Resumen de The energy challenge¿ the hydrogen
Francisco Arvelo Valencia, Isidro Padrón Armas
Energy is the very lifeblood of today’s society and economy. Our work, leisure,and our economic, social and physical welfare all depend on the sufficient, unin-terrupted supply of energy. Yet we take it for granted – and energy demand con-tinues to grow, year after year. Traditional fossil energy sources such as oil areultimately limited and the growing gap between increasing demand and shrink-ing supply will, in the not too distant future, have to be met increasingly fromalternative primary energy sources. We must strive to make these more sustain-able to avoid the negative impacts of global climate change, the growing risk ofsupply disruptions, price volatility and air pollution that are associated withtoday’s energy systems. The energy policy of the European Commission(1)advocates securing energy supply while at the same time reducing emissions thatare associated with climate change. This calls for immediate actions to promotegreenhouse gas emissions-free energy sources such as renewable energy sources,alternative fuels for transport and to increase energy efficiency.On the technology front, hydrogen, a clean energy carrier that can be pro-duced from any primary energy source, and fuel cells which are very efficientenergy conversion devices, are attracting the attention of public and privateauthorities. Hydrogen and fuel cells, by enabling the so-called hydrogen econo-my, hold great promise for meeting in a quite unique way, our concerns oversecurity of supply and climate change.The report highlights the need for strategic planning and increased effort onresearch, development and deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. It also makes wideranging recommendations for a more structuredapproach to European Energy policy and research, for education and training,and for developing political and public awareness. Foremost amongst its recom-mendations is the establishment of a European Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Tech-nology Partnership and Advisory Council to guide the process.
