Swiss scientists achieve safe method of turning hydrogen into liquid fuel; could be paired w/solar

[nationalize the fed]

for powering homes overnight

Transforming hydrogen into liquid fuel using atmospheric CO2

EPFL scientists have completed their solution for transforming hydrogen gas into a less flammable liquid fuel that can be safely stored and transported

Hydrogen is often touted as the fuel of the future. But because this gas is highly explosive, it must be stored and transported under pressure in specialized and expensive containers. Hydrogen therefore has issues in terms of safety, logistics, and profitability that could significantly limit its wider use. However, a solution might lie in research by EPFL scientists, who have developed a simple system based on two chemical reactions. The first reaction transforms hydrogen into formic acid, a liquid that is easy to store and less flammable than gasoline, while the second reaction does the reverse and restores the hydrogen. Another possible application of their technology would be to use atmospheric CO2 to synthesize a number of useful chemical products.

Gabor Laurenczy's team has already developed a process for transforming formic acid into hydrogen gas. The method was the subject of several articles, one of which appeared in Science, and it is currently under industrial development. But a complete and coherent system would also require the inverse process: transforming hydrogen into formic acid. This has now been achieved, completing the cycle, thanks to the financial support of EOS Holding. The scientists in Laurenczy's team have described the process in a Nature Communications article...

...The two chemical reactions – hydrogen to formic acid and back to hydrogen - are catalytic: the advantage is that nothing is lost in the transformation, and the process can thus be used in constructing sustainable devices...

Full article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-06/epfd-thi060214.php

The only exhaust from Hydrogen is water. The Hydrogen age is here, no more fossil fuels. Imagine if a fraction of the money given to oil, fracking and nuclear fission was given to Hydrogen research.

Everywhere one looks on the net people expect huge (unrealistic) leaps in battery tech- so more cars can run on electricity made from coal- but seem to think that Hydrogen tech is somehow stuck in time. "There will be no way to contain it, ship it or use it cheaply" they say, over and over and over again, ignoring the fact that all of those things are being done today. Why is that? It's bizarre.

[DetlefK]

1. Combine that with other technologies and it's done:

1. Using Cu2O and/or CdSe as catalysts, it's possible to split water into hydrogen and oxygen via sunlight. The hydrogen is stored, the oxygen is released into the atmosphere.
2. Using a ruthenium-catalyst, it's possible to combine the hydrogen with carbondioxide into formic acid. Extract the formic acid.
3. Formic acid is a liquid. Transport it.
4. Using the same ruthenium-catalyst, it's possible to split the formic acid into hydrogen and carbondioxide.
5. Burn the hydrogen with oxygen from the air. The exhaust fume is water-vapour.

Losses: The sunlight from step 1 and the electricity to keep the industrial processes running.

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140602/ncomms5017/full/ncomms5017.html

[Leme]

2. looked at link

Perhaps we will have a CO2 shortage in a few decades. from link

Another possible application of this technology would be to use atmospheric CO2, a greenhouse gas, as a building-block for chemical synthesis. Formic acid is the basis of numerous organic syntheses, e.g. in the textile industry. As Laurenczy explains: "We are killing two birds with one stone: we could sequester part of the 35 gigatons of CO2 that are emitted into the atmosphere every year, and also use it to synthesize materials."

[NickB79]

3. You need to brush up on your basic chemistry

...The two chemical reactions – hydrogen to formic acid and back to hydrogen - are catalytic: the advantage is that nothing is lost in the transformation, and the process can thus be used in constructing sustainable devices...

Something is ALWAYS lost, that something being energy. You lose LESS energy using a catalyst than you would without it, but to claim absolutely nothing is lost in the transformation would essentially be creating a perpetual motion system.

http://www.4college.co.uk/as/atm/catalysts.php

That's not to say this isn't a VERY promising development. You just have to tie it into an energy source that's renewable (such as solar and wind), because you need an external energy supply to both crack water into hydrogen and push the reaction. The same goes for the idea of using CO2 as a fuel stock; you just need a way to extract and compress it to high enough concentrations.

It also has the benefit of being a way to store renewable energy without requiring massive battery banks or large hydro systems.