to early adopters in hydrogen transportation.
There are
at present only about 30 hydrogen stations in the U.S., most in
California and Nevada, with one in Burlington Vermont, and one at Logan
Airport in Boston. Worldwide there are about 300. So, the
infrastructure is sparse. And, most of these stations produce or
receive hydrogen for which tremendous amounts of carbon have been
released, so there is no net gain to the global environment.
It is easy
to visualize 30 to 100 acres of Nanoptek Solar Hydrogen Generators
supplying carbon-free hydrogen at a filling station along the
superhighways in the Plains and in the Southwest. But what about the
neighborhood filling station? Although their need for the hydrogen would
dictate a much smaller installation of a only few acres, that is still
too large for most such stations. Of course, larger Nanoptek
installations could be placed regionally, and the hydrogen could be
trucked into the filling station, similar to the trucked-in gasoline
that they receive now. That can be an economically viable solution in
many areas of the country, even with the added cost of compressing and
trucking the hydrogen, because the range would be relatively small.
Ultimately, however, we believe that an
“ultra-distribution” is required, where many homeowners will be able to
produce most of the hydrogen required for their vehicles right at home.
A rooftop area of about 50 ft by 50 ft would supply enough hydrogen for
the driving needs of an average family of 4. This is about the size of
2 in-ground pools, and with many newer homes is a typical rooftop area.
Companies such as Honda and Nuvera are developing small hydrogen
refueling appliances that apparently laypeople can use easily and
safely. But the source for the hydrogen is still natural gas and
grid electricity. Nanoptek plans to someday supply homeowners with
their own “oil well”, supplying clean low-cost hydrogen to their
vehicles.
Green electric cars and Synfuel
There are two
scenarios for clean carbon-free transportation that will likely evolve
alongside of hydrogen transportation, and Nanoptek will be well
positioned to be a strong player in both.
There are two
well-developed infrastructures that can be used now for transportation.
The first is, of course, the electrical grid. While it certainly needs
updating and improvements, it works now. We know how to push electrons
around the country. The second is the liquid fuel infrastructure.
Again, we know how to move gallons of liquid fuel around the country,
and we do both very well.
Nanoptek’s “green” electricity.
Many companies are working on electric cars, which recharge by plugging
into the grid. The beauty of this is that we can all “fill up” at home,
and in a manner that is safe and that we are all comfortable with.
Advancements in battery technology and hybrid cars are bringing the
commercial electric vehicle closer and closer. The Chevy Volt may be
out in a couple years. But, while the average consumer thinks that
these electric vehicles are good for the environment, the electricity is
for the most part produced with power plants that are coal or petroleum
burning, so once again carbon dioxide is produced and released into our
atmosphere in providing the electricity for these “clean” cars.
Nanoptek's Solar Hydrogen Generators will produce clean electricity for
the grid. Customers who purchase electric vehicles, in many parts of
the country, can now purchase “green” electricity from their electricity
supplier, for a premium. Nanoptek plans to supply a significant amount
of that “green” electricity, thereby playing an enabling role in the
evolution of truly green electric car transportation.
Synfuel. It has been known
for decades that hydrogen can be combined with CO and other heavy
hydrocarbons to produce a liquid fuel, syngas, which can be burned in
internal combustion engine cars that are very similar to what we drive
now. Consider how quickly and seamlessly our gasoline changed to
include 10% ethanol over the past couple years. The required changes
were made to the injectors and other engines parts by automakers in
Detroit and elsewhere with nary a complaint. Similarly, the
infrastructure is already in place for this liquid fuel. And the basis
for the fuel is CO and hydrogen, where the CO is from sequestered carbon
dioxide from sources such as electrical generation from coal or oil.
Of course, combustion of syngas will still release carbon into the
atmosphere from our vehicles. However, the production of syngas also
captures carbon in the process of linking hydrogen, carbon monoxide,
and other chemicals to form the fuel. But at present, the hydrogen used
is largely produced by either SMR (natural gas) or partial oxidation
(coal), and so the carbon produced in these processes makes the synfuel
quite bad in terms of production of global warming gas.
With Nanoptek supplying the hydrogen to produce syngas, the carbon
production associated with the hydrogen is eliminated. In this
scenario, the syngas becomes nearly carbon neutral, in that the carbon
released upon combustion in our vehicles is offset by the carbon
captured in production of the syngas.
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