Expert predicts 'hydrogen economy' will create millions of jobs

Conversion from one form of energy to another consumes more useful energy that it yields,for if you could do the opposite of creating energy from nothing, you could create a perpetual motion machine violating the laws of physics.

You need to do a "refresher" course.

It is perhaps the word "experts" that should carry the quotation marks rather than "hydrogen economy" in your article on the job prospects of a hydrogen economy. The concept of an economy fueled by hydrogen has been around for a very long time (I can remember it as a child from the early 1960's). Unfortunately, rather like the alchemists and their centuries long quest to change lead into gold, it has not proved possible to change the Laws of Physics required to concentrate hydrogen into a usable form (and it never will - that's why they are called Laws!). This basically requires 1.2 units of energy input to produce the equivalent of 1 unit of usable compressed or liquified hydrogen - or to put it another way you would have to burn 12 gallons of oil as fuel at a power station to generate enough electricty to provide the hydrogen equivalent of 10 gallons of petrol for your car.

Even excluding the enormous capital costs involved in building the additional power stations required, the service station equipment and car manufacturer re-designs to handle compressed hydrogen this is hardly a bargain, either for your wallet or the environment.

It is no coincidence that the main proponents of the "hydrogen economy" in the U.S. are the coal mining industry and the nuclear power lobby - both of which stand to gain enormously from any such change. They are supported politically by those who wish to see American dependence on imported (read Middle Eastern) oil drastically reduced for reasons of national security - while that may be a legitimate policy aim, proponents are being disengenous by negelcting to mention that the hydrogen economy is only currently viable at the cost of vastly increased nuclear or coal powered electricty generation. Hardly the "green" proposal it first appears.