Hi! Thanks for your very interesting question.
I will try to provide you with links that answers some of your
questions. I will also provide short quotations on the articles so as
to save you time but I strongly suggest that you read them in their
entirety. Some documents are in PDF file so you will need the Adobe
Acrobat Reader to read them. In case you haven’t installed it yet here
is a link so you could download The Adobe Acrobat Reader
(http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html).
The emergence of hydrogen power technology will affect us on several
fronts, economically, socially, environmentally and politically. In a
very important paper by the US Department of Energy about the future
of the use of hydrogen power, it can be surmised that a number of
industries will be either directly or indirectly be affected. This
paper will be very important to your research since it gives us the
vision of a hydrogen powered economy and how to get there.
“Hydrogen will be available for every end-use energy need in the
economy, including transportation, power generation, and portable
power systems. Hydrogen will be the dominant fuel for government and
commercial vehicle fleets. It will be used in a large number of
personal vehicles and light duty trucks. It will be combusted directly
and mixed with natural gas in turbines and reciprocating engines for
electricity and thermal energy in homes, offices, and factories. It
will be used in fuel cells for both mobile and stationary
applications. And it will be used in portable devices such as
computers, mobile phones, Internet hook-ups, and other electronic
equipment.”
“A NATIONAL VISION OF AMERICA'S TRANSITION TO A HYDROGEN ECONOMY — TO
2030 AND BEYOND”
http://www.eren.doe.gov/hydrogen/pdfs/summary.pdf
The following industries shall be affected in a very profound way:
---------------
Crude Oil Industry Sales:
“Experts have known that hydrogen was a likely fuel, and that it could
be the answer to energy storage for renewable energy systems like
solar cells (that stop producing electricity at night) and wind power
(that quits making electricity when the wind dies). All hydrogen
needed to be a winner was an efficient and inexpensive means of
turning hydrogen back into electrical energy and a good way to store
and transport it.”
“These technological advancements emerged in the midst of a continuing
escalation of the costs of fossil fuels. In 1999, the price of crude
oil surged beyond US$30 a barrel, environmental and safety legislation
forced oil companies into expensive modifications to their shipping
and manufacturing operations, and fines from inevitable accidents now
cost the oil industry hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
Environmental legislation, especially in Europe and the United States
mandated the introduction of fuel-cell vehicles. For example
California law requires that 10% of the vehicles on their roads be
zero emission by 2004.”
“Lastly, the world governments are growing more sensitive to the
military costs of securing Middle East oil sources (an estimated
US$100 billion a year cost to the United States).”
Hydrogen Power
http://www.ice-pac.org/background/hydrogen.html
---------------
Automotive Industry:
“The hydrogen-based fuel cell, which emits only water and electricity
to drive the vehicle, has long been the best hope for a "clean car"
paradigm shift, but experts say such technologies are still a far-off
dream for ordinary drivers.”
“Despite great strides in fuel economy, vehicles running on fossil
fuels still emit a tenth of the man-made carbon dioxide which has been
blamed for abnormal climate patterns and a profusion of natural
disasters.”
“The problem, Rhys says, is that engines powered by fossil fuels
(though the very name suggests redundancy) keep getting more efficient
and more powerful, and governments aren't doing enough to make the
alternatives more appealing.”
“That's especially true for countries like the United States, where
petrol is about three times cheaper than in Japan.”
“The difference encourages Americans to drive bigger, dirtier cars and
makes them less willing to pay a premium for fuel economy.”
“Perhaps the greatest challenge, say analysts, lies with governments,
who need the political courage to create a fiscal regime that makes
drivers want to buy vehicles that spew out less carbon dioxide.”
“Car industry struggles to ween drivers off oil” by TOM PFEIFFER
REUTERS
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L26147367
-----------------
Power (Electricity) Industries:
“The hydrogen economy would make possible a vast redistribution of
power. Today's centralized, top-down flow of energy, controlled by
global oil companies and utilities, would become obsolete. In the new
era, every human being could become the producer as well as the
consumer of his or her own energy--so-called ‘distributed
generation.’”
“When millions of users connect their fuel cells by hooking into
existing power grids, using the same design principles and smart
technologies that made possible the Web, they can begin to share
energy peer-to-peer--creating a new, decentralized form of energy
use.”
“Nowhere would hydrogen energy be more important than in the
developing world.”
“Incredibly, 65% of the human population has never made a single
telephone call, and one-third has no access to electricity or any
other form of commercial energy.”
“Lack of access to energy, especially electricity, is a key factor in
perpetuating poverty around the world.”
“The Power to Change the World”
by Jeremy Rifkin
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0902-04.htm
-----------------------
Battery Manufacturers:
“First invented by a chemist in the mid-1800s, fuel cells work
somewhat like a battery, in that they produce an electric current that
can drive a motor. However, unlike a battery, they do not store energy
but depend on a steady supply of fuel, the way a combustion engine
does. The fuels for a fuel cell are hydrogen (which can be supplied
directly as elemental hydrogen or derived from a hydrogen-rich source
such as natural gas) and oxygen (which is obtained from the ambient
air).”
“Despite the promise of fuel cells to power a sustainable economy,
significant challenges to their development and widespread use lie
ahead. Stationary fuel cell power production technology is now
commercially available, but it is expensive, even with government
subsidies, and it faces tremendous uncertainties as electricity
production is deregulated. On the other hand, as electricity markets
open to competition, they present diverse opportunities to move fuel
cells into the power market over the next several years.”
“For transportation applications, the challenges are different. After
nearly a century of overwhelming dependence on the internal combustion
engine, we are now poised for a major transition away from this
polluting technology, thanks to successful efforts by
environmentalists to promote alternatives to gasoline-powered
automobiles and diesel-powered buses. However, because fuel cells are
not yet produced commercially for transportation, and other
alternative fuels and technologies are already available, the
transition to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles may be complicated by
efforts currently under way to promote other clean fuel technologies,
which themselves require significant infrastructure investment.”
The Future: To Cell or Not To Cell
By Renee J. Robins
http://www.clf.org/pubs/cell.htm
“Today, nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) batteries are used in billions of
consumer products--a technology, by the way, that ECD pioneered. They
can be found in tens of millions of laptops, tens of millions of
cellphones and countless other portable electronic products.”
“The hydride in NiMH batteries stores, you guessed it, hydrogen. NiMH
batteries provide more than twice the energy and life cycle of
conventional lead-acid batteries. They're maintenance-free. And their
environmental impact is much more benign. Remember when you had to
make sure you ran down the batteries in your cellphone or your laptop
so that they'd take a full charge? And a full charge lasted maybe half
as long as it does now? NiMH technology changed all that.”
“So the hydrogen economy has started. And the applications of hydrogen
as a major energy source are about to expand exponentially.”
“Fueling The Future”
BY ROBERT C. STEMPEL
http://popularmechanics.com/automotive/auto_technology/2002/9/fueling_the_future/print.phtml
One country which could soon be considered as an early adopter of
hydrogen power is Iceland.
“At first sight, it might seem odd that Iceland should be bothering
with hydrogen and worrying about greenhouse emissions. After all, 93
per cent of all houses are already heated by eco-friendly geothermal
energy. But Iceland's tiny population of 280,000 faces a paradox — its
large fishing fleet and energy-intensive metal smelting industry make
it one of the world's largest per-head producers of carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases. That is a major frustration for a country
which takes its environmental commitments seriously, yet has few
options for expanding its economy. Switching Iceland's vehicles and
ships — which today account for two-thirds of carbon dioxide emissions
— from fossil fuels would give a lot more flexibility to build up
industry while still meeting Kyoto Protocol guidelines. Jon Bjorn
Skulason, general manager of Icelandic New Energy, says the potential
is considerable, since Iceland has so far tapped only 15 per cent of
its hydro and geothermal reserves. The government is champing at the
bit to expand the industrial base. Only last week, it announced the
start of formal talks with Alcoa on construction of a new 320,000 ton
smelter that would double aluminum production. With its cheap energy
resources, Iceland has a chance to lead the world in the coming
hydrogen economy, Mr. Skulason believes.”
“Iceland on road to oil free”
http://www.longdistanceconnection.com/artoil.html
We can see that almost all the industries will adjust once hydrogen
power comes along and becomes affordable. I really think that most
businesses won’t be losers in this one since they will adjust and try
to find a way to profit from this technology. It will be the countries
which supply oil and the numerous refineries which will bear the brunt
of the adoption of this technology.
Search terms used:
“hydrogen power” economics affected industries
I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if
you would need further information.
Thanks for visiting us at Google Answers.
Regards,
Easterangel-ga |
Clarification of Answer by
easterangel-ga
on
01 Oct 2002 23:14 PDT
In answer to your clarification, it seems that whatever industries it
will affect hydrogen power and fuel cells will eventually will have to
start with its basic function… power. I could not find any other
really less obvious ones but maybe we can surmise from these findings.
I already mentioned that battery manufacturers will be affected but it
seems that the bigger change will be felt the mobile communication
industry when they use fuel cells.
“Fuel cells designed to power portable electronic devices are likely
to be the first commercial application of the technology in the 21st
century.”
“The next generation of high-bandwidth mobile devices will require
significantly greater power densities and fuel cells are the only
technology that can provide it.”
“’Battery technology is unlikely to keep pace with these growing power
demands, and laptop equipment manufacturers are already being faced
with introducing various power-down options to save battery energy,’
said Dr Dyer.”
Fuel cells to replace batteries in mobile devices within five years
http://www.eetuk.com/tech/news/OEG20010917S0025
We can infer from the following that cellular phone and other mobile
device communication manufacturers will have to adjust their future
designs right now to accommodate fuel cells. It probably mean that in
the future their will be multimedia in our cellphones. Therefore maybe
at that time GSM cell phones will be obsolete and 3G will be more
viable.
In the How Stuff Works website, they mention different types of future
uses for fuel cells in the near future.
“Fuel-cell-powered cars will start to replace gas- and diesel-engine
cars in about 2005. A fuel-cell car will be very similar to an
electric car but with a fuel cell and reformer instead of batteries.
Most likely, you will fill your fuel-cell car up with methanol, but
some companies are working on gasoline reformers. Other companies hope
to do away with the reformer completely by designing advanced storage
devices for hydrogen.”
“Fuel cells also make sense for portable electronics like laptop
computers, cellular phones or even hearing aids. In these
applications, the fuel cell will provide much longer life than a
battery would, and you should be able to ‘recharge’ it quickly with a
liquid or gaseous fuel.”
“Fuel-cell-powered buses are already running in several cities. The
bus was one of the first applications of the fuel cell because
initially, fuel cells needed to be quite large to produce enough power
to drive a vehicle. In the first fuel-cell bus, about one-third of the
vehicle was filled with fuel cells and fuel-cell equipment. Now the
power density has increased to the point that a bus can run on a much
smaller fuel cell.”
The whole IT sector specially the Internet will benefit from hydrogen
power as well.
“The digital age requires higher power reliability for silicon chip
factories, sensitive corporate databases, and everyone with a computer
or a digital clock. Fuel cells can isolate loads from power quality
and reliability problems or provide power locally and feed any excess
into the grid.”
What’s a fuel cell?
http://www.bpa.gov/Corporate/KCC/nr/99nr/fcfacts.pdf
Home Power Generation
“This is a promising application that you may be able to order as soon
as 2002. General Electric is going to offer a fuel-cell generator
system made by Plug Power. This system will use a natural gas or
propane reformer and produce up to seven kilowatts of power (which is
enough for most houses). A system like this produces electricity and
significant amounts of heat, so it is possible that the system could
heat your water and help to heat your house without using any
additional energy.”
Large Power Requirements
“Some fuel-cell technologies have the potential to replace
conventional combustion power plants. Large fuel cells will be able to
generate electricity more efficiently than today's power plants.”
How Fuel Cells Work
by Karim Nice
http://www.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell6.htm
Energy now could also be delivered by Mail.
New Energy Company To Deliver Inexpensive Power For Your Car, Home Or
Business By Mail
http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/FuelCellToday/IndustryInformation/IndustryInformationExternal/IndustryInformationDisplayArticle/0,1168,438,00.html
Through the use of fuel cells General Motors is planning to challenge
power companies in the future. This could also start a new industry.
“GM's plans go beyond putting fuel cells in vehicles. The automaker
unveiled a stationary unit in August that generates enough electricity
to run a house and said it can build more powerful units capable of
running subdivisions and factories. A GM-designed fuel reformer
extracts hydrogen from natural gas to run the stationary fuel cell.”
“Burns predicted GM could be ready to sell stationary fuel cells by
the middle of this decade, and added, ‘We think we can get the
stationary technology to where it's very comparable to the peak
(electricity) rates you pay.’”
“‘It's a given’ that stationary fuel cells will be commercially viable
before fuel-cell vehicles are, he says. Because fuel cells are small
generating stations, they could replace large, central power plants
fired by coal or nuclear power. ‘You can have your own power generator
in your backyard and be self-sufficient,’ he says.”
HOME APPLICATIONS: Fuel cells could power more than cars
http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:fIZg0iaak0IC:www.auto.com/industry/other18_20011018.htm+%22fuel+cells%22+factories&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Commercial buildings as well will soon be designed to fully utilize
the power of fuel cells. Buildings of today may need to pay for energy
upgrade services in the future.
“The Fuel Cells for Buildings Program is developing and demonstrating
technologies unique to building applications that are not being
addressed by other fuel cell programs. The initial focus will be on
developing a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, the fuel cell
type having size and operating characteristics most appropriate to
building use. This technology will be intended for offices, health,
lodging, and educational buildings, which have load characteristics,
electric rate structures, and economies of scale that make PEM fuel
cells attractive.”
Hydrogen power could also empower the military. The stuff of science
fiction is here.
”RICHLAND, Wash.—When 21st century soldiers suit up for the
battlefield in helmets featuring image displays and laser range
finders, one of their most important accessories may be a new power
generator so lightweight a soldier can carry it with him. The
"man-portable generator" is being developed at the Department of
Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the U.S. Army's
Communications-Electronics Command.”
Small Fuel Processor Powers
Light-Weight Soldiers’ System
http://www.pnl.gov/news/2001/01-13.htm
According to this slide presentation, it seems that aside form the oil
companies, public utility companies will be greatly affected and might
lose business to a growing new industry in power distribution.
“three years ago, utility executives would not business to on-site/
distributed generation. Not so anymore.”
“Emerging Niche Markets in Distributed Generation”
http://www.lockeliddell.com/newsevents/files/BSwanstrom_Energy_Presentation.pdf
I hope that my clarification has somewhat supplemented my answers
before and also opened new perspectives. It seems that very few
analysts are worried about the negative effects on some industries
since they know through the need for survival and probably
legislation, these affected companies will adjust.
If you would need further assistance on this. Please ask for another
clarification.
Thanks again for being a part of Google Answers.
Regards,
Easterangel-ga
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