ABSTRACT
Fuel cells have been making advances in limited applications. General Motors has delivered its first fuel cell truck to the US Army while the US Navy plans to use fuel cells for ship-board power with hydrogen sourced from diesel fuel. Steam reforming is expected to remain the most cost-effective means for producing hydrogen in volume. A steam reformer’s main function is to produce hydrogen. One hydrogen research project, part of the Strategic National R&D Program, includes thermochemical, photocatalytic and photobiological water splitting for generating hydrogen using sunlight as the primary energy source. Natural gas is the least expensive source of hydrogen today. But, there may not be enough natural gas to meet the demand for natural gas power plants and to supply a hydrogen fueled economy. Most of the hydrogen used in the chemical and petroleum industry is manufactured from natural gas, which has a hydrocarbon molecule of four hydrogen atoms bonded to one carbon atom.
