Originally published February 22 2005
New research suggests that hydrogen fuel will need a $2 billion dollar investment to get going by 2012
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
ABI Research has released a report stating that hydrogen fuel will need a $2 billion investment in infrastructure if hydrogen power is to be the wave of the future. With hydrogen production, storage, and distribution still in its infancy, hydrogen fuel needs a big investment boost if it is to be widely accepted, available, and cost effective.
The embryonic automotive fuel cell industry - whether or not aided by governments - must invest some US$2 billion in creating a hydrogen fueling station infrastructure by 2012 if market expectations are to be met.
This conclusion is one of the key forecasts contained in ABI Research's new study, "Hydrogen Infrastructure", which evaluates the production and distribution pathways that will be essential for any major fuel cell vehicle introduction, and reviews potential fuel sources for hydrogen generation.
Natural gas, coal, ethanol and methanol, biomass gasification, electrolysis, solar and wind energy, even nuclear reactions are all potential sources for the hydrogen needed to run fuel cells, and the study analyzes each in detail, with particular emphasis on natural gas, the most likely candidate.
"Once the hydrogen is produced, it must be distributed to a large number of fuelling stations," notes Atakan Ozbek, ABI Research's director of energy research.
"That could be done via pipelines, or by trucks, or even by generating the hydrogen on-site.
Yes, Ozbek believes, if sufficient R&D funding is directed to two critical areas: production technologies and storage methods.
The study forecasts the number of fuel cell-powered vehicles that will be produced in North America, the EU and Japan along with other global regions, and the number of fuelling stations that will be required.
This report forms part of a package of automotive fuel cell-related studies that also includes "Automotive Fuel Cell Vendors", "The Transportation Fuel Cell Supply Chain" and "Fuel Cells for Vehicles".
Founded in 1990 and headquartered in New York, ABI Research maintains global operations that support annual research programs, quarterly intelligence services and market reports in wireless, automotive, semiconductors, broadband, and energy.
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