Environmental Problem = Energy Solution

What do we do with the 2.7 billion kgs of chicken feathers generated each year by the commercial poultry industry? One possible answer may solve a big problem for hydrogen-fueled cars. Researchers have discovered a cheap, environmentally-friendly way to store hydrogen fuel: carbonized chicken feathers.

One of the major obstacles in shifting to a hydrogen-based automobile infrastructure is that hydrogen is difficult to store and transport, as it requires massive pressures in order to carry a quantity large enough to have a range comparable to gas-powered cars, which in turn can massively increase the weight of the car. Previously, carbon nanotubes had been used to solve the problem. Carbonized chicken feathers, however, have a similiar strength as and can store as much hydrogen as the nanotubes (up to 1.7% of their weight) but at a fraction of the cost. A storage tank of nanotubes can cost millions of dollars, whereas a mass produced chicken-feather-tank would only cost around $200.

The U.S. Department of Energy currently has a target capacity for hydrogen-storage techniques of 6% of weight though, so a marketable prototype is still a ways off. But this is the type of creativity that will make the US energy independent.