Hydrogen Fuel Cells - The Future of Clean Energy?

A diagram of how a hydrogen fuel cell would work in a car

Hydrogen fuel cells are an alternative energy format powered by, you guessed it, hydrogen. They are typically used in stacks to help increase efficiency and power. Hydrogen fuel cells have three parts: an anode, a cathode, and a proton exchange membrane between them.  Hydrogen enters the anode and oxygen enters the cathode. The hydrogen is then split into an electron, which provides energy to a motor, and a proton, which continues to move through the fuel cells. The electron and proton join up again at the cathode side, join with the oxygen, and water is released. Water is the only by-product of a hydrogen fuel cell, making it an environmentally-friendly alternative with potential to solve fresh water problems. In fact, hydrogen fuel cells used on space shuttles were used to supply fresh water to the astronauts on board.

How hydrogen fuel cells work in a space ship

Hydrogen releases less CO2 than gas

In order to work, a hydrogen fuel cell needs a continuous supply of its energy source, in other words, hydrogen and oxygen. Oxygen can be pulled from the air outside the fuel cell, but obtaining hydrogen is much harder. Hydrogen can be difficult to obtain. Currently, hydrogen is collected from industrial waste, propane, methane, and other sources that require high power to generate, but hopefully in the future hydrogen will be harvested from renewable resources. There are fuel cells that can potentially run on water, but the concept is very controversial due to Stanley Meyer’s falsified water fuel cell. An easy to access hydrogen source would need to be found or created before we can power the world on hydrogen fuel cells alone. Plus, fuel cells are still relatively expensive to manufacture, however their price is expected to drop dramatically in the future.

The Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell car

To make hydrogen fuel cells work on a large scale, some sort of hydrogen infrastructure needs to be developed to distribute hydrogen where needed. Hydrogen fuel storage and conversion methods are currently in development, yet they still need a lot of work. Hydrogen can be transported as a gas or liquid through current energy transportation methods like pipelines and trucks, but for the most part hydrogen could be produced on-site at power plants, fueling stations, and anywhere else it may be needed for fuel cells. Integration into currently existing structures may be somewhat difficult and places requiring hydrogen for power may need to be retrofitted to produce hydrogen. Hydrogen fuel cells could be part of either a centralized or decentralized system, it just depends upon the decisions of those who implement it. Hydrogen fuel cells can be modified to run off-grid, they just need to have some source of hydrogen in order to work.

Hydrogen fuel cells have already been used for transportation, from powering space shuttles to prototype cars like the Toyota FCV or the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell. For the hydrogen fuel cell cars, there is a problem with lack of hydrogen fueling stations, but that is something that can easily be remedied by a change in infrastructure. Already steps have been taken to encourage people to adopt hydrogen fuel cell technology. There are currently a federal tax incentives and credits for people who use residential hydrogen fuel cells, businesses who invest in hydrogen fuel cells, and stations who build hydrogen fueling stations. Many companies who manufacture hydrogen fuel cells are actively working to lower manufacturing times and increase their output in order to make these products cheaper and more available. Many people are motivated to invest in hydrogen fuel cell technology because of their concern for the environment and the promise this fuel type holds for the future. Overall, many believe that a “hydrogen economy,” or a world where hydrogen is the main source of fuel, is in our future, and hydrogen fuel cells help to bring us closer to that future.

A video of a DIY hydrogen fuel cell. This man is NOT a professional, so I don't recommend actually attempting to use his prototype to power your car, but it's still interesting how he got it to work.

Major Disasters - The Halifax Explosion

The location of Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Halifax explosion is the largest man-made non-nuclear explosion in history. It occurred in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada on December 6, 1917. The explosion was caused by the collision of two ships, the SS Mont Blanc and the SS Imo. Overall the cost of damages equaled about $545 million modern Canadian dollars, which equals roughly $483 million U.S. dollars. About 6,000 people were left homeless and over 25,000 did not have adequate housing after the blast. On top of that, the native Mi’kmaq people’s settlement was destroyed and abandoned. Most of Canada’s civilian casualties of WWI are because of the Halifax explosion.

The location of the ships as they moved in the harbor

The SS Mont Blanc was a French ship carrying explosives and munitions to Europe to be used in WWI. The SS Imo was a Norwegian ship headed for New York City to pick up relief supplies for war victims in Belgium. When the two collided, a fire broke out. About twenty minutes later, the explosive cargo on the SS Mont Blanc blew up, launching debris and destroying all buildings within a half-mile radius. Because the initial collision forced the ships toward the shore, the damage was much more severe. Over 1,800 people were killed, 9,000 were injured, and 1,600 homes were flattened. Windows were shattered up to 50 miles away, and the sound could be heard hundreds of miles away. The biggest issues after the event were finding shelter for those whose homes had been destroyed and rebuilding the structures damaged by the blast. Unfortunately, just a day after the event, a blizzard hit the town, hampered relief efforts and survivor searches, and knocked down re-erected telegraph lines.

The pier before the explosion

The pier after the explosion

The SS Imo after the explosion

Originally the explosion was thought to be a German attack, and the helmsman of the SS Imo was actually arrested on suspicion of being a German spy. The local paper also helped to stir up fear that the event was German-based. Eventually, the truth came out, and the blame was placed on the captain and pilot of the SS Mont Blanc and the chief examining officer of the Royal Canadian Navy in charge of the harbor. A major cause of the explosion had been the French’s use of older ships to carry dangerous cargo because German U-boats kept blowing their ships up. These ships were often not well maintained and thus not equipped to handle problems like the fire. Both ships had been delayed in departing and arrived because they came after the harbor’s anti-submarine nets were raised. The SS Imo had also been going well above the speed limit, the traffic in the harbor that morning was high, and the Imo was moving on the wrong side of the harbor. After a brief signal exchange between the two ships, neither the Imo nor the Mont Blanc yielded their position and the ships collided. The crews abandoned their ships, and while the crew of the Mont Blanc should have flown red flags to indicate the danger of their cargo, they did not because of threat of submarine attack.

Another view of Halifax after the explosion

The pyrocumulus cloud from the explosion

While the town of Halifax was certainly not prepared for an explosion of such magnitude, their firefighters were quick to respond to the fires that broke out on the ships and did their best to put them out before the explosion. The Halifax fire department also assisted in minimizing the damages and chaos after the explosion. Vincent Coleman, the local Intercolonial Railway dispatcher, likely saved hundreds of lives by warning incoming trains of the imminent explosion. He heard that the Mont Blanc was carrying explosive cargo and remained at his station until he heard that the trains stopped, costing him his life. The community used the destruction of the town’s North End to modernize the area, building homes with special fire-proof blocks. The local poor house became a shelter and hospital for victims of the explosion and was "rendered great service to the people of Halifax." Hundreds of people and organizations from all over helped with rescue efforts.

 

A first-hand account from a survivor of the explosion