WARNING! DO NOT INVEST IN HYDROGEN MINES!

Despite all the talk about hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, there are no natural sources of free hydrogen on planet Earth.  If someone asks you to invest in a hydrogen mine or hydrogen well, call the authorities.  There are no hydrogen mines or hydrogen wells.  In fact, there is no source of hydrogen fuel on Earth.

Even though hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, on planet Earth it can only be obtained by using substantial energy to liberate hydrogen from water or other compounds.  (Hydrogen is so light it actually escapes into outer space, over time, when not tied into other compounds.) 

Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen.  By investing energy, water (H2o) can be broken apart into free hydrogen and oxygen.  In the fuel cell vehicle, hydrogen and oxygen are re-combined to make water, releasing energy.  But in the round-trip, you get back only the same energy you put in... less, in fact, due to inevitable inefficiency and losses of any such system.  So, you can't get any energy out of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle that you didn't first put in.  Hydrogen is not a source of energy.

Hydrogen fuel cell technology is only a way of distributing energy from a central power source, like a nuclear power plant, to many individual automobiles.  Hydrogen is not a fuel source.  Energy can be stored by creating hydrogen, transported, and then the energy used in a convenient place.  But the energy has to come from another source.  

Also, because the hydrogen molecule is so tiny, you will actually lose some during storage and transportation.  Being incredibly tiny, hydrogen can escape from any container given enough time right through solid walls.  The hydrogen molecule is far smaller than the substance of the container walls.  Storage canisters and tanks must be used fairly quickly after they are filled.

The good news is that we do not need a new network of fueling stations. Hydrogen can (must) be filled into pressurized canisters or small tanks.  Hydrogen cannot be simply poured into your tank as a liquid.  It must be in a pressurized canister.  But that means that the canisters can simply be wholesaled and sold at any retail shop, existing gas station, or convenience store.  You could simply pull in to a 7-11 and buy a gallon of milk along with a canister of hydrogen.  You then simply unscrew the old, empty canister, and screw in the new one.  (An ideal design would have many canisters, so that empty ones can be replaced before the car's entire supply is depleted).