Is there a way to replace nuclear power with a (big) hydrogen fuel cell

[baywax]

Could one really big hydrogen fuel cell battery replace a nuclear reactor in providing power to millions of people? This may end up being a safer option for generating power.

 

[berkeman]

Could one really big hydrogen fuel cell battery replace a nuclear reactor in providing power to millions of people? This may end up being a safer option for generating power.

Sure.

But what are you going to use to produce the Hydrogen? Electrolysis on seawater? And the energy for that comes from... ?

 

[Pengwuino]

No. Coincidentally someone answered a related thread with the perfect explanation. Hydrogen is not naturally occurring, you need to use energy to produce hydrogen. Hydrogen is only useful as a storage medium. You create hydrogen and can use it in hydrogen powered automobiles for example. However, it's a net loss, you need energy to create it and then you use it, with less than 100% efficiency, for something else such as powering a car. It's not a fuel source such as naturally occurring oil, sunlight, wind power etc.

 

[russ_watters]

That sounds vaguely familiar...

 

[Pengwuino]

That sounds vaguely familiar...

I think you copied me in another thread...

 

[baywax]

No. Coincidentally someone answered a related thread with the perfect explanation. Hydrogen is not naturally occurring, you need to use energy to produce hydrogen. Hydrogen is only useful as a storage medium. You create hydrogen and can use it in hydrogen powered automobiles for example. However, it's a net loss, you need energy to create it and then you use it, with less than 100% efficiency, for something else such as powering a car. It's not a fuel source such as naturally occurring oil, sunlight, wind power etc.

So using solar power to produce the hydrogen would be redundant... when you could simply generate the power with the solar power?

 

[Topher925]

So using solar power to produce the hydrogen would be redundant... when you could simply generate the power with the solar power?

No. There are many prospective methods of producing hydrogen with sunlight that are much more efficient and cheaper than just using solar panels. Thermochemical and photochemical cycles can reach efficiencies more than double that of similar priced solar cells and using SOFCs (~70% efficient) to generate electricity.

You can also generate hydrogen via high temperature electrolysis in a nuclear reactor and use fuel cells generate power more efficiently than you can with a typical rankin cycle design.

 

[RandomGuy88]

Using solar power to produce hydrogen also allows you to store the solar energy.

 

[JaredJames]

Using solar power to produce hydrogen also allows you to store the solar energy.

Solar power isn't particularly efficient as it is (30% at best?).

Allowing for energy loss during the process of extracting the Hydrogen, you get a very inefficient system.

Other renewable sources may be better suited.

 

[baywax]

No. There are many prospective methods of producing hydrogen with sunlight that are much more efficient and cheaper than just using solar panels. Thermochemical and photochemical cycles can reach efficiencies more than double that of similar priced solar cells and using SOFCs (~70% efficient) to generate electricity.

You can also generate hydrogen via high temperature electrolysis in a nuclear reactor and use fuel cells generate power more efficiently than you can with a typical rankin cycle design.

Ok. Very good to hear that. Kind of a play on photosynthesis or a metabolic system that produces hydrogen.

Also a good comment about how using solar energy to produce hydrogen is a form of storing solar energy for later use.

How big and how efficient would a hydrogen fuel cell... or fuel cell of any kind... have to be to power millions of people's needs? Or would it be profitable and safer etc... to include the individual fuel cells with each residence or apartment etc...?

Also, since fuel cell batteries were used during the Apollo series missions ( around 1969), haven't they been perfected to a point of being able to power helicopters and so on?