Hydrogen Manhattan Project « Hydrogen Car Revolution

Hydrogen Manhattan Project

HYDROGEN MANHATTAN PROJECT – A movement led by individual Americans to support corporations and elected officials that work towards the goal of having every car on the road in the U.S. powered by hydrogen produced from clean sources of energy by the end of 2020.

The United States is currently in the process of slowly committing suicide. Energy is the blood of the economy and that blood is filled with poison. The same fuel (gasoline blended with ethanol) that gives us the freedom of mobility is a direct and imminent threat to our overall freedom and way of life.

Escalating oil prices, rising food prices, military conflicts, and damage to the environment represent four walls that are closing in from all angles on each and every one of us. All of these problems will steadily worsen in the future if we don’t start to make a dramatic change beginning soon.

The first and most important step in solving a problem is to acknowledge that the problem exists and fully appreciate its magnitude. Without this, the necessary will power to decide to act and follow through until the problem is solved will be lacking. Fortunately, more and more Americans are realizing the depth and scope of the energy crisis to the point where they are ready to take action.

So what needs to be done? The United States needs to be powered by a transportation fuel that is:

1) Totally produced in this country;

2) Used in cars that will meet or exceed the performance of the ones on the road today;

3) Less expensive than gasoline;

4) Without any negative economic side effects; and

5) Friendly to the environment.

There is only one option that can meet all of these requirements: hydrogen produced from clean sources of energy. (To learn more about hydrogen, please read “Twelve Hydrogen Facts” which is below.)

The HYDROGEN MANHATTAN PROJECT was created because the movement to solve this energy crisis must be led by individual Americans. Up until now, corporations and politicians have not stood up and provided bold leadership and vision. Therefore, individual Americans must take responsibility by using their purchasing power with corporations and votes for politicians to help lead the way to energy freedom and security.

It makes perfect sense for you as an American citizen to take this responsibility. After all, you have to live with the consequences of the country’s energy policy.

Your gasoline prices are much higher. Your grocery bill keeps going up. Your brother, sister, son, daughter, or friend is putting their life at risk in a war over energy. Your health is affected by air pollution. Your children and grandchildren will suffer the effects of climate change. Your job could be lost due to high energy prices having a negative impact on the economy. Your country and way of life are at risk.

And that is why you as an individual American should be a catalyst for positive change.

The most important area of focus right now should be on building the hydrogen fueling infrastructure. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have advanced to a point where the initial stages of mass production can begin in the next three or four years. Although hydrogen cars are rapidly approaching commercialization, the fueling infrastructure needed to support them lags far behind.

Larry Burns from GM has made a heroic effort to both promote the need for hydrogen fueling stations and persuade the energy companies to build them. But the actions of the energy companies clearly communicate that they have no interest in doing this. The two likely reasons are that hydrogen is a competitor to oil and the ultra-competitive fueling station business is not one they even want to be involved in.

Even though the energy companies could build the hydrogen fueling stations, they should not be forced to do this. However, they are not entitled to permanently receive $1.8 billion per year in tax breaks.

Although there are currently around 170,000 gasoline stations in the U.S., GM has calculated that only 12,000 hydrogen fueling stations would need to be built in order to have a fueling station within two miles of 70% of the entire U.S. population and one every 25 miles on the freeways between the largest 100 cities.

Hydrogen fueling stations currently cost around $2 million each to build. However, this cost will decrease as more stations are built. Therefore, at an average of $1.5 million per fueling station, the initial 12,000 hydrogen fueling stations would likely cost around $18 billion (which is 3.6% of the current $500 billion total cost of the Iraq War).

As part of the overall goal of powering all cars in the U.S. with hydrogen produced from clean sources of energy by the end of 2020, the HYDROGEN MANHATTAN PROJECT proposes that the first step would be to eliminate the $1.8 billion per year in tax breaks ($18 billion over a ten-year period) that the oil companies currently receive, and instead use this money to pay for the entire cost of building all of the initial 12,000 hydrogen fueling stations needed in the U.S.

Companies currently involved in hydrogen infrastructure, such as Air Products, could build the hydrogen fueling stations with this program in place. However, any company that has the ability and desire to build the hydrogen fueling stations would be eligible to participate. This would allow the free market to be utilized to the fullest extent possible in this situation.

Although the tax breaks that the energy companies are currently receiving should be eliminated immediately, the hydrogen fueling stations should not be built in large numbers until 2011 when the hydrogen fuel cell cars are just about ready for commercialization in much larger numbers. However, a much smaller number should be built as soon as possible. This will also give the hydrogen infrastructure companies and their suppliers a chance to prepare for the dramatically increased workload.

Although hydrogen infrastructure companies will build the fueling stations, other companies will be needed to operate them. One possible scenario would be to allow these companies to lease the hydrogen fueling stations for a low rate for a certain number of years before the U.S. federal government sells them.

In order for a program of this magnitude to succeed, the right leadership is essential. In my opinion, Paul Brubaker, who is the head of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration for the federal Department of Transportation, should be appointed to the position of Hydrogen Czar to lead the U.S. federal government’s HYDROGEN MANHATTAN PROJECT activities.

In just the eight months he has been in his current position, Paul Brubaker has become one of the leaders in promoting a hydrogen economy. He has the intellect, leadership skills, and vision that will be necessary in this position.

Furthermore, as Hydrogen Czar, I am quite confident that Paul Brubaker would surround himself with exceptional people currently involved in the hydrogen industry (e.g. Paul Williamson from the University of Montana-Missoula) and others not presently involved in hydrogen to serve as catalysts to accomplish the objectives of the program.

Although many extremely talented people are involved with the hydrogen industry, there are also some in high-level positions, comfortable with the status quo, who do not have the disposition or mindset to work in a team that will bring about such massive change. This is a revolution and revolutionaries are needed.

Furthermore, there are people with connections to the hydrogen industry who are currently working against it. This will need to be addressed. For example, the Department of Energy is currently attempting to impede the progress of a hydrogen economy from clean sources of energy by completely eliminating both hydrogen pipeline and applied solar to hydrogen research funding beginning in the 2009 fiscal year. Many more details describing this outrageous situation can be found here.

Although solving this problem may be America’s greatest challenge, I have no doubt that we will rise up to meet this challenge and make the country much stronger in the future as a result. The truth is that we have no other option. And action must be taken soon.

Finally, to learn more about hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, here are “Twelve Hydrogen Facts” (click on the links below to read the articles):

Fact #1 – Hydrogen cars are just about ready to be commercialized, but the hydrogen fueling infrastructure needs to be built

Fact #2 – The Hindenburg disaster was not caused by hydrogen

Fact #3 – Hydrogen cars are safe

Fact #4 – Water vapor emissions from hydrogen cars will not cause more global warming

Fact #5 – Hydrogen fuel cell cars will be economical when mass produced

Fact #6 – Hydrogen fuel cells are twice as efficient as internal combustion engines

Fact #7 – The cost of hydrogen produced today from wind power (without any subsidies) would be less than the equivalent of gasoline at $3.50 per gallon

Fact #8 – The entire hydrogen infrastructure could be built without any subsidies

Fact #9 – Plug-in battery advocates try to use a misguided argument against hydrogen to distract attention away from the numerous problems with plug-in technology

Fact #10 – The most underreported alternative energy story is that Toyota now has a mid-size SUV powered by a hydrogen fuel cell that gets 80 miles per kilogram of hydrogen and has a driving range of 516 miles

Fact #11 – Hydrogen pipelines will allow hydrogen from clean sources of energy to be viable