Ok sure, this renewable H2 economy looks great but why not just use electricity generated from the renewables instead of converting it to hydrogen?
Well it's not a question of one or the other, it should be both. However there are a number of reason actually why H2 is a better use, and here are a few
1) Our national grid (if you can call it a real grid) does not easily allow for the movement of electricity from one part to the other. Its only good at moving power downstream from the regional power stations. It could not handle the demands of a fully electric fleet.
2) Renewable power is not consistent and will never be, meaning it will never run 24/7. Nor will there ever be peak demand for electricity 24/7, even when their might be wind and sun light. So that extra electricity needs to be captured and stored, and batteries are not a practical large scale solution.
3) Electric vehicles do use energy more efficiently than Fuel Cell Vehicles (see picture).
However they have much less range and recharging the batteries take too long for it to be a convenient method of medium to long range travel. Merging the two systems together is the logical step.
4) Hydrogen can be used in a number of different applications and will continue to be needed in many aspects, thus it makes sense to set up a infrastructure that supports the renewable production of H2, rather than just continuing to produce it via Natural Gas.
