Hydrogen and methanol: a comparison of safety, economics, efficiencies andemissions

Fuel cell cars will appear on the market early in the next century. A quest ion still remains - whether these vehicles will store onboard, hydrogen or, the hydrogen-rich carrier, methanol. There are a number of key areas surro unding this question, three of which are safety, economics and efficiency a nd emissions. Each of these issues was examined using the available literat ure, It: can be seen that it is only with emissions that a clear difference appears and then hydrogen shows an advantage over methanol. (C) 2000 Elsev ier Science S.A. All rights reserved.