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We kicked off our “101 series” with an introduction to hydrogen provided by Thomas J. Gross. Mr. Gross received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and his Masters of Science in Industrial Administration from Carnegie-Mellon University. He worked for the Federal Government for over 30 years with the Department of Energy and the United States Naval Reserve. Mr. Gross was a Senior Executive Member of the Board of Directors for the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program at the Department of Energy. Most recently, he was the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Transportation Technologies at the Department of Energy.

Mr. Gross spoke to a group of 48 Congressional staffers about element 1 on the periodic table: hydrogen. Mr. Gross explained the benefits, energy implications, safety issues, production stages, and challenges to using hydrogen as an energy source in the U.S. Benefits include low or zero emissions, increased energy efficiency, and reduced dependence on foreign energy supplies. Fuel cells powered by pure hydrogen emit no harmful pollutants. Fuel cells that use a reformer to convert fuels such as natural gas, methanol, or gasoline to hydrogen do emit small amounts of air pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO), although it is much less than the amount produced by the combustion of fossil fuels. Emissions can occur when producing hydrogen, which vary depending on the technology used. Mr. Gross discussed issues related to hydrogen safety, including the fact that hydrogen is non-toxic, non-corrosive, and not explosive in open air. Although there are many benefits to hydrogen use, numerous barriers exist including the infrastructure needs of a hydrogen delivery system and the technical challenges related to the storage of hydrogen.

Mr. Gross concluded his presentation by discussing security issues and the benefits that come with the use of hydrogen. Energy security is derived from the use of domestic energy resources, economic security from price stability and technological developments and environmental security as a result of improved environmental quality potential.