Hydrogen Solutions

In the September 23rd edition of the New York Times, Jad Mouawad's article called "Pumping Hydrogen" discusses the opening of a Shell station in Santa Monica, California, that is the first public filling station in the USA for hydrogen used in fuel-cell cars. This seminal event bodes well for the future, but as Mr. Mouawad points out:

And many energy companies remain skeptical of the long-term prospects for hydrogen, arguing, among other things, that even with government help the infrastructure costs would be enormous. ...

The largest obstacle remains the size and cost of the infrastructure needed to produce and distribute the hydrogen. The nagging issue is how to replicate a model that has served the petroleum age so well, and that was developed over a century.

There is no question that without an infrastructure for dispensing hydrogen for fuel-cell cars, not many of those cars will be made or used, their prices will remain uneconomical, and the potential of hydrogen will remain unfulfilled.

I've said it before, and I remake the point. Our Aeroduct System is the best way to implement hydrogen as the vehicle fuel of the future. The Aeroduct System, consisting of air cushion vehicles traversing lightweight elevated guideways, already represents a complete change in the ground transportation infrastructure. Implementing hydrogen fueling stations in this new infrastructure would be just another task needed to complete the new infrastructure. As the elevated guideways are built, the hydrogen fueling stations would become stops (or stations) along the guideways, along with stops for homes, offices, hospitals, schools, and so on.

And, not only will building a new infrastructure allow for complete integration of hydrogen stations into the Aeroduct System, the vehicles in the Aeroduct are the best at using the fuel. They need less power than automobiles, and are automated so they can refuel with or without anyone in the vehicle. Less hydrogen will be needed for powering the air cushion craft, and automated refueling will mean less human effort and less risk for fueling mishaps.

I believe hydrogen is the best fuel for the future. Of the main impediments facing employment of this non polluting fuel, the Aeroduct System solves the problem of how to build hydrogen fueling stations that are abundant as needed, and it simultaneously provides an economy of scale for fuel cell makers. The numerous craft in the Aeroduct will all use hydrogen fuel cells, and that will greatly decrease the costs of making fuel cells.

You can read about the many other advantages of the Aeroduct System at the Aeromobile Inc. website and other blog entries.

Ideal Fuel for Ideal Transportation

I've discoursed quite a bit about the Aeroduct System, which consists of air cushion vehicles in elevated guideways. You can learn the many advantages of this ground transportation system from earlier blogposts, or from the Aeromobile website.

Today, my focus in on the important advantages of the Aeroduct System with regard to fuels and the fueling process. Our vehicles can use any fuel, petroleum or otherwise. However, I think the future of energy belongs to hydrogen. There are many technological considerations concerning the production and distribution of hydrogen, but in the long run, I feel it is the most environmentally advantageous way to power vehicles.

One of the big expenses in moving towards a "hydrogen economy" is the need for a new infrastructure that distributes this fuel. As John Dodge, Editor-in-Chief of Design News says in his July 15th article, "Despite the extensive progress auto makers have made in developing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCV), energy companies have largely sat on the sidelines with only a couple of exceptions in building out a refueling infrastructure." For automobiles to make use of hydrogen, the refueling stations will have to be as plentiful as gasoline stations are now for drivers to not feel inconvenienced. This component alone of the hydrogen economy will be a big expense to construct.

With the Aeroduct System, we have the significant advantage of building the refueling locations as part of the Aeroduct infrastructure. As the Aeroduct transportation system is implemented, hydrogen refueling stations can be conveniently located within the system. And, just as travel in the Aeroduct System is completely automated, so will be the fueling process. It can be done with or without passengers in the vehicle, at any time of day or night. The Aeroduct System is intended to replace automobiles and trucks as the chief form of ground transportation. Concomitant with that will be replacement of petroleum based fuels with hydrogen. So, we will have ideal fuel for the ideal transportation system.

We certainly welcome a dialog with those interested in the future of transportation and the future of energy.