Is hydrogen the answer for future energy needs?

Savings from oil and coal importation

An unlimited source of energy?  A replacement to Internal Combustion Engine?  Cleaner than EVs ?

A replacement for fossil fuel.  For EVs which is threatened by scarcity of rare earth metals.

After all, its the way sun produces energy

What about downside:   H2 station, risk of fires, transport? Handling

Fukuoka, Japan, a hydrogen town

Savings ourselves from fuel shortage

Rizal Philippines  |   October 13, 2014






Hydrogen town


The last post at this site was last December 2013 and has not updated the posts.

This afternoon there was a feature at News Asia regarding energy situation in Japan.  Japan is one of the leading consumer of energy in the world... The fossil fuel supply is likely to be gone in 60 years.  That is quite near.

So Japan is banking on renewables.   The requirement for renewables is even more pressing after the greatest nuclear accident in Fukushima after the tsunami that hit Japan in 2011.  The perils from a meltdown  outweighs the benefits.

Th two options are:








1.  wind energy.  The important contribution for this by Japan is the use of wind turbine lenses that enable the manufacturers to build wind turbine at 2/3 the usual size requirement.  The lens create a low pressure area behind the turbine which sucks air and thus the power of the turbine doubles, become more efficient and less noisy (some say that the noise of a wind turbine is equivalent to a jumbo jet taking off hence the complaint of many residents near wind mills)

2.  hydrogen power.

     One such project/experiment is the Fukouka Hydrogen Town  This covers 150 houses and involves the use of hydrogen cogeneration fuel cells used in conjunction with LPG.  This is sponsored by Nippon Oil.  These are  1 KW project that also supplies the heating requirement of homes.  There are safety concerns though since hydrogen is fed through high pressure hoses/pipes

Storing power produced from renewable energy

Rizal,  PHL  May 6, 2013

How to store power from How Stuff Works

One of the biggest problems in renewable energy production (or any energy system) is how to store power.  It is not the problem yet in PHL because the biggest problem is lack of energy.

The most common ways are using electric/electronic device:    storage battery  (energy causes a chemical reaction whereby electric charge is stored in chemicals)  and using capacitors.  Now supercapacitors are using batteries in many devices.

Other ways are:

l.  Deformation of matter    -  as with wound spring in clock springs.

2.  Falling object  -  this is used in gravity lights.

3.  Hydro power  -   excess power generated during daytime is used to drive water pumps that bring water up the hydro plant.  At nighttime when there is demand for power, water is released to generate power.  There are just 38 of this in USA;   only one in the PHL  -  the Kalayaan/Caliraya hydro power plant.

4.  Nature has ingenious way of storing power via photosynthesis

5.  Fuel cells  (electrolysis)

Can you think of other ways how to store energy?