U.S. Drops Research Into Fuel Cells for Cars

[IDemo]

By MATTHEW L. WALD
New York Times
Published: May 7, 2009

WASHINGTON — Cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells, once hailed by President George W. Bush as a pollution-free solution for reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, will not be practical over the next 10 to 20 years, the energy secretary said Thursday, and the government will cut off funds for the vehicles’ development.

Developing those cells and coming up with a way to transport the hydrogen is a big challenge, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in releasing energy-related details of the administration’s budget for the year beginning Oct. 1. Dr. Chu said the government preferred to focus on projects that would bear fruit more quickly.

The retreat from cars powered by fuel cells counters Mr. Bush’s prediction in 2003 that “the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free.” The Energy Department will continue to pay for research into stationary fuel cells, which Dr. Chu said could be used like batteries on the power grid and do not require compact storage of hydrogen.

The Obama administration will also establish eight “energy innovation hubs,” small centers for basic research that Dr. Chu referred to as “Bell Lablettes.” These will be financed for five years at a time to lure more scientists into the energy area.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/science/earth/08energy.html?hpw

[madrchsod]

1. a welcome change from the bush years of scientific ignorance

[kristopher]

2. H for transport is the 2nd biggest red herring out there

But at least we are finally to the point where meaningful action is being taken in the right areas. In the past few days we've seen a flood of headlines about all the new battery electric vehicles that various companies are bringing to market in the next 24 months, and we've seen a realignment of spending under President Obama's budget.

Now two tasks remain: overcoming the general blockheadedness of the Republicans togetting this budget through, and clipping the tendrils of the special interests that have entangled and entrapped too many of the Dem senators.

Also, I'd like to propose a salute to those who have dedicated themselves so tirelessly to developing the climate change solutions that are being adopted as well as those who worked just as hard on solutions that have failed to make the final cut. The entire area of research has been thinly funded and sometimes it seemed as if action by our political leaders was nothing short of impossible. To say that all the work done was in a miasma of despondency surrounding an atmosphere of crisis only begins to capture the emotional obstacles these researchers deal with on a daily basis.

A toast to you all; no matter whether your work is an immediate part of the solution or has, for the moment fallen by the wayside, YOU have been part of the massive undertaking to get us all to where we are now - our last best chance to move civilization on a new course built around the concept of long term sustainability.