3:05 p.m., Sept. 29, 2008----Yielding the fast lane to vehicles that run on hydrogen might seem like a pipe dream when the accent is kept on the here and now. But according to research conducted by Patrick Meyer, a doctoral candidate in UD's Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, it's a dream that's not so far-fetched--or even all that out-of-reach within the next few decades--if pursued in a coordinated fashion.

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Published online by ScienceDirect in July and due out this fall in the monthly scientific journal Technovation, Meyer's research, which he co-conducted with James J. Winebrake, chairperson of the Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy at Rochester Institute of Technology, used simulation modeling to make a case for the feasibility of hydrogen cars and refueling infrastructure. Meyer and Winebrake concluded that infrastructure, fuel production and vehicle design are complementary phenomena, and if addressed all at once, transportation as we know it could be revolutionized.

“We argue that hydrogen vehicles and infrastructure are complementary goods,” said Meyer, “and because of this, we need our policies to be aimed at the vehicles and at the fuel and at the infrastructure simultaneously.

“In the policy-simulation realm, any incentive that promotes just the vehicle, or just the infrastructure, or just the fuel will be very limited or look like it failed,” he said. “In order to bring the whole industry forward at once within a decent time frame, policies need to address all these different sectors together, which is what the systems dynamics model proved.”

Meyer said that while his interest in hydrogen cars began several years ago, during his graduate work at Rochester Institute of Technology, he emphasized that his interest in the use of alternative energy, particularly for transportation, is an abiding preoccupation.

“I've always had an interest in alternative energy use for transportation,” he said, “and about two years ago, when I was deciding what I wanted to do for my master's thesis, hydrogen as fuel stuck out as something that was futuristic and exciting.

“At the time, I was more enthusiastic about its immediate prospects than I am now, and I can't say for sure when it will be mainstream,” Meyer said. “But it's ultimately an option for transportation--everything I've come across is giving a 40-50 year timeframe for hydrogen cars--and that's why I enjoy it. I feel like I'm working on something that will eventually come, but needs a lot more work now in order to make it happen.”

While Meyer said that hydrogen, as it's produced now, is not, by a longshot, a sustainable fuel source, he was quick to add that it has the potential to become one--and possibly the most sustainable kind--if made from totally renewable, greenhouse-gas-free electricity sources.

To further this possibility, he is, for his dissertation, focusing on the solar hydrogen pathway--the making of hydrogen through electrolysis using solar power to create the electricity--and plans after graduation from UD to work in Washington, D.C., where he can leverage his research to greatest effect changing energy and environmental policies.

“Right now, one of the big issues is not necessarily how much total energy we're using, but the fact that most of our energy comes from depletable resources,” Meyer said, adding that he envisions a day when the refueling of hydrogen cars could be done in the home.

“A major problem [with] hydrogen cars is refueling,” he said, “and one very futuristic solution to this might be to decentralize distribution and have homes, with solar panels on their roofs, where hydrogen is created in the basement and cars get refueled in the garage.

“I think what's ultimately needed for change, though, are public policies and government regulations that make hydrogen economically feasible,” Meyer said, “because if people see that hydrogen is less expensive than gas, the shift will automatically happen.”

To read Meyer's article online, go to [www.sciencedirect.com] and type Meyer's name in the “author” search field. The print version of the article also will be available later this fall in Technovation, a monthly publication available in the Morris Library in the periodicals room.

Article by Becca Hutchinson
Photo by Kathy Atkinson