HYDROGEN, (M)ETHANOL OR ELECTRIC ECONOMY?

摘要

Australia needs a fuel and energy production system that is 'sustainable', both in terms of an ability to reproduce the initial 'feedstocks' used for their creation, and in terms of a reduction of the amount of greenhouse gases, water and toxic emissions produced or consumed during their production. In the past century especially western economies have been heavily dependent on fossil fuels, primarily coal, oil and natural gas. As demand for these products rose whilst production levels either fell or levelled off, countries began looking for alternatives to 'fossil fuel economies', with the main contenders being hydrogen, biofuels (primarily methanol and ethanol) and electricity.