Hydrogen economy - An opportunity for chemical engineers?

Key barriers to the assembly of a hydrogen infrastructure, and the pros and cons associated with various methods of producing inexpensive hydrogen are presented. Hydrogen economy also presents an opportunity for chemical engineers since major auto-makers have rolled out hydrogen-fueled concept cars coupled to proton exchange membrane (PEM) propulsion system. In the long-term, hydrogen could be produced in large, central plants and delivered via pipelines to filling stations. Despite its abundance in nature, hydrogen is not available in free form and must be produced from another energy source, which suggests that hydrogen is simply an energy barrier. However, the cost of hydrogen produced from large central plants using fossil fuels or nuclear energy, could approach that of gasoline with future technologies. Clearly, the renewable energy resources need substantial cost improvements, or different technical approaches including innovation, to fulfil their promise of producing cost/energy efficient hydrogen. One of the potential promises of hydrogen economy is to decrease carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector. Chemical engineering is an excellent discipline for the development of technologies for a hydrogen economy. Particularly important is the breadth of chemical engineers and their ability to develop interdisciplinary solutions for cost-effective hydrogen production.