Hydrogen

Hydrogen is a non-metal element. It has the symbol H and atomic number 1. This means it is has the least mass of any on the periodic table of the elements.

It is a diatomic gas at room conditions. It is very active, so it can react with most elements. It has no colour nor smell.

It is the lightest and most common element in the universe. However, it is very uncommon in the earth's atmosphere. It is present in water (which combines it with oxygen) and in all organic compounds and living things. Combined with carbon it makes hydrocarbons which are found in fossil fuels.

Table of contents

1 Hydrogen as fuel (fusion)
2 Burning hydrogen
3 Hydrogen power grid

Hydrogen as fuel (fusion)

From a physics point of view, hydrogen has one proton and its variants deuterium and tritium have also neutrons.

Nuclear fusion relies on forcing hydrogen atoms together to create helium and energy, exactly as happens in a star like The Sun, or in a hydrogen bomb. This requires a very great amount of energy to get started, and is not practical yet. A big advantage over nuclear fission is that no waste is produced, and no toxic fuel like uranium is required. Deuterium is very abundant in seawater.

Burning hydrogen

Electricity as a flow of electrons through a conductor can be easily converted to hydrogen by "adding a proton" to make a flow of hydrogen atoms instead. This does not lose the energy as it is moved around, although it still takes energy to do that - and when the hydrogen is burned in a fuel cell, which combines it with oxygen, the only emission is totally pure water.

Hydrogen is also used as a fuel in space travel.

Hydrogen power grid

For these reasons, many people believe it will eventually replace technologies such as dieselectric engines and biodiesel fuel. These don't require totally new engines and filling stations, as does the hydrogen infrastructure. Also, there must be electricity to charge the fuel cell by creating the hydrogen.

So, it is not correct to see hydrogen as a fuel as it is in fusion, if it is stored in a fuel cell. It is more of a replacement for the power grid. Such a grid and infrastructure with new vehicles will likely be first implemented in Iceland, which has abundant free geothermal energy and is quite small. As it imports all fossil fuel, it is quite anxious to completely eliminate its use.