Turning wind into hydrogen
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
"A new partnership between Xcel Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden raises an intriguing possibility about America's energy future. Xcel sells electricity made by wind turbines, and NREL develops cutting-edge "green" energy technologies. Wind energy has stubbornly remained more expensive and less reliable than traditional power sources. A key problem always has been how to store wind energy so it can be used to make electricity at any time. That puzzle might be solved if Xcel and NREL can engineer affordable ways to make hydrogen from wind turbines. The physics are well known: Wind turbines generate electricity, and electricity is used to break apart water molecules, leaving just oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen can be stored in battery-like fuel cells or burned in combustion engines similar to those that use natural gas or propane. (Despite its reputation, hydrogen isn't more dangerous than other, commonly used flammable fuels such as natural gas, propane and gasoline.)" Source: fuelcellsworks.com
posted by Frank @ 9:14 PM,
