Hydrogen energy - Abundant, efficient, clean: A debate over the energy-system-of-change

Both secondary energies, electricity and hydrogen, have much in common: they are technology driven; both are produced from any available primary energy; once produced both are environmentally and climatically clean over the entire length of their respective conversion chains, from production to utilization; they are electrochemically interchangeable via electrolyses and fuel cells; both rely on each other, e.g., when electrolyzers and liquefiers need electricity or when electricity-providing low temperature fuel cells need hydrogen; in cases of secondary energy transport over longer distances they compete with each other; in combined fossil fuel cycles both hydrogen and electricity are produced in parallel exergetically highly efficiently; hydrogen in addition to electricity helps exergizing the energy system and, thus, maximizing the available technical work. There are dissimilarities, too: electricity transports information, hydrogen does not; hydrogen stores and transports energy, electricity does not (in macroeconomic terms). The most obvious dissimilarity is their market presence, both in capacities and in availability: Electricity is globally ubiquitous (almost), whilst hydrogen energy is still used in only selected industrial areas and in much smaller capacities. The article describes in 15 chapters, 33 figures, 3 tables, and 2 Annexes the up-and-coming hydrogen energy economy, its environmental and climatic relevance, its exergizing influence on the energy system, its effect on decarbonizing fossil fueled power plants, the introduction of the novel non-heat-engine-related electrochemical energy converter fuel cell in portable electronics, in stationary and mobile applications. Hydrogen guarantees environmentally and climatically clean transportation on land, in air and space, and at sea. Hydrogen facilitates the electrification of vehicles with practically no range limits. (C) 2009 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.