February 12, 2002: The Phoenix Project, Shifting from Oil to Hydrogen - Harry Braun
Braun proposes building 10 million one-megawatt wind turbines to triple the nation's electrical output, arguing the internal components of wind machines are no more complex than automobile engines and could be mass-produced at the same rate. He addresses the Hindenburg myth, noting that two-thirds of passengers survived and that NASA investigators determined the aluminum-powdered skin, not hydrogen, caused the fire. BMW's fifth-generation hydrogen cars, he reports, perform identically to gasoline vehicles with one second faster acceleration.
The conversation also ventures into exponential growth in molecular biology, with Braun predicting that within 10 to 20 years, genetic engineering will allow humans to regenerate tissue and become biologically 18 again. Art presses him on the practical challenges, including the five-trillion-dollar price tag and the political will required to redirect a billion dollars per week currently spent on Middle Eastern oil.
Key Moments
45 kilowatts to a gallon: Braun gives the headline number: about 45 kilowatt hours of electricity and 2.3 gallons of water produce the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline as hydrogen.
Yes, it takes more energy than it gives: Art pins Braun with a yes/no question: does hydrogen take more energy to produce than you get back? Braun answers yes - and adds that every other energy source on Earth has the same property.
Triple US electrical output - with wind: Braun says the switch to hydrogen would require tripling US electrical output, but argues 10 million one-megawatt wind machines could deliver all 95 quads the country uses, with the intermittency problem solved by making hydrogen whenever the wind blows.
Cars run on hydrogen, exhaust is water: Braun walks through what changes when you swap a gasoline carburetor for a gaseous-fuel one and answers Art's horsepower question: BMW's 25-year hydrogen program rates a liquid-hydrogen car as one second faster zero-to-go than the same car on gasoline.
Five-year Phoenix Project: Asked how fast the switch could happen, Braun pitches a Manhattan-style mobilization: hydrogen economy in five years, every car/aircraft/train/ship converted, ten million Americans put to work, with the oil companies leading the charge as hydrogen suppliers.