Energy

• Hydrogen will one day join electricity as one of the major sources of energy to people around the world, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Everything from heating and cooling homes to the forges of heavy industry will run on the stuff. But that can only happen if and when the problem of storing hydrogen is resolved. At regular atmospheric pressure on Earth, hydrogen is an expansive gas. For the sake of convenience, the gas must be stored under extremely high pressure, but this will open the door for its widespread use as an energy source.
  
  

Drive Three Hundred Miles Before Filling Up

• Once perfected, hydrogen fuel cells will obviate the need for drivers to whip into filling stations. Instead, the baseline driving range for one fill of a hydrogen fuel cell being researched by the U.S. Department of Energy is 300 miles. Prototypes of fuel cells tested in cars have come close to this goal, but the hydrogen storage technology is still in development.
  
  

An End to Pollution

• When used as a fuel, hydrogen does not release toxic, noxious or greenhouses gases into the environment, and it produces only water as a byproduct. The central problem of using hydrogen as a fuel is storage. When this problem has been solved, the use of hydrogen as a fuel will be able to progress to point fossil fuels or other petroleum-based fuels will no longer be necessary to run our vehicles. A cleaner environment is an obvious advantage, then, to the storage of hydrogen.
  
  

Hydrogen Economy

• Some scientists are already well on the way to these solving difficulties associated with storing hydrogen. When this occurs, a new hydrogen-based economy will develop, too, reports the U.S. Department of Energy. Hydrogen storage requires sophisticated techniques to bypass technical hurdles. Manufacturing, testing, distribution and installation of specialized equipment will be necessary to allow hydrogen storage for widespread use as a fuel. These processes will necessitate development of industries tailored specifically to these markets. The business of storing hydrogen will be an economic boon.