this post was submitted on 23 May 2026
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Hydrogen

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Since the dawn of the automobile, gasoline has been the most popular fuel type by far. The process of obtaining gasoline for fuel use is an involved process that many folks claim hurts the environment. After all, it needs to be drilled out of the ground, sent somewhere via a gigantic pipeline or massive barge, refined in a lengthy and expensive process, and then shipped back out to wherever it's destined in its finished state.

Whether or not you agree with the environmental impact of gasoline and diesel, one true fact of fossil fuels is that, someday, we'll simply run out. What do we do then if we haven't transitioned to something else? That's where hydrogen comes into play. It's the most abundant element in the universe, and when burned for fuel, the only tailpipe emission is water vapor. Why hasn't the entire world been scrambling to perfect the use of hydrogen power if all it emits is literal water? Well, Toyota has tried, but despite its massive influence, hydrogen combustion simply hasn't caught on.

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[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 1 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

The simple reason is that energy companies want money, and lots of it. If you could run your car (or anything else for that matter) on water, they wouldn't make as much money because water is cheap.

[–] gaiussabinus@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Hydrogen is just fossil fuel++ and might actually be worse than just burning methane or no change at all since the emissions can be hidden. Producing hydrogen from water is a great deal more expensive that stripping the hydrogen from fossil fuels. This still emits the carbon just not at the tail pipe.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 5 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

Using electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen literally only produces hydrogen and oxygen; the two elements that make water. It's also 80% cheaper than extracting it from fossil fuels or biomass (peat). 🤨

[–] FrederikNJS@piefed.zip 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

If that's true... Then why is almost all hydrogen still being extracted from fossil fuels?

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 1 points 4 hours ago

See my first comment.