Brookhaven Lecture

The long-term goal of many nations, a hydrogen economy may confer energy security and environmental and economic benefits. However, the transition from the present petroleum-based economy to one based on the use of hydrogen for energy involves uncertainties, such as the develop of efficient fuel cell technology, the resolution of problems in hydrogen production and distribution, and the response of petroleum markets. This talk will review BNL's look at the opportunities and challenges that a transition to a hydrogen economy will face and a BNL study of the impact of hydrogen production on U.S. energy markets. As the lecturer will explain, both the hydrogen-economy analysis and the hydrogen-production study rely upon the U.S. MARKAL model which was developed at Brookhaven. Widely used around the world, the MARKAL model is an integrated energy, economic and environmental framework for simulating the impact of energy technology — and the transition from one dominant technology to another.