The first is how quickly the reformer can be started. The most efficient methanol reforming method could take 10 minutes to warm up. A gasoline engine responds in milliseconds, as does a fuel cell running on pure hydrogen. But a reformer that reacts slowly would mean a sluggish car, and drivers would reject it. There is a big debate about whether to go with methanol or gasoline.
Many experts prefer methanol because it is more efficient.
But unlike gasoline, methanol would require a new infrastructure to make and sell it. Still, reforming either fuel would result in much less carbon dioxide than is produced by the best internal combustion engines today. If fuel cells become popular, a hydrogen infrastructure could be developed that would reduce CO 2 output. At first, hydrogen would be made from natural gas, as is methanol. But if oil and natural gas run low, hydrogen could be produced with solar electricity and water, resulting in a totally renewable energy economy in which no global warming gases are produced.