H2
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the known Universe. When hydrogen is extracted from water, using renewable energy resources, we call it clean, or green, solar, or free-range. Solar produced hydrogen is at the top of the fuel pyramid because of its abundance and clean burning emissions. Hydrogen can also be chemically combined in a fuel cell to produce electricity to run electric motors and appliances with a by-product of water.
The very first internal combustion engine in an automobile was burning hydrogen for fuel. The patent was issued in 1809. The hydrogen was accompanied by carbon monoxide, the two of which were obtained from smoldering coal in an oxygen deprived state. This gas was called towns gas, or producer gas, today we call it syngas. There were hydrogen pipelines in Europe and the USA in the early 1800's. Petroleum got its hold in Europe in the 1840's, while Standard Oil was founded in the US in 1863? Nicolaus Otto developed the 4 stroke, ICE in the 1870's. Otto chose producer gas not because it was more prevalent, but because he knew it was much safer than the new alternative, Benzo, refined from petroleum. Benzyne is a component of the long hydro-carbon string that makes up gasoline. Benzyne is so toxic that a thimble full could kill an entire city block full of people. It is therefore imperative that we return full circle, back to hydrogen to fuel our automobiles again.
In 1811, when the first automobile was driven, hydrogen was stored at low pressure in a balloon between the drivers legs. Today, hydrogen is stored either chemically in combination with other elements, in a metal matrix as a solid, as a cryogenic liquid, or as a high pressure gas. The transportation industry has predominately chosen compressed hydrogen storage because of the successful track record with compressed natural gas, (CNG) for use in natural gas vehicles, (NGV's). We, at Intergalactic also like compressed hydrogen storage because the hydrogen grade components in the fuel storage and delivery system of a vehicle are easily backward compatible to also utilize CNG, or any blend of H2 and CNG for transportation fuel in a flex-fuel configuration.
It is therefor paramount that mankind fully embrace the natural gas stage of our fuel use evolution, (specifically CNG) in order to return full circle to hydrogen for fuel. All the components we need to make internal combustion engines, (ICE's) run on CNG, are the same components we need to make an engine operate on hydrogen for fuel. The hydrogen components must be built to withstand higher pressures and at tighter tolerances.