Previously in this series, I began discussing hydrogen as a main fuel source to replace oil, laying out a vision from a conversation with futurist Garry Golden.

What I wrote was that the Internal Combustion Engine was at the end of its product lifecycle, primarily ecause of the combination of global warming and the fact that we’ve probably pumped half of the easy to reach oil from the ground. What will replace it, according to Golden, is the electric motor.

Continuing on with the discussion, here’s what comes next if you accept that the future is electric:

3) Electric Motors Will Be Powered by Fuel Cells

If the future of transportation is the electric motor and not ICE, and electric motors work by moving electrons, where do we get those moving electrons? Batteries come to mind, but oddly enough, batteries are relatively inefficient. Sure they store up moving electrons in the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight, and any other hybrid on the market today, but are they best we have?

Ask yourself this: if batteries really were an efficient means of storing electricity, wouldn’t they be used by utilities in large numbers to store electricity for peak demand? But the reality is, they’re not. The reason the electricity in your house comes on when you flick a switch is because at that exact moment, a generator (think of it as the opposite of an electric motor), is being turned and getting those electrons moving. When you turn on your switch, you’re not taping into a big battery reservoir of electrons, you’re plugging directly into an electron “pump.”

Clearly, batteries are used to store electricity, they’re just not good enough. Now, here’s the great thing about electricity: a moving electron is a moving electron. As long as you can match a few parameters like the right voltage (how fast) and amperage (how much), it doesn’t matter to an electric motor how the electricity is produced. So what’s better than a battery? Potentially, a fuel cell.

While a battery is a closed system (the only thing you can put back into a battery is an electric charge, if it’s rechargeable), fuel cells convert a fuel to electricity. To keep a fuel cell going, replace the fuel as it gets used up. There are a couple of different fuel cell designs, each using a different fuel, but because we’re talking hydrogen, we’re only concerned about those powered by hydrogen.

There are a couple of interesting aspects about fuel cells. According to Golden, they can scale large or small. Now remember, he’s a futurist, so he’s talking maybe 20 years out…to start. But, it’s not inconceivable that we could buy a desk lamp with a fuel cell inside it that would last the typical life of a desk lamp without refueling and without being plugged into the grid. On a larger scale, you could scale up a fuel cell so that it can provide all the power for a typical house. Indeed, these stationary fuel cells may arrive before those in transportation.

But, according to Golden, there will be fuel cell powered vehicles sold as fleet vehicles by major manufacturers within 2-3 years. Maybe little more than demonstration vehicles, they will point the way to a fuel cell transportation future.

Says Golden, “The great thing about electricity is that you can can diversify your feedstocks.” Indeed, some fuel cells are designed to be run on Liquid Propane Gas, Calor Gas, or Propane, all of which gets changed into hydrogen.

While most experts agree widescale adoption of fuel cells in passenger vehicles is far off, there are some vehicles that may get them sooner. For example, sailboats. Voller Energy is promoting their “green” fuel cell for yachts by sailing across the Atlantic and fuel cell powered sailboat. You can follow the action here on their blog.

In reality, electric vehicles will probably be a combination of fuel cells for power generation; batteries for storage (as inefficient as they are); and some form of super capacitor for acceleration. (A capacitor is an electrical device that stores electricity in a field between two plates. It can charge up and discharge very quickly.) The fuel cell will power the batteries and capacitors.

So, where do we get the hydrogen to power the fuel cells? That’s next…