] Experts cite three big roadblocks to a hydrogen economy:
] manufacturing hydrogen cleanly and at low cost, finding a
] way to ship it and store it on the vehicles that use it,
] and reducing the astronomical price of fuel cells.

This is an excerpt from a NYTimes article about hyperheating water to achieve a higher degree of efficiency in electrolysis for conversion to pure hydrogen. A great idea, and one that I plan to test myself.

The reason why I except this statement is because it is bullshit and is one of the reasons why the 'hydrogen economy' is not making meaningful progress other than through rhetoric and press and anemic academic research.

Firstly, manufacturing hydrogen cleanly and at low cost is ridiculous. Today's technology is already cleaner and at lower cost than the current fossil fuel system. I'm producing it today and my total investment (minus time) is about $200. There's no way in hell that I could've produced and refined fossil fuels on my own for an equivalent price. The only thing that has not been attempted is to manufacture hydrogen at scale. So until someone is willing to pony up the investment to do that, shut the hell up, because the numbers prove that it is superior in comparison to current and most importantly previous fossil fuel acquisition systems.

Secondly, finding a way to ship it and store it on vehicles is like whining in June about it snowing in January. Fucking fix the system first and then worry about this. You figured out a way to securely transport fossil fuels on vehicles so that my 74 year old grandmother doesn't kill anyone while driving, so I'm sure we can figure this out when it's appropriate.

Finally, reducing the astronomical price of fuel cells is a joke. You have a fuel cell right now and it's ridiculously cheap. It's called a battery. The same technology that went into batteries and reduced their cost to literally pennies, can be applied to fuel cells. It's supply and demand. Yes, fuel cells are more complicated, and utilize materials that are scarce and difficult to prepare, but guess what? so do microprocessors, and they're virtually ubiquitous. The idea that we're complaining about scarce materials which are difficult to refine and prepare for consumption when we're talking about supplanting fossil fuels, which are FINITE, COSTLY, and DIFFICULT to refine and prepare is so stupid it makes my head hurt. Think about it: it's taken nearly 100 years to have an infrastructure system in place where fuel comes up from the ground, gets refined and transported, and put in a place where even a moron can refuel her vehicle in the most remote parts of the planet. I think we can do better even in 1/4 the time. Sheesh.

Hydrogen Production Method Could Bolster Fuel Supplies