Today we have 2 different kinds of hydrogen available for use as a motor fuel. The least desirable H2 is what I call "caged" hydrogen. This could be considered "dirty" hydrogen made from non renewable sources. This "black" hydrogen is available from a low of $4.50 per kilo derived from grid powered electrolysis, to a high of over $100 per kilo from the steam reformation of methane. A kilo of hydrogen has almost exactly as many BTU's as a gallon of gasoline. However, when hydrogen is burned in an internal combustion engine (H2ICE), you can expect roughly twice as many miles per kilo as you would get miles per gallon. This makes the cost of dirty hydrogen anywhere from 2x times, up to 50x times the cost of gasoline.

The good news is we have a clean, green and renewable source of hydrogen at much lower cost. When hydrogen is produced through electrolysis of water using renewable, or solar, electricity, we get what I call "free-range" hydrogen. At Arizona Public Service, in downtown Phoenix, they offer "green" hydrogen for $2.25 per kilo. This breakthrough allows motorists to operate their vehicle for 1/2 the cost of gasoline! Solar derived hydrogen is the cleanest fuel available. Hydrogen not only keeps your engine oil clean, but burning it can produce cleaner air out the tailpipe than the air we breathe in any metropolitan city.

Methane is another fuel that has 2 distinct varieties. Most of the natural gas used for vehicles today, whether liquefied at cold temperatures, or compressed to high pressure comes from oil wells and coal mines. Although this supply is finite, natural gas in Utah is .91 cents per g.g.e. today. At that price, CNG is less than half the cost of gasoline!

Natural gas does have greatly reduced exhaust emissions when burned in an engine. Since this fuel is so clean, the oil in your engine stays clean a lot longer and can increase the life of your engine. This reduces maintenance costs which in the long run can save fleet operators and individual's lots of time and money.

There is a very large, untapped source for "renewable" methane in this country. Piling up in feed lots, brewing in land fills and bubbling out of sewage is a usable fuel that would be much better put to use for transportation than allowed to escape into Earths atmosphere. We can also make bio gas from grass clippings and other decomposing matter. Collecting these gasses and compressing them for use as a motor fuel is easy and inexpensive. This is the clean fuel of choice in Sweden. With renewable natural gas we can support our local farmers, bolster our economy and increase our nation's security. Most of the components that refuel and make an engine burn natural gas are the same components needed to run hydrogen through any engine. By embracing natural gas, we get one step closer to a hydrogen powered future.

Another locally produced fuel we can use right now with these same benefits is ethanol. Today there are millions of flex-fuel vehicles on the road that can use either gasoline, or up to 85% ethanol. Although more E-85 pumps are being installed at gas stations everyday, we could use a whole lot more to meet the demand of existing vehicles. When ethanol is produced in large quantities in "energy parks", where multiple industries are using each others waste, the fuel is efficient and economical. In Columbus, Ohio, a gallon of E-85 sells for $1.43 and the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition regularly promotes E-85 at stations around the nation for .85 cents a gallon.

Individuals can also produce alcohol from a still at their business, school or residence to save money on fuel and reduce their use of gasoline. You do not need a flex-fuel vehicle to use this American made fuel. Just about any car out there, without modification, can use up to 30% ethanol mixed with gasoline. Ethanol can lower tailpipe emissions, but when used in a non flex-fuel vehicle a fuel economy loss of about 10% will result. Depending on the cost of ethanol available to you this can still add up to a savings to your pocket book.

While natural gas is paving the highway to hydrogen, today's electric cars are building a bridge to fuel cell vehicles. There are many capable electric vehicles today. With a charger at home and one at work or onboard your EV, you can be charging your vehicle whenever it is parked. Your fuel cost will depend on the price of electricity available to you. The current electricity market lists New York with the highest price per kilo watt hour at $0.12 cents. West Virginia has the lowest electricity prices at 5.3 cents per kilo watt hour. With the current electric vehicle and quick charger station project in Hawaii you do not even have to wait 8 hours for a full charge of your EV's batteries. While shopping or taking a lunch break on the island of Oahu, the batteries on an EV can obtain an 80% charge in just 20 - 30 minutes! With 11 quick charge stations on the island, EV's are a practical and economical way to travel around this forward thinking community. Electric vehicles also reduce an often overlooked pollution, noise.

The only way to grow demand for these cleaner, safer, healthier and more economical fuels is to let people know about their benefits. Most people do not know these options exist. When in reality they are not new, it is just that we are coming full circle in our fuel choices and returning to the fuels that engines were originally intended to run on. That is why I implore you to join the clean fuel revolution. If you put E85 in your SUV, put a sticker on it too that lets people know you are using less gasoline. If your trade in your car for a CNG vehicle to have the ability to use in the car pool lane with only a single occupant, tell your co-workers about this time and money saving advantage. If you drive a diesel truck, school bus, or big rig, fill it up with biodiesel. Your engine will love it and all the kids breathing the exhaust will thank you. If an EV or neighborhood EV can fit your needs, then use it for errands or short commutes and leave your family hauler parked at home. If you can afford the initial investment to convert your vehicles engine to run on hydrogen, you will be paid back continually through less expensive "solar" hydrogen and through the do good factor. If you simply must use petroleum, get a hybrid and burn less of it.

More information on buying cleaner fuel and multi-fuel vehicles can be found at www.IntergalacticHydrogen.com There, you will find helpful links to the fuels available in your region and the vehicles that can use them.

END STORY