Fiber optic sensor for detecting hydrogen with chemochromic thin films

摘要

Hydrogen is generating considerable attention as a medium to store and transport energy and as a fuel for transportation. On January 9, US Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced a new public-private partnership to promote the development of hydrogen as a primary fuel for cars and trucks. Freedom CAR (CAR stands for Cooperative Automotive Research) replaces the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, which pushed the development of hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles. The new program focuses on the development of technologies for hydrogen-powered fuel cells. Analytical studies (well-to-wheels comparisons of fuel pathways and greenhouse-gas emissions) show that large reductions in petroleum use and greenhouse-gas emissions can be achieved by using fuel cells to power vehicles. Hydrogen is a "clean fuel," in that its use in fuel cells produces only heat and water. Although nearly all hydrogen is currently made from natural gas, using it in a fuel cell vehicle reduces primary energy use and net greenhouse gas emission by about 50 percent when compared to current internal-combustion engines. Future hydrogen production using nuclear power and renewable technologies (photovoltaics, wind, photocatalytic hydrolysis, biohydrogen, biomass, and solar-thermal reforming) will reduce greenhouse-gas emission to very low levels.