I know that we are running peak on everything precious, so let just put aside the precious metal and focus solely on energy return.
I suspect when one does the math of net energy or EROI, Hydrogen could be the least energy efficiency and the most expensive way to replace oil and reduce GH gases.
Quote:
Take Honda's new FCX Clarity. As the New York Times reported, "the cars cost several hundred thousand dollars each to produce," although Honda's president Takeo Fukui "said that should drop below $100,000 in less than a decade as production volumes increase."
The total power-plant-to-wheels efficiency with which a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle is likely to utilize low-carbon electricity is 20 to 25 percent--and the process requires purchasing several expensive pieces of hardware, including the electrolyzer and delivery infrastructure. The total efficiency of simply charging an onboard battery with the original low-carbon electricity, and then discharging the battery to run the electric motor in an electric car or plug-in, however, is 75 to 80 percent. That is, an electric car will travel three to four times farther on a kilowatt-hour of renewable or nuclear power than a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle will.
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Technology Review: Blogs: Guest Blog: The Last Car You Would Ever Buy--Literally
Horse ridding lesson, anyone ? hehehe ..