This book presents the current state of the hydrogen economy with the focus on applications in the automotive technology and industry - Where are we in the implementation of hydrogen economy? What are the perspectives? Which are the directions to develop this field? This book answers these questions by compiling reviews from internationally recognized researchers on the following subjects:

• Hydrogen cycle - State of the art of mobile applications - State of the art of portable applications - Advanced tools for the development of new materials - Perspectives

  Zusammenfassung
  Aline Leon ´ In the last years, public attention was increasingly shifted by the media and world governmentsto the conceptsof saving energy,reducingpollution,protectingthe - vironment, and developing long-term energy supply solutions. In parallel, research funding relating to alternative fuels and energy carriers is increasing on both - tional and international levels. Why has future energy supply become such a matter of concern? The reasons are the problems created by the world's current energy supply s- tem which is mainly based on fossil fuels. In fact, the energystored in hydrocarb- based solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels was, is, and will be widely consumed for internal combustion engine-based transportation, for electricity and heat generation in residential and industrial sectors, and for the production of fertilizers in agric- ture, as it is convenient, abundant, and cheap. However, such a widespread use of fossil fuels by a constantly growing world population (from 2. 3 billion in 1939 to 6. 5 billion in 2006) gives rise to the two problems of oil supply and environmental degradation. The problemrelated to oil supply is caused by the fact that fossil fuels are not - newable primary energy sources: This means that since the rst barrel of petroleum has been pumped out from the ground, we have been exhausting a heritage given by nature.

  Inhalt
  Hydrogen Cycle.- Hydrogen Production.- Hydrogen Storage.- Hydrogen Transport and Distribution.- Fuel Cells.- State of the Art Mobile Applications.- Challenges and Requirements for Car Industry.- Status on Existing Technologies.- Hybrid is a Key Technology for Future Automobiles.- Fuel Cell Vehicles: Fundamentals, System Efficiencies, Technology Development, and Demonstration Projects.- Development of Storage Tanks.- Cryogenic Reservoirs.- Safety Analysis of Hydrogen Vehicles and Infrastructure.- State of the Art Portable Applications.- Status of Existing Technologies.- Development of Portable Systems.- Challenges for the Industry.- Advanced Tools for the Development of new Materials.- Synthesis of Nanoscale Hydrogen Storage Materials.- Kinetics and Thermodynamics.- High-pressure DSC.- Status on Existing Technologies.- SEM/(S)TEM.- X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy.- X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) Spectroscopy.- Perspectives.- Scientific Scope.- Environmental Scope.- Political and Economic Scope.