September 9th, 2010
Does Hydrogen Convergence affect need for Grid Energy Storage Mandates?
Many energy gurus are crowing about the new law that would mandate energy storage devices for utility companies in California. However, we at the ebTDesign Forum would advise you to keep your eye on the ball. Hydrogen Convergence is more than a scheme for providing energy storage capacity for existing power plants.
Hydrogen Convergence is the first post-Globalization industrial movement. It is to the cleantech revolution what digital convergence was to the Internet Revolution. It is a means of completely rewriting the rules for the way the United States generates and distributes electrical power.
If you watch the development of the hydrogen convergence market, you will see it evolve into an energy supply network based on massively distributed power generation (MDPG). This will lead to whole new independent power suppliers competing with traditional centralized public utilities.
Any organization you know with a fleet of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles could potentially position themselves as an insurgent power provider. This will decimate investment in public utility companies that don’t follow suit. As you know, no one ever wants to invest in any company that has huge maintenance costs related to their legacy capital equipment.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: fuel cell, hydrogen, MDPG, post-GlobalizationSeptember 8th, 2010
The Cleantech Revolution and the Wonders of Liminal Space
Liminal Space is a concept that you can use to describe the uncertain times that we are living in. The last economic era which was based on fossil fuel is coming to an end and hydrogen convergence has yet to take hold. There is uncertainty about how the Cleantech Revolution will fair in the new Congress.
While many will run from this opportunity, you can take this time to discover new alliances and build for the future. You can see the environmental damage that is taking place everyday and know that the only solution is a cleantech revolution.
If you have been involved with the cleantech revolution for anytime, you know that a chasm has developed between the environmental community and the business community at large. This chasm threatens to delay American companies entering the post-Globalization marketplace for cleantech goods and services.
We at the ebTDesign Forum would highly recommend that you use your time in this liminal space to consider the benefits of hydrogen convergence. No other technology movement can as dramatically reduce worldwide green house emissions and provide the same level of business continuity.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: business-continuity, cleantech, hydrogen, post-GlobalizationSeptember 7th, 2010
Cleantech Revolution vs. Financial Engineering and the old S-Word
As you move from the fossil fuel past to the hydrogen convergence future, your success will hinge on the battle between the cleantech revolution and financial engineering. It’s really not about right track versus wrong track or the potential threat from socialism as the Sunday morning commentators would say.
The philosophy of financial engineering argues that all of the economic woes in the United States can be cured by some form of financial slight of hand like tax cuts or austerity measures. Buried in this world view is a desire to stay rich with little or no effort. We at the ebTDesign Forum would suggest to you that the real solutions are associated with jobs and free market forces like globalization.
The ghosts of Smoot-Hawley (the people who died as a result of the passage of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and the ensuing Great Depression) remind us that globalization isn’t irreversible. They knew first hand what happens when the ties that bind the world’s economies together loosen and opportunistic politicians say “everyone for themselves.”
Confounders on the Sunday talk shows like to invoke the “old S-Word” or socialism to scare working and middle class Americans into inaction. However, we would suggest that you shift your focus and think in terms of the “new S-Word” which is sustainability. Because, it is sustainability and equity that will allow Americans to form a more perfect union and stay competitive in these changing times.
It took a decade and the Great Recession before the talking heads realized something had change. Most still haven’t recognized that the world’s economies have entered into a post-Globalization transition period. So, you can’t expect them to see the need for a cleantech revolution or how hydrogen convergence binds it all together. It would however make the transition a whole lot easier.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: Great-Depression, hydrogen, post-Globalization, S-Word, smoot-hawleySeptember 5th, 2010
Time to Deemphasize the Role of the DOE in Hydrogen Convergence
Ever since Secretary Chu made it his mission to deny working and middle class Americans access to the jobs that hydrogen convergence will produce, we at the ebTDesign Forum and our social media followers have been fixated on the missteps of the Department of Energy (DOE).
However, we would suggest that now is the time that the hydrogen convergence movement broadens its field of vision. With the start of the new Congress in January, there is opportunity to shift our focus to the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells.
As you know this represents a significant change in strategic direction. Up until now, hydrogen advocates have spent the majority of their time trying to curry favor with the confounders at the DOE. Now, we propose using that energy and effort to promote the IWG as the leading governmental body for hydrogen convergence in the United States.
By deemphasizing the DOE and promoting the IWG, you can align the multidiscipline nature of hydrogen convergence with the natural stakeholders in the government. This would also acknowledge the monumental effort that will be required to move from our fossil fuel past to our cleantech future.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: cleantech, DOE, hydrogen, IWGSeptember 2nd, 2010
Accident at Hydrogen Fueling Station real challenge for Home Fueling
The confounders have come out in force to talk about the set back to hydrogen convergence caused by the accident at the hydrogen fueling station in Rochester, NY. We at the ebTDesign Forum would advise our readers and social media followers that the real losers are the advocates for hydrogen home fueling.
As you probably know if you have read any of the accounts, the accident happened during the process of changing bulk storage tanks not as a result of hydrogen fuel cell malfunction. There’s a reason you treat changing storage tanks at gasoline stations like a bomb disposal mission from the “Hurt Locker.”
Once the dust settles and clearer heads prevail, the only real changes you will see will be to the permitting process. As you know, we have always argued against putting home refueling stations in the critical path for hydrogen convergence. Commercially handling any flammable substance should done with extreme care by certified professionals.
Using confounder logic however would mean that you couldn’t own a gas barbeque grill. As you know, changing the propane tank on barbeque grills have historically resulted in house fires. However, you don’t hear these same people clamoring for the prohibition of cookouts. Even though, they probably should carry safety warnings.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: confounders, home fueling, hydrogen, permittingSeptember 1st, 2010
Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Interagency Working Group website Launched
The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced the launch of the new Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Interagency Working Group website. We at the ebTDesign Forum assume that this will be the new government home for hydrogen convergence. Warning the site is has very little content.
However, we encourage our readers and social media followers to take a look at the report called, “Challenges of Building A Hydrogen Infrastructure: A Report to Congress.” It’s an interesting work of fiction on the part of the Department of Transportation (DOT) because implies that they really care about the integration of hydrogen infrastructure into the national highway system.
Hopefully, this signals a changing of the guard and an effort to ramp up adoption of hydrogen convergence. Notable government participants include: Depart of Agriculture (DOA), Department of Defense (DOD), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NASA. The Department of Commerce (DOC) is listed however the link to NIST doesn’t work.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: DOA, DOC, DOD, DOE, DOT, EPA, hydrogen, IWGSeptember 1st, 2010
Theme Announced for the Hydrogen Student Design Contest 2011
Every year, the Hydrogen Education Foundation holds a student design contest for teams of college students who are interested in advancing the cleantech revolution through hydrogen convergence. This year’s theme is residential hydrogen refueling. Registration will close October 15th, 2010.
The students must develop a technical design. Conduct an economic analysis and write a marketing plan which includes a means for educating the public. The Grand prize is an opportunity to present their design at the National Hydrogen Association Conference and Expo in February 2011. We at the ebTDesign Forum wish all of the teams well.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: design contest, hydrogen, NHAAugust 27th, 2010
Why Hydrogen Convergence matters to the Economic Recovery
Paul Krugman wrote an op-ed yesterday about the pace of the economic recovery. In this piece he talked about the failure of institutions to own up to the current crisis. We at the ebTDesign Forum take a different tack. We would point to those who say if the economy fails then let it.
These are people who deny the interconnected reality of the world’s economies. This kind of talk is dangerously close to the rhetoric that led the enactment of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Following it could result in lawmakers turning the Great Recession into another great depression.
To our readers and social media followers, we say failure is not an option. The American working and middle class don’t deserve the kind of economic hardship that this would portend. The people need the hope that their elected representatives won’t do anything that would make their economic system more structurally unsound.
While we acknowledge that most politicians don’t know what a long wave is, most have heard of creative destruction. They intuitively know that no matter how inconvenient it may be things change. And in these times, rationale people must consider non-traditional solutions like hydrogen convergence.
We would suggest to community leaders that hydrogen convergence is the best way to jumpstart sustainable job growth. The last big recession was ended by the emergence of the Internet Revolution and its relationship to digital convergence. This one will end when lawmakers fully commit to a cleantech revolution and the advancement of hydrogen convergence.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: creative destruction, hydrogen, long wave, smoot-hawleyAugust 26th, 2010
Dumbest DOE Project Ever: Use Hydrogen to reform CO2
The confounders at the DOE have reached a new level of stupidity. We at the ebTDesign Forum had hoped that ARPA-E would finally bring some sanity to the Department of Energy. We thought maybe ARPA-E would do for hydrogen convergence what ARPA did for the Internet, provide an organizational platform.
Those hopes were dashed by the announcement that ARPA-E has funded a carbon removal process that uses hydrogen to biologically convert CO2 into a precursor for a biofuel. Instead of using the hydrogen to produce zero emissions energy, they would rather reuse the CO2 so that it can live to pollute another day.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: ARPA-E, DOE, hydrogenAugust 25th, 2010
New Holland Tractor: Fulfilling the Promise of Hydrogen Convergence
One of the last vestiges of the fossil fuel era is agriculture. While DOE has spent billions on battery development for cars, very little thought has gone into other motorized vehicles like the tractors that till the fields. This is a huge oversight from a reduction in green house gas viewpoint.
Hopefully, the New Holland tractor will jumpstart the hydrogen convergence process in agriculture. Farmers will benefit from fuel cell technology because most agriculture waste can be turned into hydrogen. This means that they will not have to purchase fossil fuel to power their machinery.
For too long, America’s agriculture security has taken a back seat to other forms of industrial risk. Policy makers and agribusiness concerns have ignored the threat that high energy prices pose to the United States food supply. However, they were front and center in 2008 because of the challenges caused by rising energy prices.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: agriculture security, hydrogen, New HollandAugust 24th, 2010
What does it mean for US Automakers when sales slow at Tesla?
The San Jose Business Journal and the Financial Times both reported that the year-to-year sales comparisons are down for Tesla. Until now, Tesla has been the poster-child for electric vehicle (EV) innovation. They were seen as the company that knew how to do EV manufacturing and marketing right. However, it appears that the technical disadvantages associated with EV’s are becoming apparent.
Now is the time to shift investment from next generation batteries to hydrogen convergence. Hydrogen Convergence is the process of converting our energy choices to a single abundant energy carrier. Early investment in hydrogen convergence will encourage domestic automakers to meet their 2015 production deadlines for introduction of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
We at the ebTDesign Forum have always said that there was no real market for EV’s and that hydrogen convergence was the way to go. Even though, the car buying public has felt guilty about the environmental impact of auto emissions, it was the impractically of EV’s that has finally caught up with them. The unfortunate truth is that Tesla and other soon to be manufactures of fully electric cars almost got it right.
The problem is that they tried to scale up a child’s toy without introducing the necessary technology changes to meet the needs of a full size car. Everyone who has ever played with a model airplane knows that you can’t build a passenger jet using rubber bands as the motors. Now it’s time for EV enthusiasts to realize that you can’t satisfy the car buying public without hydrogen fuel cells.
We would advise US automakers to fully commit to the development of hydrogen convergence. They have already made the investments necessary to prove the viability of the technology. Now they must team with both local and national partners to change the conversation about what constitutes an EV. Any delay will shift the production timeline costing working and middle class jobs.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: automakers, EV, fuel cell, hydrogen, TeslaAugust 23rd, 2010
Is Secretary Chu the Biggest Bust of the Obama Administration?
When we at the ebTDesign Forum started to point out the obvious short comings of Secretary Chu’s decision not to support hydrogen convergence, there was a huge outcry about how smart he was. People, who would become loyal readers and social media followers, would tell us that he wouldn’t make such an egregious mistake.
Now the comments that we are receiving have completely changed. They tell us what a disappointment he has become. They say that they expected more from the Obama Administration. From where we sit this may have started with the Climate Change meeting in Copenhagen. The Obama team performed so poorly that they may have soured the entire environmental community on their efforts.
What do you think about Secretary Chu’s performance? Has he earned the privilege to continue to serve in his position after the mid-term elections? How much responsibility does he directly deserve for American disbelief in Global Warming? Even though, we are seeing signs of climate instability here in Washington DC and in Northern Illinois where my in laws live and Nashville, Tennessee at the Grand Ole Opry.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: Chu, Copenhagen, hydrogen, ObamaAugust 22nd, 2010
Should we cut Obama Team some slack for Environmental Missteps?
The Obama Administration not only deserves the criticism they receive from environmental groups they actually court it. Secretary Chu didn’t have to attack hydrogen convergence. Once Congress restored 2010 hydrogen research funding, they could have played nice instead of trying to cut it again in the 2011 budget.
The President went to Ohio last week and failed to recognize the advances in hydrogen fuel cell innovation. Even though, the state has invested heavily in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. It takes courage to speak truth to power. However, the Obama team needs to hear it before it’s too late.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: fuel cell, hydrogen, Obama, OhioAugust 16th, 2010
Combating the DOE Challenge while Promoting Hydrogen Convergence
We at the ebTDesign Forum would advise our readers and social media followers that there is a need to collectively step up our game. Secretary Chu called in reinforcements last week. This action represents a clear and present danger to the viability of the United States Economy because rising energy prices were the real triggers that started the “Great Recession.”
Now is the time to start thinking about how we as a community are going to welcome back the United States Congress in January. Regardless of who wins, America still needs to address its energy security concerns and sustainable job growth. We can’t wait for Secretary Chu and the DOE to announce another round of budget cuts before we mobilize.
This is a call to action for all of the American cleantech tribes. No one domestic energy source is going to solve all of the challenges facing the United States Economy. Investment in hydrogen convergence will continue to be delayed as long as confounders and so-called energy industry experts can play one domestic fuel source off against another.
As long as there are no personnel changes at the Department of Energy (DOE), there will be a battle to combat disinformation from the confounders on staff. It takes a lot to bring down dinosaurs because they have deep pockets and tons of lobbyists. Unlike video games, the consequences of failure to compete for leadership in the next long wave will be both immediate and long lasting.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: cleantech tribes, DOE, Great Recession, hydrogenAugust 11th, 2010
Is Secretary Chu gearing up for fight over Hydrogen Convergence?
The Atlantic website reported yesterday that Secretary Chu from the Department of Energy has a new advisory board. This twelve member board is heavily waited with Washington insiders. Missing are the kind of people who would bring a fresh perspective to the nation’s energy policies.
We at the ebTDesign Forum have to ask, “Does this signal a more aggressive effort to deny Americans assess to American hydrogen innovation?” After losing the battle over hydrogen convergence funding for two consecutive years, is the Energy Secretary bringing in reinforcements?
Or, will this group be tasked with embellishing the “green washing” currently underway over the Gulf Coast Oil Disaster in hopes of further extending the fossil era in the United States? Where are the entrepreneurs and/or the innovators? Aren’t they valued by the Obama Administration? Who’s going to stand up for working and middle class Americans?
Instead of leading the cleantech revolution, the confounders at the Department of Energy (DOE) seem content to let the rest of the world reap the rewards from early investment. Post-Globalization, there will always be an abundant number of international sources willing to sell us solutions to our nation’s energy challenges. The problem is that both the profits and the jobs are already flowing offshore.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: Chu, DOE, green washing, hydrogenAugust 10th, 2010
Gulf Oil Disaster: Now the Green Washing Accelerates
From almost the beginning, it appeared that opposition to hydrogen convergence would be the real environmental legacy of the Obama Administration. Now it seems that the current administration will be known most for it’s willingness to green wash the effects of the Gulf Oil Disaster.
Our loyal readers and social media followers don’t need to be reminded that just before the oil started erupting from the sea floor, the Obama Administration wanted to increase the amount of deep sea drilling. Now that the most visible examples of this catastrophe have been hidden, the confounders appear poised to renew their efforts.
The Obama Administration is in route to giving a new meaning to the phrase “out of sight, out of mind.” The bigger question is why haven’t we heard more from the cleantech industry? Besides playing the victim card due to reduced availability of government subsidies there has been very little organized opposition to the Administration’s green washing efforts.
Where are the cleantech revolutionaries? Why haven’t they taken to the airwaves in support of hydrogen convergence? The time is now to counter the confounders at the Department of Energy and end the practice of pitting one cleantech solution against another. Otherwise, the United States will be environmentally a very different place for future generations.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: green washing, hydrogen, ObamaAugust 9th, 2010
Open Letter to Sec. Chu on Decision to Award $1 Billion to Clean Coal
Mr. Secretary,
Everyday the United States loses ground in the battle to lead the cleantech revolution. Yet you and the confounders at the Department of Energy (DOE) continue to push pseudo-solutions which guarantee that domestic sources of clean energy will compete with other.
The fossil fuel era is coming to an end and allocating $1 billion dollars in an attempt to extend it is a waste of tax payer’s money. We at the ebTDesign Forum would highly recommend redirecting the funding to the advancement of hydrogen convergence.
Post-Globalization, all traditional means of looking at things must be reconsidered. Nothing is sacred not even the subsidies for big coal. Otherwise, working and middle class Americans will spend the next two to three generations digging themselves out of the coal pit that you placed them.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: big coal, confounders, DOE, hydrogenAugust 5th, 2010
Impact of Hydrogen Convergence on Multigenerational Lifestyles
There are now four generations in the workforce. And, the $64K question is how do you maintain a multigenerational lifestyle in an energy constrained world? The short answer is that you can’t. Cars have to be bigger and houses have to be more energy self-sufficient. Some medications require constant refrigeration or they go bad.
We at the ebTDesign Forum would suggest that the only viable option is hydrogen convergence. Hydrogen Convergence would allow Americans to continue their multigenerational lifestyles with the least amount of impact. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can be manufactured in the same sizes as current automobiles are produced today with a lot less scheduled maintenance.
On the home front, hydrogen convergence would provide alternative paths for life saving energy restoration. Whether, the power is needed to support children who have started life with certain physical challenges or respected elders who both sacrificed and endured so much to make the current lifestyle possible. The design considerations are still the same. Electrical power must be continuous.
What better legacy could baby boomers leave for future generations than helping advance the adoption of hydrogen convergence? Once the fundamental challenge of survival has been met then leaving the world a much better place than one found it is a most admirable goal. As loyal readers and social media followers know, the path to energy security and sustainable job growth lay well within your reach.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: energy security, hydrogen, multigenerationalAugust 2nd, 2010
Thanks to House and Senate for Support of Hydrogen Convergence
We at the ebTDesign Forum would like to send our thanks to both chambers of the United States Congress for their support of hydrogen convergence. Once again the lawmakers of this great country have seen fit to breathe new life into this much needed economic program. We would also ask that our loyal readers and social media followers do the same. The steps that are taken today to commercialize hydrogen innovation will define our nation’s standing in the world for generations to come.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: Congress, House, hydrogen, SenateJuly 27th, 2010
Hydrogen Convergence softens problems of Natural Gas Production
Currently, natural gas production is a problem because of the chemicals used to fracture geological formations and the inefficiency of extraction methods. However, natural gas and landfill gas can both be turned into hydrogen. This leads to a very important rationale for early investment in hydrogen convergence.
We at the ebTDesign Forum would advise cleantech advocates that great care should be taken in approaching the topic of natural gas. Natural gas is seen by many who care about energy security as a silver bullet. By attacking natural gas indiscriminately for environmental reasons, they run the risk of alienating a very large and influential potential cleantech partner.
As loyal readers and social media followers know, we suggest that you think of natural gas as unprocessed hydrogen. This makes it a valuable component of the hydrogen convergence movement. Landfill gas (mostly methane) is a by product of modern civilization and must be systematically dealt with in order to promote sustainability.
A case could be made that with the proper technology enhancements and regulation, the environmental impact of natural gas production could be softened. If that fails then natural gas producers could be sued in civil court for unlawfully moving homeowners off their land. Eminent domain is a privilege only governments enjoy in very limited circumstances and one natural gas producers do not.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: hydrogen, landfill gas, natural gas