Special. Wasserstoff. Perspektiven einer wasserstoff-energiewirtschaft. Vision oder wirklichkeit?

The highly industrialized society of Germany has given itself the task to deal with the resources of energy and environment responsibly and sustainably. The preparation of hydrogen from central systems or generation from other energy carriers can be an important option for the future global energy supply. The vision of a hydrogen energy economy springs from the age-old dream of humanity to be able to use unlimited energy and without undesired effects on the environment and resources. Elemental hydrogen is however not found in nature and for its generation other energy carriers are required. The large-scale generation of hydrogen or hydrogen-rich gas is worthwhile in terms of the economic use of energy if it makes a contribution to the caring for exhaustible energy carriers. This is especially the case for hydrogen generation from renewable energies to the extent that they can be integrated into the energy supply structure. For certain uses hydrogen generated from fossil fuel or nuclear energy has advantages such as in the use of fuel cell systems that can substitute for combustion powered vehicles, for stationary power-heat-coupling or combination process in electricity generation. The decentralized reforming of hydrocarbons could contribute to reduce the expense of an exhaustive hydrogen infrastructure and can be built up stage-wise. The discussion covers fuel cell engineering; use of fuel cells in portable devices; stationary applications; mobile application; and outlook. The technology of the hydrogen energy economy is today by far still not competitive versus conventional energy technology. The task of the state and of the economy must be to give a chance to this promising technology despite the long development time to large-scale use.