While I think we need ongoing research in the area of energy capture and storage devices, this system seems more like incremental progress not a breakthrough. I say this because, as with any other hydrogen fuel cell system, it too seems plagued by the inherent multiple conversion steps which reduce efficiency. We have good affordable energy storage options that are still underutilized. I remain skeptical about the value of fuel cells as a substitute for the existing electric power supply grid and reliable mature battery technologies for storing PV energy. These are simple and immediately scaleable answers unlike hydrogen-based technologies. Electricity is an energy currency, let's use it wisely.
A metaphore; imagine you want to buy a pizza with your $20 cnd bill, you're a block east of the pizza shop, so you walk 5 minutes west to a bank to exchange the "20" for $16 US, (80 cents on the 82 cent dollar) then walk 5 minutes back to the pizza shop and order your pizza. Huh! they give you 78 cents cnd. on your US dollars and now you only have $19.52 CND with which to buy the $20 pizza! Oh wait there's another 2 bucks in your wallet. So you get the pizza but now you don't have enough for a coffee afterwards, and now you're 10 minutes late.
(actual exchange rates may vary)
There's no free lunch at the electric cafe, but why should you have to wait longer and pay more than the others, for the same bowl of electrons, just so you can sit in the hydrogen section.
In other terms: PV rocks! Why pay more for your tickets from a scalper when tickets are still available at the box office?
The grid is a great storage facility for PV. Couldn't hydrogen R&D grants be better spent on PV deployment grants, NOW? I think so.
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