The price of gasoline is on its way up again. The supply of gasoline is uncertain (some studies say it has peaked and will not last for more than 20 years). Continuing volatility in the Middle East makes the acquisition of gas and oil even more risky and expensive. So what can we do? The word that we hear more and more is hydrogen.

Hydrogen fuel cells have been powering cars on a test basis for the past half dozen years. Over and over we hear that the only thing that comes out of the exhaust pipe of a vehicle powered by hydrogen is water. While that is true, there are more than a few questions to be answered about the production of hydrogen that often get lost in the excitement over its potential.

The Reason Foundation has just published a paper titled “Are Hydrogen Vehicles Good for America?” In it, author William Korchinski quotes Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman as saying, “We expect hydrogen to play an integral role in our energy portfolio, and we are eager to see hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road in the near future.” Bodman has also committed $100 million to 25 hydrogen research and development projects.

The big problem with hydrogen is in the source, according to Korchinski. Hydrogen is most easily created through the use of natural gas in a process called steam methane reforming. This is the same natural gas that many of us use to heat our homes. The same natural gas that costs significantly more than it did five years ago. Part of the really big problem is that the major sources of natural gas are the same places that we get most of our oil and gasoline. That’s right, using this method, hydrogen fuels would require us to continue to deal with the Middle East and with Russia.

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The other way of creating hydrogen is electrolysis — in which an electrical current is sent through pure water to separate the molecules, with the hydrogen molecules being captured and stored. The only issue here is the amount of electricity required and the pollution cost to acquire it. It would seem to me that the win-win scenario would be to use hydroelectric plants, where the source and the energy all come from one place.

There are many issues to be considered, and a very good argument can still be made for the pursuit of hydrogen as a fuel source. The lesson is that it may not always be as easy as it appears or as it is made to appear by those who advocate for it.