Prospects for Hydrogen as a Military Fuel

Hydrogen faces considerable technical barriers as a military fuel, not the least of which are the safety engineering necessary, the lower effective energy storage density and the production and distribution issues. These and other issues will prompt considerable institutional resistance to hydrogen in the armed services and are discussed in more detail. While there are alternatives that meet the need better than hydrogen, the armed forces will continue to demand high flashpoint, liquid fuels regardless of cost. In the future, fuel costs will be higher, and fuel will be extracted from currently uneconomic sources, such as oil shale and coal. The best prospects for hydrogen would appear to be in niche vehicle applications that do not represent a significant fuel consumption. Hydrogen may also have a part to play in portable fuel cell power systems. In the UK, non-reversible chemical hydrides are being investigated as an energy dense source of hydrogen for soldier power.