The hydrogen economy
Event review: the potential for hydrogen as an energy source
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| Mr Colin Chapman (Past Chairman of the RSC Bristol and District Section),
Dr Joseph McCarney, Raymond Holland (Hon Secretary of the SCI’s Bristol
& South West Regional Group) and Dr Ian Donaldson (Hon. Chairman of the
SCI’s Bristol & South West Regional Group) |
On 27 March 2008, SCI’s
Bristol and South West Regional
Group hosted an event entitled ‘The
Hydrogen Economy’. The talk was
given by Dr Joseph McCarney from
Johnson Matthey, and was designed
to give the audience a flavour of
the (energy) future, and how hydrogen
could be used as a major
contributor to the UK’s energy
production, the current situation
and likely obstacles that energy
producers will face.
Hydrogen is not difficult to
come by (although it is difficult
to store) as a great deal is produced
as a by-product from other
chemical production.
Dr McCarney first outlined the
difficulty in persuading both companies
and individuals to change
their perception of fuel consumption.
Fossil fuels are unlikely to
ever run out completely — market
forces will drive prices up until
their cost becomes astronomical
— and for the foreseeable future
they will continue to be our primary
source of energy. This means,
with escalating requirements, the
UK is becoming increasingly reliant
on the Middle East.
The major problem facing the
transition away from fossil fuels,
is that the technology is too expensive
and no organisation is
willing to move until others do so.
Ideally, the government would
need to take the first step, as any
investment that they put in can
be used to engineer economies of
scale and ultimately bring the cost
of hydrogen technology down.
Dr McCarney gave an interesting
and logical talk that kept the
audience interested throughout.
The Bristol Group booked Dr
McCarney 18 months in advance
for this event, and he himself was
the first to point out that in even
that relatively short period, the
interest and publicity concerning
the use of hydrogen had dwindled
as the public focus moved on to
other sources of energy, such as
hybrid technologies and renewable
energies in the form of hydroelectricity
and wind power.
This, however, did not make
the talk any less interesting, and
Dr McCarney proved to be a
knowledgeable and coherent
speaker for an audience made up
of both chemists and non-chemists.
Once again, the good work
from the Bristol and South West
Group, with particular mention
of their Honorary Secretary,
Raymond Holland, has resulted
in an excellent, well-attended lecture
that truly encapsulated the
current topic of energy consumption.
The Bristol Group has offered
a great medium for local
scientists to listen and discuss
with an expert, a topic that is
particularly relevant to modern
society.
SCI Bristol & South West
Regional Group
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