Hydrogen myths and misconceptions

A lot of overstatements and inaccuracies have been written both for and against hydrogen and fuel cells. Here we address some of the more popular misconceptions.

Misconception #1: Hydrogen is dangerous.

Hydrogen is very much like natural gas, which is widely used in North America today. Both gases require careful handling and respect, but they can be safely used for every day applications. It can be argued that hydrogen is safer than gasoline. Hydrogen is non-toxic and it is difficult to create a high enough concentration of hydrogen to combust due to its light and buoyant nature. Gasoline, when leaked, can puddle at the source and emit fumes that can build and linger.

As an example, the University of Miami set fire to two cars, one with hydrogen and the other gasoline. While both created fires when ignited, the gasoline fire engulfed the entire car causing total damage, whereas the hydrogen flame vented vertically and failed to spread to the rest of the vehicle (see images below).

Photo 1
Time: 0 min, 0 sec
Hydrogen powered vehicle on the left. Gasoline powered vehicle on the right.

Photo 2
Time 0 min, 3 seconds
Ignition of both fuels occur. Hydrogen flow rate 2100 SCFM. Gasoline flow rate 680 cc/min.

Photo 3
Time: 1 min, 0 sec
Hydrogen flow is subsiding, view of gasoline vehicle begins to enlarge.

Photo 4
Time: 1 min, 30 sec
Hydrogen flow almost finished. View of gasoline powered vehicle has been expanded to nearly full screen.

Photo 6
Time: 2 min, 20 sec
Deflagration in the interior, following frame shows flames exiting around edges of trunk lid.

Misconception #2: Didn’t the Hindenburg blow up because of hydrogen?

The fire that destroyed the Hindenburg in 1937 gave hydrogen a misleading reputation. Hydrogen was used to keep the airship buoyant and was initially blamed for the disaster. An investigation in 1990 by Addison Bain, a NASA engineer, provided evidence that the airship's fabric envelope was coated with reactive chemicals, similar to solid rocket fuel, and was easily ignitable by an electrical discharge. The Zeppelin Company, builder of the Hindenburg, has since confirmed that the flammable outer cover is to be blamed for the fire.

Misconception #3: Can’t hydrogen be used to create a hydrogen bomb?

The thermonuclear explosion from a hydrogen bomb is the result of a nuclear fusion reaction. During this reaction, two isotopes of hydrogen – deuterium and tritium – collide at very high energy to fuse into helium nuclei, releasing tremendous amounts of energy. However, to get these rare isotopes of hydrogen to fuse requires extraordinary temperatures (hundreds of millions of degrees) that are supplied in a thermonuclear weapon (in this case, an H-bomb) by setting off an atomic bomb to trigger the fusion reaction. Commercial hydrogen gas, however, contains no deuterium and no tritium. Without these isotopes, it is impossible for ordinary hydrogen gas to produce a thermonuclear reaction under any circumstances.

Misconception #4: Hydrogen is not a clean fuel

Hydrogen as a fuel creates no emissions when used in a fuel cell. However, it is only as clean as the energy source it is derived from. Producing hydrogen from fossil fuels creates emissions, though when you include the entire process of fuel production, transport and consumption in vehicular applications for example, there is an overall reduction in emissions per kilometre compared to gasoline and diesel. It is also easier to control the pollution created by using hydrogen made from carbon sources like coal and oil, because the pollution is limited to the fuel production process, instead of from the well to your tailpipe. Ideally, we could skip from carbon based fuel production to hydrogen produced from non-polluting renewable energy sources as fast as possible. Different countries will make different choices, depending on their current energy availability and future priorities.

Misconception #5:  It takes too much energy to produce hydrogen.

Like all fuels, it takes energy to produce hydrogen and deliver it to a vehicle. According to well-to-wheels studies, using hydrogen in a fuel cell electric vehicle is at least twice as efficient as using gasoline in a combustion engine, and 40% more efficient than a hybrid. Most hydrogen internal combustion engines (ICEs) are about 25% more efficient than their gasoline counterparts and fuel cells are 100-200% (2-3 times) more efficient.

Misconception #6: There is not an abundant source of hydrogen fuel.

Hydrogen can be made from almost any source of energy. Oil, coal, hydro power, solar power, nuclear power, geothermal power and other energy sources can all be transformed into electricity and then, by electrolysis, into hydrogen.

Even though people tend to talk about cars running on oil, they actually run on gasoline, which is manufactured, not found. To make gasoline we use oil as a feedstock, which we get out of the ground.

To make hydrogen - or at least 95% of the hydrogen we use today - we use natural gas as a feedstock, which we also get out of the ground. The difference, though, is that gasoline can only be made from oil. And when we can no longer find oil at a reasonable cost, we can still make hydrogen.

Misconception #7: Hydrogen is too expensive.

Because hydrogen products designed for consumers are not widely available, there is little economic incentive to make hydrogen fuel and sell it. The irony is that hydrogen is already used in large quantities as a raw material in the chemical synthesis of ammonia, methanol, hydrogen peroxide, polymers, and solvents as well as in refineries to remove the sulphur that contained in crude oil.

When hydrogen's cost to consumers is evaluated what is often missing from the equation is the fact that hydrogen can be made nearly anywhere, from any power source, including renewable energy sources - so to begin with, most or even all transportation costs (a very large portion of the price consumers pay for fuel is for transportation) can be eliminated.

Based on today’s figures, the present price of delivered liquid hydrogen is around four times the cost of producing the hydrogen. If you wish to truly compare the cost of hydrogen to fossil fuels, you must also consider the hidden costs of the fossil fuel economy – including the price for the damage and destruction done to the health of people, ecosystems and economies. The quality of our air, water and soil continues to be compromised by the burning of fossil fuels.

Finally, in any cost comparison of hydrogen to other fuels, we must not compare apples to oranges. It's not meaningful to compare the price of a gallon of hydrogen to a gallon of gasoline. What really counts is how many cents a kilometre your fuel costs, or how many cents per BTU it takes to heat your house. Even at the present price of delivered liquid hydrogen, if you used it to power a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, your cost per kilometre would be about like getting gasoline for a dollar a gallon. It is reasonable to expect that as the hydrogen infrastructure is developed, the cost could be significantly lower.

It is important to understand that this is not something one company can accomplish on its own. It will require the cooperation of energy companies and policymakers as well as original equipment manufacturers, all working together to achieve a retail hydrogen supply.

Misconception #8: The production of hydrogen will create more greenhouse gas emissions.

Hydrogen is produced in large quantities today, primarily from natural gas. When comparing the well-to-wheel emissions of greenhouse gases and petroleum energy use from various vehicle pathways, the results show that hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCVs) are one of the cleanest vehicle technologies. FCVs using hydrogen from natural gas emit 63% fewer greenhouse gases than today’s gasoline vehicle and 37% fewer greenhouse gases than natural gas vehicles. Improving vehicle efficiency and deploying hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles will significantly reduce petroleum use and carbon emissions.

Misconception #9: Using renewable power to produce hydrogen is a waste of energy.

Hydrogen can be made from many sources, from fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, to renewable energy sources, such as solar and hydropower, offering communities a choice in how they address their energy security and environmental and economic needs. Today, 95% of hydrogen produced worldwide is derived from natural gas via a steam-reforming process. Though hydrogen can be produced from many sources, it is steam reforming of natural gas that is an important bridge to sustainable hydrogen production from renewable energy.

It would also be ideal if you could just plug in to your solar panel or wind generator. But the fact is you must have some kind of storage system that provides energy whenever you need it - whether or not the sun is out or the wind is blowing. Hydrogen can store energy that would otherwise go to waste.

Misconception #10: Renewable sources can provide only a small fraction of the hydrogen needed.

While it’s true that we only produce a small amount of energy today from renewables, eventually non-renewable resources (oil, coal, natural gas and nuclear) will run out and we will need to replace them with renewable resources. We must move to renewable sources of energy, as there simply won't be enough energy to run any economy given the energy consumption we enjoy today. Today, the production of renewable power is growing much faster than other forms of power, and the forces driving this growth are increasingly economic ones. This suggests that renewable technologies are becoming more efficient and less expensive.

Misconception #11: Installing a hydrogen infrastructure will be prohibitively expensive.

The hydrogen transition will not need enormous investments in addition to those that the energy industry is already making. Instead, it will displace many of those investments.

It is expected that the roll-out of a hydrogen infrastructure will occur regionally over time to coincide with vehicle deployment. Yet with the adoption of hydrogen fuel cell products in early markets such as forklifts, airport baggage tugs, back-up power for telecom sites; distributed power for remote communities; and in transit buses, we are seeing a near-term demand for hydrogen.

With automotive fuel cell electric vehicles in the near term horizon, we must begin to install a hydrogen infrastructure now.