Mobilehydricity is the process of using hydrogen gas as an energy carrier to power any type of electrical or mechanical device. An energy carrier is a substance or system that moves energy in a usable form from one place to another. Electricity is the most well-known energy carrier. We use electricity to move the energy in coal, uranium, and other energy sources from power plants to homes and businesses. We also use electricity to move the energy in gasoline to power our vehicles. The down side is that coal, uranium and gasoline are all resources which are in limited supply and when burned emit toxic pollution to our environment. Using hydrogen as a supplement energy carrier makes sense because it is plentiful and its only waste byproduct is water.
Since hydrogen doesn't exist on earth naturally as a gas, we must extract it from other elements. We can separate hydrogen atoms from water, biomass, or natural gas molecules. The two most common methods for producing hydrogen are steam reforming and water electrolysis (water splitting).
Steam reforming is currently the least expensive method of producing hydrogen and accounts for about 95 percent of the hydrogen produced in the United States. It is used in industries to separate hydrogen atoms from carbon atoms in methane (CH4). Because methane is a fossil fuel, the process of steam reforming results in greenhouse gas emissions that are linked with global warming.
Water electrolysis is a process that splits hydrogen from water. It results in no emissions but it is currently a very expensive process. New technologies are being developed all the time. Just a few years ago it became economically feasible to generate hydrogen from self-contained modules called disseminators. These units are now small enough to be attached to portable generators, outdoor cooking grills, and even cars.