Genepax might have discovered a way to store hydrogen: it can be obtained directly from water.
It would be great if cars could run on water. Not necessarily water from the tap, but any type of water. Genepax from Japan claims that it has invented a fuel-cell system that can use water to produce hydrogen. Two devices were demonstrated by Genepax last week: a 120W fuel cell stack and 300W fuel cell system, which powered a REVA-based minicar. Genepax claims that the car can run at 80 km/h with only one litre of water. This is regardless of whether it comes from sea, river, rain, etc. This would solve many problems simultaneously if it is true. First, hydrogen storage. This gas must be kept liquid at -252.87oC (20.27 K). To do this, the storage tank must be capable of sustaining such low temperatures, or higher pressures, as well. These tanks are expensive and heavy, which is not a good thing for electric cars.
The second is the price. Alternatives to hydrogen storage include obtaining the gas from other fuels like methanol and gasoline. However, reformers are more expensive and produce less pollution than a combustion engine.
Hydrogen can be extracted from water. The only byproduct is oxygen. Although ozone damage may be possible, catalysts might prevent it. Water, especially seawater, is a plentiful substance that can be used in WES (or Water Energy System as Genepax calls it). The secret to WES is its membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which contains a material that can break down water into its basic components (H2O) by chemical reactions.
Critics argue that this is impossible as it is inconsistent with the First Law of Thermodynamics. It states that the increase in internal energy of a system equals the amount of energy that is added to it by heating it, less the amount that is lost due to the system’s work on its surroundings. This means that the energy required to break down the water molecules would be greater than the WES energy generated for the car’s electrical engine. Therefore, energy would come from elsewhere. For example, a battery. Genepax may have made a mistake. It will have made what mankind has sought for so long: the perpetual-motion engine. The only thing the car requires to run is water. Since the product of hydrogen reactions within the fuel cells is also water the WES system can refuel itself from what it generates, and could continue running forever on the same amount of water. Genepax may have made a breakthrough but it does not appear that this is the case.