REBUTTAL TO TROMP ET AL.'S RESPONSE, SCIENCE 302:226-229,10 OCT. 2003

Amory B. Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute provides a rebuttal to a response by Tromp et al. regarding hydrogen leakage rates. Lovins argues that the 10% to 20% leakage rate assumed by Tromp et al. is unsupported by evidence and technically implausible for commercial systems. He specifically disputes the claim that liquid hydrogen (LH2) boiloff from automotive tanks would contribute significantly to atmospheric emissions, asserting that such gases would be used as fuel or catalytically oxidized. Lovins further contends that the automotive industry is moving toward compressed gaseous hydrogen (GH2) over LH2 due to superior economics, safety, and weight, citing a concept SUV as evidence that high-pressure GH2 tanks can meet or exceed range benchmarks.

• The author disputes the 10% to 20% global hydrogen industry leakage rate assumed by Tromp et al., stating it is unsupported by the cited references and would be economically and safely unsustainable in a commercial system.
• Lovins argues that boiloff from liquid hydrogen (LH2) automotive storage tanks is unlikely to enter the atmosphere because it is either used as initial fuel upon restart or catalytically oxidized to meet safety regulations.
• The document asserts that the automotive industry favors compressed gaseous hydrogen (GH2) over LH2 because GH2 is cheaper, lighter, and easier to implement, with high-pressure tanks serving as the modern industry norm.
• A midsize fuel-cell concept SUV designed in 2000 using 35-MPa GH2 tanks demonstrated a simulated driving range of 531 km, which the author claims exceeds benchmarks set by Tromp et al. and the DOE.
• The author contends that the net atmospheric impact of hydrogen depends on the production methods and the reduction of other anthropogenic emissions (such as CO2), rather than gross H2 emissions alone.

APA

LOVINS, A. B. (2003). REBUTTAL TO TROMP ET AL.'S RESPONSE, SCIENCE 302:226-229,10 OCT. 2003. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_E03_02ScienceLetterTrompRebuttal.pdf

Chicago

LOVINS, AMORY B. REBUTTAL TO TROMP ET AL.'S RESPONSE, SCIENCE 302:226-229,10 OCT. 2003. RMI, 2003. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_E03_02ScienceLetterTrompRebuttal.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=LOVINS |first1=AMORY B. |title=REBUTTAL TO TROMP ET AL.'S RESPONSE, SCIENCE 302:226-229,10 OCT. 2003 |publisher=RMI |date=11 October 2003 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_E03_02ScienceLetterTrompRebuttal.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{lovins2003rebuttal, author = {LOVINS, AMORY B.}, title = {{REBUTTAL TO TROMP ET AL.'S RESPONSE, SCIENCE 302:226-229,10 OCT. 2003}}, publisher = {RMI}, year = {2003}, month = oct, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_E03_02ScienceLetterTrompRebuttal.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }