Energy
Interview 5
“Hydrogen, an energy of the future” - Pierre Beuzit, president of CNRT Ineva
and Alphea Hydrogène
Rail & Recherche n°45 - October/November/December 2007
Greenhouse gas emissions
and oil dependency are two
problems that point to the
need for new energy sources.
Hydrogen looks to be the
most promising one.
Rail & Recherche: How can the energy
performance of
automobiles be improved?
Pierre Beuzit: The first
way is to keep making them
lighter, as has been done
for trains. The second way
is the use of biofuels and
synthetic fuels. Nonpetroleum
fuels like these
can be expected to cover
about 30% of automotive
energy needs worldwide.
The third possibility is the
use of electricity. However,
producing and storing
electrical energy in a vehicle
still presents difficulties.
R & R: How is research
progressing in this area?
P. B.: Today, the best
batteries can store
120Wh/kilo; the goal is
300Wh/kg. That compares
with 12,000Wh/kg for
petrol, so obviously
batteries have severe
limitations! Hydrogen and
fuel cells could provide a
better solution. Getting the
hydrogen is the first
problem. About 60 million
tonnes are produced each
year by reforming,
electrolysis, and
thermochemical processes.
Solar energy and the
4th generation nuclear
reactors could also produce
hydrogen in substantial
quantities. As for
distribution, hydrogen could
be transported through the
natural gas network.
Eventually, hydrogen will be
available at the pump to
power our cars.
R & R: What time frame are
you talking about?
P. B.: It depends mainly on
very substantial
investments being made,
but there are technical
issues, too, such as how to
store hydrogen on vehicles.
It can be compressed, but
that requires energy and is
dangerous. Liquefaction
has the same drawbacks.
One possibility under study
is solid storage, which
involves infiltrating
hydrogen under pressure
into a shoebox-size metal
alloy block and then
recovering it by heating. A
car could run 500 km on an
energy supply equivalent in
weight to a tank of petrol.
Big strides are being made
in fuel cell research, too.
R & R: Can a birth date be
set for the hydrogenpowered
car?
P. B.: : Technologically,
solutions could be available
for industrial production
around 2020, with an
intermediate stage
attainable by 2015 or so.
Several manufacturers are
working on a suitcase-size
on-board reforming system
that will transform
petroleum fuels into
hydrogen, thereby doubling
the energy yield compared
with modern internal
combustion engines.
Carbon dioxide emissions
would drop, too. Such
hybridisation would already
represent significant
progress.
R & R: Who is taking the
lead in these
developments?
P. B.: Since 2004, all the big
nations have been working
together in the
International Partnership
for the Hydrogen Economy
(IPHE). Hydrogen
technologies are being
developed in Europe. The
world’s entire energy system
must be radically
transformed. That will take
time. All transport modes,
and not just cars, are
involved. Mentalities must
evolve, and know-how
must be developed and
spread. To convert
engineers to these new
technologies, this
knowledge must be
transmitted through
education. Today, things are
still at the level of forwardlooking
research.