Originally posted by Robtard
Because there is a very small percentage of cars on the road that use it. If those cars begin to replace conventional fueled cars by a sizable percentage and stations become common, you'll be paying similar fuel prices.We're paying an average of $4.50 now and models predict that people will still pay even if it goes higher (which it will), so why should they sell something that's comparable/better for half the price when people will pay more? The selling points are: better fuel mileage, eco-safety and the 'free from foreign oil dependency' card. That's the angle.
Some French company designed an engine/car that runs on water, the selling points are: zero pollution and water is free or cheap. IF that thing were to be massed produced, you can bet your lilly-white ass the government will find a way to tax you on water hand-over-fist.
Thanks for that. That was a lot of good info. It always helps to just sit back and absorb the insight from someone else's perspective.
I found an article on hydrogen costs for fuel cell cars...
"The National Academy of Sciences/National research Council studied this question. Data provided in the NRC report show that the cost of hydrogen per mile driven ought to be between 27% to 52% lower than the cost of gasoline at $1.80/gallon in a conventional car, and between 3% more to 32% less than the cost of gasoline used in a hybrid electric vehicle."
http://www.fuelcells.org/info/library/QuestionsandAnswers062404.pdf
The info you and I are looking for is on page 6.
On page 7, even if we add in the fuel tax of 43 cents a gallon, it is still less than half the cost of gasoline. Like I thought, it is close to $2.
As processes become more common and extremely efficient to collect hydrogen from water, we will only see that cost go down. There's even "plans" for hydrogen producing units in the home for making your own fuel. They said it would be the size of a vending machine. Can you imagine? Getting "gas" from your own water supply? LOL, just the thought makes me happy. Foreign oil dependency, F*** YOU!
Also, it is absurdly cheaper to install and maintain a "hydrogen fueling depot" on a massive scale than it is to just maintain the current petro infrastructure. It looks like a pretty damned obvious choice to "just do it". $15 billion, which was the high end estimate to get a "hydrogen fueling pump within 2 miles of the homes of 70% of the US population as well as every 25 miles on the interstates connecting the 100 largest cities", is chump change for a company like Exxon Mobile. Bust out the vehicles and get the hydrogen infrastructure in place. Can you imagine the ridiculous profits a company like Exxon Mobile would reap if they made a $15 investment and were the ONLY ones to offer that product for several years? They would solidify themselves in that market, ridiculously, and only extreme stupidity on their part would cause them to fall (Enron). IMO, they should arrange to have Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, etc. have a massive parallel production of fuel cell cars ready in time for Exxon to complete in hydrogen fuel pump infrastructure.
I just don't understand why the big American oil companies haven't vested interest into this fuel cell technology. It makes not sense to me. There is a much greater profit margin relative to petro: being "firsties" into the business and all that extremely competitive position has to offer, and gaining favor in the public eye of both green peeps and patriots. (Patriots because it would aid in relieving foreign oil dependency.)
You know what's also sad? The Federal government could EASILY fund a project to get hydrogen fuel pumps installed. $22 billion on this airplane, $52 billion on improving a defense program...it's mere chump change.