Germany is using the world's first hydrogen-powered train which emits nothing but water and steam

[iluvtennis]

@bjcreigh, 15h15 hours ago

Germany is using the world's first hydrogen-powered train which emits nothing but water and steam.

Meanwhile the US trusts a septuagenarian real estate developer’s “gut” over elitist, egghead climatologists and tries to prop up the black lung industry.
Mike Hudema

Link to tweet

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Excellent. US needs to follow the lead of Germany. Create some infrastructure jobs to do this, retrain the coal & steel workers

[GeoWilliam750]

1. Fascinating

[Thekaspervote]

2. Germany A hot bed of great concepts and engineering

[honest.abe]

4. How are they producing the hydrogen?

There is no such thing as naturally occurring pure hydrogen. It takes energy to produce it so depending on the energy source this may not be as good as it sounds. Perhaps they are using solar energy to produce it. That would be the ideal solution.

[Beartracks]

5. But the US is building a WALL! Let's hear it for 10,000-year-old ideas!

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[TreasonousBastard]

6. A quick search shows this to be driven by fuel cells...

not "burning" hydrogen. Makes sense, but you still have to produce hydrogen and oxygen for the things to work. That's getting cheaper and easier, and they can now use oxygen from the air. (Used to need "purified" oxygen)

Fuel cells are being used all over, and when hydrogen gets even cheaper to produce, will run your cars, trucks, and buses. Right now, Mercedes and Honda will gladly sell or lease you a car. Toyota and Hyundai have them in the works, too. BMW has one somewhere, and Volkswagen is gambling on electrifying, one way or another, the whole fleet.

[duforsure]

7. Has trump declared another National Emergency yet?

Changing all our trains back over to coal? Everyone is moving towards clean fuels , while trump and his buddies are resisting it all , and trying to pollute for profits instead.

[jmowreader]

8. Not a real great plan

Hydrogen takes a lot of energy to make, regardless of how you make it (there are three routes: steam reforming methane, electrolyzing water to make hydrogen and oxygen, and electrolyzing brine to make lye, chlorine and hydrogen). The train has a fuel cell to make electricity from hydrogen, and there’s an electric line above the track...why not cut out the expensive middleman and just run the train from that line?

If you want a hydrogen transportation solution, do a city bus...those you can drive anywhere you want.

[MineralMan]

9. What's the efficiency of the hydrogen generation

system that's being used. It takes lots of energy to produce hydrogen. Where is that energy coming from? Hmm....

[hunter]

10. Yet another diversion by the fossil fuel industry...

Hydrogen is a squirrelly, impractical fuel for anything but the upper stages of space vehicles.

The least expensive source of hydrogen is natural gas.

The fossil fuel industry is having a tough time dealing with the fact their fuel distribution networks are not needed for electric vehicles.

Any ordinary electric train, trolley, subway, or bus is powered by whatever solar and wind energy is available from the electric grid.

[Aristus]

11. The Germans have a sketchy history with hydrogen-based transportation.

[Codeine]

12. Argh! You beat me to it

by like two minutes.