The New Hydrogen Reactor

A new hydrogen reactor has been created. The significance is rather important. Because of this invention we may be on our way to a cleaner-burning source of power. Another great selling point for the reactor is that it makes the production of renewable hydrogen economical and available. Currently it is very expensive to produce hydrogen because it is made with fossil fuels. The new process uses ethanol, a corn-based product.

Hydrogen power itself is hardly a new idea. Hydrogen fuel cells already propel experimental vehicles and supply power for some buildings. NASA has used them on spacecraft for decades.

But hydrogen is expensive to make and uses fossil fuels. The researchers say their reactor will produce hydrogen exclusively from ethanol and do it cheaply enough so people can buy hydrogen fuel cells for personal use.

They also believe their technology could be used to convert ethanol to hydrogen at fuel stations when cars that run solely on hydrogen enter the mass market.

Hydrogen does not emit any pollution or greenhouse gases. But unlike oil or coal, hydrogen must be produced — there are no natural stores of it waiting to be pumped or dug out of the ground.

The new technology holds economic potential for Midwest farmers, who are leaders in the production of corn-based ethanol.

Quote Source

If technology based on this discovery starts to prove feasible we can expect to see great advances in our technology and great benefits to our environment. I wonder what impact this will have on the price of corn.