Hydrogen—is it the energy vector for the future, or on the contrary, limited for many more decades, possibly even until the end of the century, to its current applications in the field of chemistry and refining? Advocates of the hydrogen civilization and the skeptics, even the declared opponents, are deeply divided over this issue. For the first, following a technological revolution, hydrogen would play a universal role alongside electricity in transport, leading to radical elimination of CO2 emissions. For the second, hydrogen will remain restricted to its current applications due to the insoluble problems inherent in its generalized use, especially in transport.

The road to global security," writes Jeremy Rifkin, "lies in lessening our dependence on Middle East oil and making sure that all people on Earth have access to the energy they need to sustain life. Weaning the world off oil and turning it toward hydrogen is a promissory note for a safer world." Rifkin's international bestseller The Hydrogen Economy presents the clearest, most comprehensive case for moving ourselves away from the destructive and waning years of the oil era toward a new kind of energy regime. Hydrogen-one of the most abundant substances in the universe-holds the key, Rifkin argues, to a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable world.

How the use of nonpolluting, zero-emission hydrogen as fuel could be the cornerstone of a new energy economy. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. An invisible, tasteless, colorless gas, it can be converted to nonpolluting, zero-emission, renewable energy. When burned in an internal combustion engine, hydrogen produces mostly harmless water vapor. It performs even better in fuel cells, which can be 2.5 times as efficient as internal-combustion engines. Zero-emission hydrogen does not contribute to CO2-caused global warming. Abundant and renewable, it is unlikely to be subject to geopolitical pressures or scarcity concerns. In this new edition of his pioneering book Tomorrow's Energy, Peter Hoffmann makes the case for hydrogen as the cornerstone of a new energy economy. Hoffmann covers the major aspects of hydrogen production, storage, transportation, fuel use, and safety. He explains that hydrogen is not an energy source but a carrier, like electricity, and introduces the concept of “hydricity,” the essential interchangeability of electricity and hydrogen. He brings the hydrogen story up to date, reporting on the latest developments, including new hydrogen and fuel-cell cars from GM, Daimler, BMW, Honda, and Toyota. He describes recent political controversies, including Obama administration Energy Secretary (and Nobel laureate in Physics) Steven Chu's inexplicable dismissal of hydrogen—which puts him at odds with major automakers, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and others. Our current energy system is a complex infrastructure, and phasing in hydrogen will take effort and money. But if we consider the real costs of fossil fuels—pollution and its effects, international tensions over gas and oil supplies, and climate change—we would be wise to promote its development.

A transition to renewable and low-carbon forms of energy is being widely debated as a means of securing a sustainable future for mankind. Hydrogen Energy Challenges and Prospects, a new book from the authors of Clean Energy, considers the prospects for hydrogen as a universal energy vector and fuel for the decades to come. With no emissions other than water arising from its combustion, the potential virtues of harnessing and utilizing hydrogen correlate with recent growing concern over the security of conventional fuel supply and global climate change. This book sets out to analyze the technical situation in an objective fashion, free from the constraints of political and industrial loyalties. Areas covered include pathways to hydrogen production, prospects for carbon capture and storage, options for hydrogen storage on vehicles, fuel cells, and fuel cell vehicles. Each of the many facets of hydrogen energy is discussed and the challenges to be faced are addressed. The authors acknowledge it is not possible to reach a simple, unequivocal conclusion regarding overall prospects, since the international energy scene is so complex, and predicting long-term futures is so notoriously difficult. Nevertheless, the reader will be given compelling pointers indicative of the way in which events might develop. This topical book is ideal for undergraduates, postgraduates and academics with an interest in hydrogen energy. Government agencies and energy professionals will also find this content to be a useful reference source.

Lately it has become a matter of conventional wisdom that hydrogen will solve many of our energy and environmental problems. Nearly everyone -- environmentalists, mainstream media commentators, industry analysts, General Motors, and even President Bush -- seems to expect emission-free hydrogen fuel cells to ride to the rescue in a matter of years, or at most a decade or two. Not so fast, says Joseph Romm. In The Hype about Hydrogen, he explains why hydrogen isn't the quick technological fix it's cracked up to be, and why cheering for fuel cells to sweep the market is not a viable strategy for combating climate change. Buildings and factories powered by fuel cells may indeed become common after 2010, Joseph Romm argues, but when it comes to transportation, the biggest source of greenhouse-gas emissions, hydrogen is unlikely to have a significant impact before 2050. The Hype about Hydrogen offers a hype-free explanation of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, takes a hard look at the practical difficulties of transitioning to a hydrogen economy, and reveals why, given increasingly strong evidence of the gravity of climate change, neither government policy nor business investment should be based on the belief that hydrogen cars will have meaningful commercial success in the near or medium term. Romm, who helped run the federal government's program on hydrogen and fuel cells during the Clinton administration, provides a provocative primer on the politics, business, and technology of hydrogen and climate protection.