Um, hydrogen fuel cell != pressurized tank of hydrogen Most sources of hydrogen for fuel cells will probably be from breaking down a hydrocarbon hootch of some sort, stealing the hydrogen and (hopefully) storing the rest for recycling... http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell.htm If they are trying to make it safe for use in cars, then it probably going to be safe enough to use in a backup generator situation. /herb

-----Original Message----- From: Eric Kuhnke [mailto:eric@fnordsystems.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2003 5:11 PM To: nanog@merit.edu Subject: Large tanks of pressurized hydrogen

Greetings list,

I recently ran across this company:

http://www.hydrogenics.com/hyups.htm

They're marketing a hydrogen fuel cell generator to the telecom market. I know they have a few competitors (Ballard Power Systems?), with more companies in the R&D phase of product development. Would you store a large tank of pressurized hydrogen in a downtown Manhattan office building? Should people legally be allowed to? Does anyone think fuel cell technology is a viable replacement for Diesel generators yet?

NY Times article, 11/19/02 for those who haven't seen it yet: http://ufalocal94.org/news_stories/nytimes/nytimes_11_19_02.html