I understand that it is expensive to make, but my friend and I are considering incorporating. I have business skills and he had a docotrate in mechanical Engineering. If we produce hydrogen fuel cell energy as our only business aim (which I don't believe any other businesses currently do), will governments buy from us? Will corporations or individuals buy from us?
How high will expenditures likely be compared to profits?
How high will expenditures likely be compared to profits?
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What kind of hydrogen fuel cells do you want to make? Proton-exchange membrane? Solid oxide? Molten carbonate? There are several different kinds with different applications.
Your best bet will be to sell to researchers and companies. But there isn't a lot of commercial interest in fuel cells for vehicles right now. Most automakers are more interested in technologies that will be useful in the near-term, hydrogen is not. Pretty much the only vehicles that use them are fleet vehicles like buses where it's cost-effective to install a dedicated refueling system. I've heard of forklifts using them, but there probably isn't enough volume to base a company on that yet.
Your expenditures, at least initially, are going to be very high because you're going to need a lot of equipment and materials to manufacture and test fuel cells.
Your best bet will be to sell to researchers and companies. But there isn't a lot of commercial interest in fuel cells for vehicles right now. Most automakers are more interested in technologies that will be useful in the near-term, hydrogen is not. Pretty much the only vehicles that use them are fleet vehicles like buses where it's cost-effective to install a dedicated refueling system. I've heard of forklifts using them, but there probably isn't enough volume to base a company on that yet.
Your expenditures, at least initially, are going to be very high because you're going to need a lot of equipment and materials to manufacture and test fuel cells.
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Probably not. At the moment, hydrogen is considered a form of energy storage (like a battery), not an energy source (like a fuel) because it requires energy to produce it. Depending on the type of fuel cell and the source of the hydrogen, the net energy gain will probably be negative or zero.
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Perhaps you should define your terms.
What is "hydrogen fuel cell energy" ? do you mean electric power from hydrogen fuel cells? Then say so.
Note that selling electricity is very strictly regulated in most countries. In the US it requires many permits and paperwork that can take years to get done.
What is your source of hydrogen? My understanding is that hydrogen is produced from natural gas via a fairly inefficient process. This results in an expensive cost of electricity.
Plus you would be using a lot of natural gas, and the process produces a lot of carbon dioxide. I'd have to go through the numbers, but is it not more efficient to directly burn the natural gas to generate the electricity as opposed to making hydrogen gas to be used in a fuel cell?
In so far as expenditures and profits, how do you expect an answer to that without a ton of details, starting with a full business plan?
.
What is "hydrogen fuel cell energy" ? do you mean electric power from hydrogen fuel cells? Then say so.
Note that selling electricity is very strictly regulated in most countries. In the US it requires many permits and paperwork that can take years to get done.
What is your source of hydrogen? My understanding is that hydrogen is produced from natural gas via a fairly inefficient process. This results in an expensive cost of electricity.
Plus you would be using a lot of natural gas, and the process produces a lot of carbon dioxide. I'd have to go through the numbers, but is it not more efficient to directly burn the natural gas to generate the electricity as opposed to making hydrogen gas to be used in a fuel cell?
In so far as expenditures and profits, how do you expect an answer to that without a ton of details, starting with a full business plan?
.