Is hydrogen the answer for jet fuel?

Something has happened in China — leading the USA in research for the past three years — with electrolyzer design and efficiency. What’s an electrolyzer? It’s the machine that splits water into oxygen and hydrogen and, in China, they have produced a commercial electrolyzer — already on sale — that is 80% more efficient than the models that we make and sell in the USA. Oh, and theirs are now being exported throughout the world.

Why? Because, pound for pound, hydrogen is 3.3 times more powerful — produces more kWh/kg — than jet fuel. And jet fuel is 1.5 times for powerful than the gasoline you pump into your car. That means if your car was using hydrogen — yes, in the same engine you already have (albeit with a different carburetor and computer control) — you would get a fuel efficiency almost five times as great. You get 20 mpg now? You would get almost 100 mpg. But hydrogen is currently really expensive… well, not anymore. With the electrolyzers from China, the cost per gallon (remember that’s five times the energy) is about three times the cost of premium gas — you make a saving either way.

Oh, and when you burn hydrogen there is no tailpipe, just a drain dropping clean distilled water on the road. In arid areas, you can collect it and water your plants.

Now, in cars, that install and use is easily possible and, in fact, Honda and Toyota already have sold vehicles in California and Washington, D.C., in tests much like they did for the Prius in 1995. But the real secret here is air travel. Hydrogen works perfectly with existing jet engines.

The electrolyzer uses a lot of electricity to break apart the water into oxygen (pumped into the air) and then to collect hydrogen under pressure. The larger the plant, the more juice it needs yet bigger the efficiency. Putting commercial electrolyzers next to nuclear power plants that waste unwanted electricity at night makes sense for everyone — especially the environment.

Yes, liquefaction problems exist. Safety concerns exist. Weight of tanks to safely hold the hydrogen in airplanes exist. But these are technical and engineering issues we can solve. Imagine taking off from New York, flying to Hawaii, using a fifth of the fuel and making a clean water contrail along the way. Cheaper, cleaner, environmentally friendly.

OK, there is an issue, which China is advancing ahead of every other nation: Electrolyzers depend on rare earth metals, especially platinum and iridium. The world-wide search is on, with China cornering the market (no surprise since we gave up on joint world trade for four years). One last tidbit though… Japan recently returned soil samples from an asteroid to earth. Guess what elements seemed plentiful in their sampling? The space race is about the get really interesting.

Peter Riva, a former resident of Amenia Union, now resides in New Mexico.