HYDRO-GEN

I THINK I understand our future transport problem, and the answer is not batteries. We seem to have been lured into a vision of a blissful future where we’re all driving around, silently, in EVs, but that doesn’t solve climate change, where new EVs arguably make the problem worse (at least initially), or air quality, where EVs certainly help but their impact is minimal. The most sensible approach to clean up heavy goods vehicles while allowing them to maximise their load, range and depot turnaround is fuel cells. For light vehicles and personal transport, the vast majority of our vehicle fleet will be ICE-powered for decades and we really need to clean it up. Yes, we really do need to get serious about green hydrogen production and its associated products. Of course, clean hydrogen needs lot of space, sun and wind (tick!) and a government prepared to back its development (cross?) to encourage the scale required to make it economically. Oh, and it completely solves our fuel security issue, which pops up whenever the government attempts to prop up their oil and gas buddies. It would also have a massive impact on job creation and the Australian economy.

There’s some excellent theory in there, Brian. The huge challenge is turning it into any sort of reality with a government that clearly does not place a high priority on the issues you raise.