I read today a news item coming out of Davos (the World Forum for people invested in the status quo), Major Hydrogen Investment Mooted as OEMs and Energy Companies Form Hydrogen Council:

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, carmakers and energy companies have announced the foundation of the Hydrogen Council to lay the foundations for major investment in hydrogen.
Bringing together oil giants such as Royal Dutch Shell and Total and car manufacturers such as Toyota, Daimler, BMW and Hyundai, the global initiative is the first of its kind and aims to drive forward the hydrogen fuel cell industry, as well as hydrogen in the power, industrial and residential sectors. It will also act as a voice to further this vision.

 

Essentially it shows the oil industry and the car industry joining in an initiative to develop fuel cell technology. This is not a bad technology, but there is no end of well researched information highlighting that it is not the best way to go. For example Zachary Shahan’s post Why Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars are Not Competitive.

My opinion is simple. This is an initiative for the fossil fuel industry to try and bring itself back to relevancy as the world is tipping away towards renewables.

Of course fuel cells can burn on hydrogen created by renewables, but equally the oil and gas industry can create them directly from fossil fuels. In addition, the complexity and cost of the infrastructure required to deliver hydrogen safely makes it a wrong decision designed to help a particular industry rather than further the needs of our world.

Beware of wealthy industrialists bearing gifts!