Hydrogen, Tomorrow’s Fuel Today

Countries all over the world are attempting to develop hydrogen as the fuel of the future but to date nobody in the world has been able to overcome the many associated problems. So now, amongst all this comoetition from both east and west, good ol’ Australia again leads the field, just as we do at present for solar and wind energy inventions and Over-the-Horizon radar.

The wonder man behind this truly remarkable Jules Verne breakthrough is Mr Yul! Brown, a Sydney-based inven­ tor who has devoted the past six years to developing water as the fuel of tomorrow.

Mr Brown has indeed run into enormous problems in trying to convince industry, government and scientists alike that hydrogen and oxygen CAN be safely separated and re­ combined without a major explosion. How he has achieved this is his own secret and probably would not be fully com­ prehended by a. layman such as myself anyway! Indeed, such was the lack of credibility by various parties invited to see the welding unit and Holden engine operate that the technology was almost lost (again, thisseems to be anold Australian story) to overseas interests who had the foresight to recognise a major technological breakthrough. The east recognising the potential, offered full support for Mr Brown’s inventions through a consular legation. Naturally the offer was turned down. This goes to show how wrong is the basic system of inbuilt disbelief in anything radically new developed by the individual, often at great personal cost, as against the ready acceptance of anything developed by a giant corporation at a cost of billions. In this case the east was smart enough to pick a winner where perhaps the west found it easier to ignore aprocess that was “technically” impossible. Fortunately, my story has a happy ending as Mr Yul! Brown has now won the enthusiastic support of Professor J. O’M. Bockris, the father of the concept of a “hydrogen economy” and recognised world leader in the field of elec­ trochemical energy conversion. With the full support of Professor Bockris, the Yul! Brown designed welding unit will soon become a household topic of conversation.

Basically, the water fuelled welder produces its own gases – hydrogen/oxygen mixture – by way of electrolytical dis­ association of water under the action of DC electrical current, the resulting oxygen and hydrogen are then burned. The last four words are the key to the future.

Imagine a 747 carrying upwards of 500 passengers from Sydney to London non-stop at around Mach . 98, a trip taking under twenty hours and made possible by a fuel that would cost all-up about one-tenth that of A-1 jet fuel – what would the fare be then? Imagine the application to military aircraft – we could have air defence fighters that are only limited by pilot en­ durance. Many classes of ships would be able to produce their own fuel from the sea water they pass through. No refuelling, no replenishment and very little cost – enormous amounts of sheer power made available without having to worry about loss of range effectiveness or budgetary con­ siderations.

Imagine cars, trucks even electricity for your home or factory being produced from water or even salt water. In­ credible but true, for today I saw it for myself.

The relative cost efficiency of using hydrogen as a fuel source is enormous. For instance, the hydrogen/oxygen mix­ ture powering the welder costs between fifteen and sixty times LESS than the traditional fuel for welding apparatus. There are no large oxygen bottles, no additional equipment required for such metals as aluminium and the fuel is manufactured on the spot by the unit itself. Therefore, you only produce as much fuel as you require, there is no storage problem and the unit is ready for operation again within a minute of turning on the electrical power. In fact, Water Fuel Holdings, the company formed by Mr Brown, as co. me up with some interesting figurework to sup-_ p rt their claims. Based on one year (46 working weeks) of using one set of bottles per week including all rentals, etc. , the _cost is $2,070 for conventional bottled gas as against a maximum (based on highest charge for electricity, e. g. home application) of only $131 using the hydrogen/oxygen unit! Once again, Jules Verne’s “fantasies” are proving to be not really so fantastic.

What ot the future in aerospace< Lockheed are forging ahead with plans for a hydrogen powered wide-bodied transport for operation in the early 21st century. Major engine manufacturers are all actively engaged in examining the possibilities of the current generation of jet engines being converted for use with hydrogen.

Most scientists are looking to using liquid hydrogen in future aircraft. This presents many problems in that liquid hydrogen requires constant frigid temperatures which would be almost impossible to ensure in any area with a hot climate. If the liquid hydrogen should warm, it then becomes very un­ stable a1 d therefore totally unsuitable for commercial use. The use of liquid hydrogen also means that an aircraft is still limited by the range of its tanks and that every airport in the world would have to change over to the new form of fuel. These are very real problems which go far beyond mere solutions.

With Mr Brown’s method. he can provide hydrogen power in a hydride form, i. e. the hydrogen is actually ab­ sorbed by a “carrier” and when the polarity of this im­ pregnated “carrer” is reversed it will give off the hydrogen which is then processed into liquid hydrogen for almost im­ mediate atomisation, in the same manner as jet fuel,·prior to entry into the turbine section of the jet engine. This means that a greater amount of potential hydrogen energy can be safely carried enabling giant wide-bodied jets to fly tens of thousands of miles non-stop at higher cruising speeds and operational altitudes than enjoyed oy today’s fleets of jets. Hydrogen produces no pollution andwould not harm tlie up­ per stratosphere. Indeed, their compactness and relative fueleconomy would enable manufacturers to begin designing SSTs capable of carrying hundreds of people at Mach 3. Cer­ tainly, now a real possibility BEFORE the turn of the century! Providing hydrogen fuel in a cell or brickette-like form also eliminates the problem of international deployment of the fuel in liquid form. This in itself is a great breakthrough for the problems in attempting to effectively disperse a new and potentially volatile fuel are enormous if certain foreign governments attempted to disrupt its deployment.

ft is therefore very clear what a maior breakthrough Yull Brown has achieved with his easily manufactured and stable oxygen/hydrogen mixture. Australian government and in­ dustry must grasp the opportunity to help in further develop­ ment of this process – its future potential is limitless.

For Mr Yull Brown the successful realisation of his dream to effectively develop a true alternative fuel source has made the struggles of the past worthwhile.

Yull Brown escaped trom Communist domination during the closing days of World War ff. He emigrated to Australia without a penny to his name and soon found that by sheer hard work and the will to succeed he could overcome his problems and get ahead. Mr Brown feels he owes a true debt to Australia for giving him the chance of a rebirth after the nightmare of Hitler’s Europe. This is why he was so disap­ pointed that initially nobody would take him seriously. For­ tunately, this state of affairs is changing and Professor Bockris has confirmed just what a once in a million success he is sit­ ting on and now the welder is about to be the subject of a multi-million dollar Australian based development.

The Holden engine is fully operational, though lack ot time and funds have held back road testing so far. However, this appears a mere formality as the standard engine would only require a modified carburettor to run on this new fuel source. To utilise the basic Electrochemical process for any other power form is merely a matter of development and adaption of the vehicle to be powered to fully utilise the ob­ vious advantages to be gained by this pollution free, embargo free, cost free fuel.

lo Mr Brown, Thank You.