Hydrogen in every home

http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-20-epa-green-power-challenge/

Yasushi Kawamori has a power plant in his backyard. Not the kind that belches clouds of CO2 into the atmosphere, but the kind that’s small (about the size of a refrigerator and a suitcase placed side by side), quiet (a faint thumping is just audible) and emits a fraction of the carbon dioxide a coal-fired plant would. The system uses a hydrogen fuel cell to convert natural gas into electricity; heat from the reaction generates hot water for himself, his wife and their two children. It’s called a fuel cell cogeneration system, and Kawamori is more than happy to have it in his backyard. “We’re making electricity at our own home, and the heat from that electricity gets used, so it’s really efficient,” he says. “I like that it’s cost-effective and good for the environment.”