Originally published November 4 2005
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will hit the market in 10 to 15 years
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
According to Jeremy Bentham, chief executive at Shell Hydrogen, fuel cell vehicles will debut between 2015-2025, but the projection comes with some qualifications, most importantly, the cost factor, which could easily push commercialization of fuel cell vehicles further into the future.
Vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells would become affordable and widely produced between 2015 and 2025, Jeremy Bentham, the chief executive of Shell Hydrogen, a division of oil multinational Shell, said yesterday.
The emergence of hydrogen as an energy carrier has particular relevance to South Africa, which has about three-quarters of the world's known global platinum reserves.
These three manufacturers have plants in the country and strong links with the local automotive components industry, which is already involved in the beneficiation of platinum, particularly for catalytic converters.
Latest figures released by Trade and Investment SA revealed that catalytic converter exports were worth R8.1 billion and accounted for 38 percent of total automotive component exports of R21.3 billion in 2003.
But the congress heard that cost was a major factor inhibiting commercialisation, while further research and development were needed on production, storage, distribution and carbon capture.
Claude Mandil, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said to make hydrogen cost effective as an energy carrier, the cost of producing it from primary energy sources would need to be cut by between three and 10 times.
Ivar Hexeberg, the vice-president and head of hydrogen at Norsk Hydro, the Norwegian energy company, said in a "business as usual" scenario, it could take decades before hydrogen would become a significant energy carrier.
But an early technology breakthrough, or an unexpected event such as a war that was perceived to be linked to energy supplies, could speed up its development, said Hexeberg.
Hydrogen, the world's most abundant element, does not occur naturally as a gas on earth but is found in combination with other elements.
It can be produced from a variety of primary energy sources, including fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas - as well as nuclear and renewables.
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