A vested interest maybe?
Wonderful idea put forth by a CEO who doesn't know anything about the science behind the story but who might have something to gain.
From the
Detroit News:
Higher gas taxes needed to fund hydrogen fuel technology, supplier CEO says
The federal gasoline tax should be bumped up to fund the development of hydrogen technology as an alternative vehicle fuel, said Metaldyne Corp. chairman and CEO Tim Leuliette today.
Speaking at the 2007 Automotive News World Congress in Dearborn, Leuliette pointed out that drivers in the United States pay only 30 percent to 40 percent of what motorists in other industrialized countries pay for petrol.
"Gasoline is too cheap in America," said Leuliette. He said the United States is alone among industrialized nations in having no national energy policy, and he faulted Washington for failing to develop one. Leuliette said U.S. dependence on foreign oil is a threat to national security, the environment and the economy.
Hydrogen, he said, is the best alternative but will require a substantial investment to develop. He suggests the federal tax fluctuate with the rise and fall in oil prices so that consumers always pay the same at the pump.
BZZZTTTTT!!! Hydrogen is an energy transport platform, it is not a fuel. It costs more energy to make than it yields on combustion. Electrolysis is hideously inefficient and due to some basic fundamental laws of chemistry and physics, it will remain so. Steam reformation of Methane is much more efficient but it yields an equal volume of CO2 and consumes a high-energy feedstock (Methane) and produces a low energy product (Hydrogen). Either way, it is a loosing proposition...
Posted by DaveH at January 18, 2007 9:28 AM