In the bestcase scenario the transition would take many decades, and any reductions in oil imports and CO 2 emissions are likely to be minor during the next 25 years, according to the report.
Meeting the aim of President Bush's hydrogen initiative -to make the use of hydrogenpowered vehicles practical and cost-effective by 2020 -would require overcoming many hurdles, notes the committee. The high cost and logistical complexity of hydrogen distribution to fueling stations is seen as one of the most significant obstacles to widespread hydrogen use, especially as an automotive fuel. The report foresees a likely transition stage where hydrogen is produced on a small scale using natural gas or electricity, but this would require a sharp reduction in production costs for small units.
The report points out that while natural gas would probably be the most cost-effective source of hydrogen, its long-term use for this purpose would not increase the nation's energy independence. The report also highlights the need to develop significantly cheaper and more reliable fuel cells, along with safer systems for transporting, storing and handling hydrogen in a consumer setting.
The committee reviewed DOE's research, development and demonstration plan for hydrogen, and was impressed by its thoroughness and the progress made so far. However, it recommended that DOE should better coordinate and integrate the efforts of all offices involved in its hydrogen program; provide better prioritization of efforts; establish partnerships with a wider range of academic and industrial organizations; and shift resources from some development activities to more exploratory work, such as research into distributed hydrogen production systems, hydrogen storage and solar energy for hydrogen production.
The DOE program should also accelerate development and early evaluation of carbon capture and storage technologies, to enable large-scale production of hydrogen from coal without significant CO 2 emissions. Production methods that do not result in emissions should also be further investigated, adds the committee.