Aline Leon Ž In the last years, public attention was increasingly shifted by the media and world governmentsto the conceptsof saving energy, reducingpollution, protectingthe - vironment, and developing long-term energy supply solutions. In parallel, research funding relating to alternative fuels and energy carriers is increasing on both - tional and international levels. Why has future energy supply become such a matter of concern? The reasons are the problems created by the world's current energy supply s- tem which is mainly based on fossil fuels. In fact, the energystored in hydrocarb- based solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels was, is, and will be widely consumed for internal combustion engine-based transportation, for electricity and heat generation in residential and industrial sectors, and for the production of fertilizers in agric- ture, as it is convenient, abundant, and cheap. However, such a widespread use of fossil fuels by a constantly growing world population (from 2. 3 billion in 1939 to 6. 5 billion in 2006) gives rise to the two problems of oil supply and environmental degradation. The problemrelated to oil supply is caused by the fact that fossil fuels are not - newable primary energy sources: This means that since the rst barrel of petroleum has been pumped out from the ground, we have been exhausting a heritage given by nature.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Hydrogen Cycle. - Hydrogen Production. - Hydrogen Storage. - Hydrogen Transport and Distribution. - Fuel Cells. - State of the Art Mobile Applications. - Challenges and Requirements for Car Industry. - Status on Existing Technologies. - Hybrid is a Key Technology for Future Automobiles. - Fuel Cell Vehicles: Fundamentals, System Efficiencies, Technology Development, and Demonstration Projects. - Development of Storage Tanks. - Cryogenic Reservoirs. - Safety Analysis of Hydrogen Vehicles and Infrastructure. - State of the Art Portable Applications. - Status of Existing Technologies. - Development of Portable Systems. - Challenges for the Industry. - Advanced Tools for the Development of new Materials. - Synthesis of Nanoscale Hydrogen Storage Materials. - Kinetics and Thermodynamics. - High-pressure DSC. - Status on Existing Technologies. - SEM/(S)TEM. - X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. - X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) Spectroscopy. - Perspectives. - Scientific Scope. - Environmental Scope. - Political and Economic Scope.
