[RustyLugNut]

Originally Posted by Astro

Yes, lets all buy Hydrogen.
Invest in a country spanning distribution network.
Not just adding charging points like for electricity but a whole new infrastructure.
New trucks that can transport the high pressures that hydrogen requires.
New storage tanks at the petrol stations.
New refineries to create the hydrogen in the vast quantities required.
Then we get to drive around with flammable gas under pressures that would make superman cry.
And accept the "short term" usage of fossil fuels to create the hydrogen.
All so that the oil industry can keep selling fossil fuels.

If people are willing to expend that sort of money on an infrastructure to distribute an inefficient fuel source then why not just bite the bullet and put in the under road charging points. They might not be efficient but at least once done nobody would need to refuel a vehicle, ever. Carrying the fuel for your entire trip would be a thing of the past. No flammable fuel transporting either, not by the infrastructure or the end user.

The under road chargers wouldn't have to be under every road just major roads. For city areas the cars could use their batteries. The under road chargers would be for those 5% of trips that the average person makes that exceed the range of an all electric vehicle.
Having batteries would also keep you going when sections of roads have faults or need road works so that you aren't left stranded.
Imagine driving a 1000 mile trip without refuelling once and arriving with a fully charged set of batteries.
Oh and once you are getting your fuel as you go you no longer have to be scared of the accelerator pedal. All the high horsepower enthusiasts can have their overpowered electric cars without reducing their range to impractical levels.

So if we are talking about building an infrastructure why not build something that suits the needs of the users, rather than just copy the existing fossil fuel model.

I go to the fuel station because i have to not because i want to.

Metal hydride storage and chemical conversion storage schemes could make low pressure transport the norm for hydrogen. No need for cryogenic liquid or high pressure gasses. Your idea of building induction charging into the roadways will be considerably more expensive and limiting than a current fuel station dispensing hydrogen as a side fuel. Think about it, if my electric car needs 15 minutes of induction charging to reach a reasonable battery level, at common road speeds, that could be miles upon miles I will need to travel on a "charging road". At common costs of construction, I would rather build out a current fueling station to handle hydrogen dispensing than miles of induction roadway. Also, you ignore the safety aspect of an electromagnetic energy coupling that could see all sorts of machines passing over it or becoming stranded on the charging lane. This is something that has to be thought through.

As time goes, battery performance has not increased as much as fuel cells have especially in the area of cost. And fuel cell costs are dropping even more quickly as catalyst research is finding common material configurations that displace most if not all of the rare earth metals in current fuel cells. Remember , fuel cell cars are essentially battery powered cars but without the need for a large, expensive pack as the bulk of the energy is stored in the hydrogen. Within a few miles of my beach side condo, here in San Diego are an electric car charging station, a natural gas refueling station and soon a proposed hydrogen station. This is infrastructure happening NOW. I don't need to dig up the roadways and disrupt traffic for a few cars in the starting stages of things.