AWESOME
One km per gram of Hydrogen
Reported on Sept 9, 2004!
HIGHEST MILEAGE WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT |
3000 km
on 2 kg of H2! - Hysun 3000 European Tour
BERLIN TO BARCELONA VIA AMSTERDAM AND LYON
The heart of Hysun is a Proton Exchange Membrane fuel-cell,
in which hydrogen reacts with oxygen from the air to water. The energy released by this
reaction powers the electric motors. While braking the electric motors work as generators
and charge super capacitors as back-up for peak energy drain uphill. The air resistance of
the fully covered recumbent tricycle is only half compared to a small class sedan. It
weighs 120 kg without rider and hydrogen. The Hysun reaches 80 km/hr max speed. Its
average speed is around 35 km/hr. |
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| FRANCE
PEUGEOT
THE FUEL CELL QUARK More Photos
|
The fuel cell supplements electrical energy supplied by a Nickel
Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery consisting of 40 individual cells, each with a voltage of 7.2
volts. The battery can therefore provide a nominal overall voltage of 288 Volts. In
parallel, PSA Peugeot Citroën have also developed new solutions to simplify the fuel cell
and reduce its size to help integration into more compact vehicles.
...The Quark uses a 9-litre hydrogen tank at a pressure of 700 bars.
Requiring the same amount of space as a 350 bars bottle, this makes it possible to
increase the quantity of on-board hydrogen and thereby extend the vehicle's range. Over a
complete cycle, the latter is around 100 km (up to 130 km in economy mode).
...Electrical power supplied by the batteries and the fuel cell is
transmitted, not to a central motor, but to four individual electric motors located in
each of the vehicle's wheels. Each motor provides a maximum torque of 100 Nm, a continuous
output of 2.5 kW and a maximum output of 7 kW. Thanks to its four individual motors, the
Quark therefore has a maximum torque of 400 Nm, a nominal power of 10 kW and a maximum
power of 28 kW.
Peugeot
|
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY RELEASES REPORTS ON
RECENT H2 DEMONSTRATIONS |
| UNITED STATES HONDA INTERNATIONAL
ENERGY AGENCY |
| Honda Solar Hydrogen Refuelling Station |
Honda's H2 Refueling Station in Torrance, California |
The system, when running exclusively on solar energy, can
produce about 5,700 liters (at 350 bar) of gaseous hydrogen per year. This is enough to
fuel one car for a year. By using both solar power and electricity from the grid, the
station's production capability is 26,000 liters per year. ...Cars can be fueled at the
rate of 20 liters per minute. Hydrogen is dispensed to the vehicle |
| using a unique fast-fill and multi-bank cascade system. A mass flow
sensor records the amount of fuel delivered. Several new
technologies were developed for the station. An innovative pure water recirculation system
keeps water losses in the electrolyser at a minimum. The control system maximizes hydrogen
production efficiency by regulating fluctuations in electric power production caused by
changes in sunlight intensity. |
| CALIFORNIA SUNLINE TRANSIT AUTHORITY |
Sunline Clean Fuels Mall
C. Rips, W. Clapper, M. Johnston, C. Elam, T. H. Schucan |
| SunLine Transit Agency, Thousand Palms, CA, which services the
Coachella Valley area, is operating one of the world’s most diverse integrated
hydrogen demonstration projects. At its Clean Fuels Mall and Beta Test Center for Advanced
Energy Technologies, both renewable- and fossil-based hydrogen production technologies are
being evaluated, along with compressed gas storage and dispensing equipment. Hydrogen
produced on-site powers buildings and fuels a variety of transportation vehicles. The
ongoing tests will pave the way for the future transition of the Coachella Valley’s
public transit system to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and help advance the
commercialization of clean energy technologies – one of SunLine’s core missions. |
| AUSTRALIA DAIMLERCHRYSLER |
The Australian September 13, 2004 |
MILESTONE
Hydrogen Hits The
Road
David King DaimlerChrysler's
prototype F-Cell became the first hydrogen-powered passenger car to operate in Australia
when it hit the streets of Perth yesterday. |
| MARYLAND GENERAL
MOTORS |
Fox News
September 8, 2004 |
Maryland Leases
State's First Hydrogen Vehicle
The van likely will be used by the Maryland Department of
Human Resources in Prince George's County, said Michael T. Richard, director of the
Maryland Energy Administration. A GM engineer will accompany the vehicle's driver
during the one-year operation. |
| DETROIT
FORD |
September 7, 2004
|
"They're pushing the output that they're getting for the [hydrogen]
internal combustion engine higher and higher and higher."
Don Hillebrand
vehicle system section manager at Argonne National Laboratories |
| Ford
Tests a Supercharged H2 F-350 V-10 |
 |
H2 INTERNAL COMBUSTION
V-10 Super Duty 4x4 pickup is based on its existing
gasoline engine designs Eric Mayne |
| Ford’s latest experiment helps demonstrate that
hydrogen-powered vehicles — which can be fuel efficient and clean — don’t
have to be sluggish, four-cylinder econoboxes. Ford hopes test data it derives from the
truck’s demonstration will help accelerate commercial demand for hydrogen, which must
happen before an infrastructure to deliver the new fuel can be established. ..."You
service it the same, change the oil every 5,000 miles," said Bob Natkin, technical
leader of Ford's V-10 hydrogen engine program. The truck's hydrogen fuel tanks are
reinforced with carbon and can withstand a rifle round or a five-story fall, Natkin said.
more |
| UNITED KINGDONM
VAUXHALL GENERAL MOTORS |
September 6, 2004 |
Vauxhall Claims Viable Hydrogen
Vehicle by 2010 Sun
The UK-based Vauxhall motor manufacturer and its General Motors parent corporation
have set themselves a target of developing a hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system by 2010
that compares with combustion engine vehicles in terms of costs, performance and
durability. This ambition has just received a boost from the success of a hydrogen-powered
Vauxhall Zafira MPV in completing a marathon 38-day drive through Europe, during which it
covered 6,024 miles (9,696 km) to nearly double the previous distance record for fuel
cells cars. In fact, the vehicle set a record for long-distance driving in a fuel cell car
at the halfway stage of the endurance run. During its travels after setting out from
Hammerfest in Norway, the HydroGen3 marathon car travelled through Germany, the UK,
Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal, and visited London and 14 other
cities. |
| DETROIT GENERAL
MOTORS |
Carlist.com
September 5, 2004 |
Hydrogen
In - Electricity Out Lou
Ann Hammond
One needs to remember that these are the early days of hydrogen cars. We have been
lucky to see the changes that have happened in internal combustion engines. Some of the
newest technology we are using in internal combustion engines was not available when the
first car was produced. Hydrogen cars will be the same. It's part of the reason the older
cars are so revered today. The multi-million dollar car that John Batchelor drove around
New York on that sunny day won't be available to purchase. It's a prototype that will go
through many changes before it is mass produced and brought down to a reasonable price for
the ultimate consumer. Manufacturers aren't crazy about us telling you that a minivan
costs over $2,000,000 to produce. They're afraid people will think it is cost prohibitive;
at two million dollars it would be cost prohibitive. The first $2,000,000 I drove was a
car that looked like a corvette that had new technology on it called Anti-Lock Braking
system. At first ABS was on only the most expensive cars, but once the technology was
received and the cost amortized, the prices came down. Now ABS is on almost all cars as
standard equipment. One can expect the first mass produced car to cost somewhere between
$55,000 and $75,000. For the first time in over 100 years, there are alternatives that
have the potential to substantially increase fuel economy and reduce emissions without
sacrificing the functionality the customers are purchasing today. |
| UNITED STATES |
The Economist (UK) September 4, 2004 |
 |
Clean Machine
In theory, once all the bugs have been sorted out fuel cells should
deliver better total fuel economy than any existing engines. Allowing for the resources
needed to extract hydrogen from hydrocarbon, oil, coal or gas, the fuel cell has an
efficiency of 30%. That is twice as good as the internal-combustion engine, but only five
percentage points better than a diesel hybrid. But once hydrogen is being produced from
biomass or extracted from underground coal or made from water, using nuclear or renewable
electricity, the |
| way will be
open for a huge reduction in carbon emissions through the whole system. Experts such as
Larry Burns, head of research at GM, reckon that only such a full-hearted leap will allow
the world to cope with the mass motorisation that will one day come to China and India. |
| IOWA HYDROGEN ENGINE CENTER |
HEC/Market Wire August 30, 2004 |
Hydrogen Engine Center (HEC)
Announces
First Production Hydrogen Fueled Engine
The Hydrogen Engine Center (HEC) has introduced the world's first production-ready
hydrogen fueled engine, the HEC-F-C649. The engine is a highly modified Ford 4.9L engine
that produces 74 HP using commercially available hydrogen.
The expected applications of such an engine are powering:
generator sets, luggage tugs for airports, pumping stations, man-lift systems that must
operate inside closed buildings, forklifts, and subterranean mining equipment. The
hydrogen fueled engine can bridge the gap between today's program needs and the promise of
tomorrow. Founder and President of HEC and former Director of Engineering at Ford, Ted
Hollinger stated, "We wanted to build a system that was cost-effective in today's
market, and could be maintained by the same people who maintain gasoline fueled engines.
If it took specialists to maintain the engine, then it would be the wrong design. HEC
figured out how to modify these engines, and then searched for production techniques that
kept costs reasonable." This introduction ends speculation that the idea of a
hydrogen fueled engine would wither in research and development labs. It also ends the
program delays resulting from stagnation in fuel cell development. Until fuel cell
development reaches the point where it can offer cost effective solutions, all other
dependent programs have been stalled. This signals the true start of the hydrogen age. HEC
uses fuel injection rather than fumigation (similar to carburetion) to more precisely
control the combustion process. Hollinger stated that fuel injection increases the
engine's efficiency and output power while lowering emissions. "Fumigated hydrogen
engines can be built, but fuel injection takes a hydrogen engine from a scientific
curiosity to a production-ready design." He noted that the engine uses commercially
available hydrogen rather than the ultra pure hydrogen needed for fuel cell power. HEC is
also working on higher power versions of the same engine. If this engine is coupled with a
generator, it could produce as much as 30 kW of electrical power. Programs waiting for
economic fuel cells can start immediately by using these engines connected to generators.
When asked the engine production rate, Hollinger replied, "Demand really determines
how many will be built. We have the capability to build 10 per week now and expect to
reach 20 per week by the end of the year. We can ramp to whatever volume is required,
because we have selected our suppliers and our systems to support higher volume
production." Hydrogen Engine Center was founded after a leading fuel cell
manufacturer cancelled a program that used a hydrogen fueled engine to generate electrical
power. This had been a joint program with a noted automotive engine manufacturer. HEC's
founders left this fuel cell manufacturer to continue their work, this time with a smaller
engine and a burning desire to simplify the design, eliminating unnecessary cost.
Statements herein express management's beliefs and expectations regarding future
performance, are forward-looking, involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not
limited to the ability to respond to competition and rapidly changing technology, raise
working capital, secure other financing, properly identify acquisition partners,
adequately perform due diligence, manage and integrate acquired businesses, react to
market fluctuations, and other risks. Actual results may differ materially from
management's expectations....
The engine introduced today is a highly modified Ford 4.9L
engine that produces 74 HP using commercially available hydrogen. We expect the engine to
be used in applications such as: generator sets, luggage tugs for airports, pumping
stations, man-lift systems that must operate inside closed buildings, forklifts, and
subterranean mining equipment. When used with a generator, it can replace fuel cells today
for a fraction of the cost. The Hydrogen Engine Center (HEC) manufactures and modifies
ultra-low emissions engines for industrial use. |
|
“Our two
test programs showed the on-road reliability of fuel cell vehicles is excellent,
equivalent to our current fleet. But what’s truly exciting is how fast the technology
is progressing.”
Chris Mahoney, UPS
|
| UNITED STATES
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE
DAIMLERCHRYSLER Aug 26, 2004 |
UPS FINDS FUEL CELL POWER SUPERIOR TO DIESEL |
 |
UPS
Expands Real-World Testing of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology |
“Shifting
away from a fossil fuel based economy to a hydrogen economy would be a great environmental
and technological achievement,” said Chris Mahoney, UPS senior vice president of
global transportation services. “UPS now is jumping from a small fuel cell car to a
medium-duty truck. We will continue the rapid application of this technology in hopes that
in the near future, we can deploy zero-emission engines across our fleet of 88,000
vehicles.”
The vehicles in their new configuration also offer a 10% increase in cargo capacity
compared to the diesel-powered Sprinters now in use by UPS, and the fuel cell technology
eliminates the need to house an engine in the front of the vehicle, making it easier to
explore new automotive designs, he added. The UPS executive said one of the remaining
hurdles is the need for more hydrogen refueling stations. “While it’s still more
expensive to manufacture a fuel cell vehicle, DaimlerChrysler is working hard to perfect
the technology and lower those costs. The refueling infrastructure is the next critical
need,” Mahoney concluded. “Only by making hydrogen as broadly available as
gasoline or diesel can passenger cars and fleets truly reap the environmental and economic
benefits.” more |
| JAPAN HONDA |
Bloomberg
August 24, 2004
|
Honda Makes
Scooters With Hybrid Engines, Fuel Cells
Honda has also developed a scooter that runs on a hydrogen fuel cell,
using its own stack, the part of the system that combines hydrogen and oxygen to generate
electricity. The company did not give any details about the fuel-cell scooter. |
| IOWA HYDROGEN ENGINE CENTER
HEC
August 30, 2005 |
The
Wait For The Hydrogen Age Ends!
Wait No Longer For Fuel
Cells Because An Immediate Solution Has Been Found
HEC Announces First
Production Hydrogen Fueled Engine
Algona, IA - August 30, 2004 - The Hydrogen Engine Center (HEC) has introduced the
world’s first production-ready hydrogen fueled engine, the HEC-F-C649. The engine is
a highly modified Ford 4.9L engine that produces 74 HP using commercially available
hydrogen.
The expected applications of such an engine are powering: generator sets, luggage tugs for
airports, pumping stations, man-lift systems that must operate inside closed buildings,
forklifts, and subterranean mining equipment.
The hydrogen fueled engine can bridge the gap between today’s program needs and the
promise of tomorrow. Founder and President of HEC and former Director of Engineering at
Ford, Ted Hollinger stated, “We wanted to build a system that was cost-effective in
today’s market, and could be maintained by the same people who maintain gasoline
fueled engines. If it took specialists to maintain the engine, then it would be the wrong
design. HEC figured out how to modify these engines, and then searched for production
techniques that kept costs reasonable.”
This introduction ends speculation that the idea of a hydrogen fueled engine would wither
in research and development labs. It also ends the program delays resulting from
stagnation in fuel cell development. Until fuel cell development reaches the point where
it can offer cost effective solutions, all other dependent programs have been stalled.
This signals the true start of the hydrogen age.
HEC uses fuel injection rather than fumigation (similar to carburetion) to more precisely
control the combustion process. Hollinger stated that fuel injection increases the
engine’s efficiency and output power while lowering emissions. “Fumigated
hydrogen engines can be built, but fuel injection takes a hydrogen engine from a
scientific curiosity to a production-ready design.” He noted that the engine uses
commercially available hydrogen rather than the ultra pure hydrogen needed for fuel cell
power. HEC is also working on higher power versions of the same engine.
If this engine is coupled with a generator, it could produce as much as 30 kW of
electrical power. Programs waiting for economic fuel cells can start immediately by using
these engines connected to generators. When asked the engine production rate, Hollinger
replied, “Demand really determines how many will be built. We have the capability to
build 10 per week now and expect to reach 20 per week by the end of the year. We can ramp
to whatever volume is required, because we have selected our suppliers and our systems to
support higher volume production.”
Hydrogen Engine Center was founded after a leading fuel cell manufacturer cancelled a
program that used a hydrogen fueled engine to generate electrical power. This had been a
joint program with a noted automotive engine manufacturer. HEC’s founders left this
fuel cell manufacturer to continue their work, this time with a smaller engine and a
burning desire to simplify the design, eliminating unnecessary cost.
Statements herein express management's beliefs and expectations regarding future
performance, are forward-looking, involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not
limited to the ability to respond to competition and rapidly changing technology, raise
working capital, secure other financing, properly identify acquisition partners,
adequately perform due diligence, manage and integrate acquired businesses, react to
market fluctuations, and other risks. Actual results may differ materially from
management's expectations.
For Press Contact:
Tom Daly
VP of Marketing and Sales
734-525-3855
tdaly@hydrogenenginecenter.com
For Technical Content
Ted Hollinger
President
515-295-3178
thollinger@hydrogeneneginecenter.com
The engine introduced today is a highly modified Ford 4.9L engine that produces 74 HP
using commercially available hydrogen. We expect the engine to be used in applications
such as: generator sets, luggage tugs for airports, pumping stations, man-lift systems
that must operate inside closed buildings, forklifts, and subterranean mining equipment.
When used with a generator, it can replace fuel cells today for a fraction of the cost.
The Hydrogen Engine Center (HEC) manufactures and modifies ultra-low emissions engines for
industrial use. |
| CALIFORNIA CANADA JAPAN TOYOTA STUART ENERGY August 19, 2004 |
Gas station of the future: A Toyota Fuel Cell Highlander at Stuart
Energy's
Hydrogen Station in Torrance, California
Photo: Stuart Energy |
Monterey
County Fair
Montery County Herald Victor M.
Calderon
An SUV That Doesn't Use Gas
On display at the fair this week is the Highlander FCHV, Toyota's prototype
hydrogen fuel cell hybrid vehicle. ...The FCHV looks like a regular SUV with some fancy
gadgets added on, including a panel navigation system. The main draw is that the car
requires no gasoline. Owners can make their own fuel at home with water and a hydrogen
fueling system developed by Stuart Energy. The Renewable Stuart Energy Station is a water
electrolysis-based hydrogen station that uses solar electricity to separate water into
hydrogen and oxygen. |
GERMANY
GOVERNMENT OF GERMANY
DAIMLERCHRYSLER |
DW-World
August 18, 2004 |
Schroeder Gets DaimlerChrysler Fuel-Cell Car for Chancellery
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder took delivery of a fuel cell-powered Mercedes
A-Class vehicle, the F-Cell, from DaimlerChrysler AG for the Chancellery's car pool. The
company plans to have 60 of the cars on the road around the world by the end of this year.
|
- Schröder's Lean,
Green Machine
Schröder received the car from DaimlerChrysler board member
Jürgen Hubbert and praised the efforts of the company to develop more environmentally
friendly vehicles, especially at a time of increased oil prices and concerns over the
effects of CO2 emissions in relation to climate change. "This shows that we are on
the right track," the chancellor said, running an impressed eye over his new loan
car. Experts from DaimlerChrysler estimate that the first commercial fuel-cell car should
be ready by 2010. The auto manufacturer hopes it will cost around the same as regular
cars.
|
| AUSTRALIA |
News Limited August 18, 2004 |
Three
Hydrogen-powered Buses Arrive in Perth
The trial is in collaboration with two trial projects in Europe
involving 30 buses in 10 cities. The Perth project is also collaborating with similar
trials in California. The Department of the Environment and Heritage and the Australian
Greenhouse Office have jointly committed $2.5 million to the trial. The Citaro buses used
for the trial run wholly on hydrogen gas, which is converted to electricity using Ballard
fuel cell engines. |
| UNITED KINGDOM |
Daily Record (UK) August 16, 2004 |
Hydrogen Car's Record Bid Ben
Spencer
The lightweight green machine is virtually silent and, because it is powered
by hydrogen, it will only emit water. ...For the record attempt, the car is
scheduled to complete 25 laps of a 6.335-mile track at the Grampian Transport Museum in
Alford, Aberdeenshire. Engineers will measure the amount of fuel used and multiply it to
work out how far the car would travel using a full gallon of fuel. To break the current
world record, Gh2ost will have to achieve the equivalent of more than 10,705 miles a
gallon. The project is managed by Aberdeen fuel technology firm siGEN and industrial
giants BOC. |
CALIFORNIA GERMANY AIR PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTED ENERGY SYSTEMS
SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
August 13, 2004 |
DaimlerChrysler Announces its
First Fuel Cell Vehicle Customer in California: The South Coast Air Quality Management
District
Based on a Mercedes A-Class, the F-Cell is a reflection of
DaimlerChrysler's leadership in fuel cell technology. The entire fuel cell system is
housed in the floor of the vehicle, leaving full use of the passenger and cargo spaces. It
has a range of approximately 100 miles and a top speed of 85 mph. The electric motor
develops 88 hp (65 kW), enabling acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in 16 seconds. The stack
has been developed by the DaimlerChrysler cooperation partner, Ballard. The F-Cell will be
used by AQMD in everyday driving conditions in Southern California. Freeway and
stop-and-go driving in this climate will provide valuable data to both DaimlerChrysler and
AQMD on the operation and refueling of fuel cell vehicles.
|
JAPAN QUESTAIR
NIPPON SANSO BHK IWATANI
JAPAN HYDROGEN & FUEL CELL DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
August 12, 2004 |
QuestAir
H-3200 Hydrogen Purifier Installed in World's First Mobile Natural Gas-to-Hydrogen Fuel
Station - Questair
The Oume station is one of 10 hydrogen stations constructed as
part of the Japan Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Demonstration Project ("JHFC"), a
multi-year fuel cell vehicle and hydrogen infrastructure demonstration project directed by
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ("METI"). The station is being
operated by the Engineering Advancement Association of Japan ("ENAA") and
provides hydrogen fuel for fuel cell vehicles supplied by manufacturers including Toyota,
Nissan, Honda, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Mitsubishi and Suzuki. The trailer-mounted
fueling station is comprised of several sub-systems, including hydrogen generation,
purification, compression and storage. The hydrogen is produced from natural gas using
reforming technology from BHK. QuestAir's H-3200 then purifies the hydrogen, which is
subsequently compressed and stored with equipment supplied by Nippon Sanso Corporation.
The overall system integration was completed by BHK. The H-3200 was supplied by QuestAir
through Iwatani International Corporation ("Iwatani") under the terms of the
Supply and Distribution Agreement signed by QuestAir and Iwatani in December 2003. |
 |
10,000 PSI |
JAPAN USA GM
SUZUKI QUANTUM SUMITOMO
JAPAN HYDROGEN
FUEL CELL DEMONSTRATION PROJECT GM August 5, 2004 |
GM/Suzuki
First In Japan Approved To Use Advanced Hydrogen Storage System
10,000 psi System Increases Range Of Two Company's FC
Vehicles |
| General Motors today became the first automaker in Japan to
receive approval for a compressed hydrogen storage system that allows its fuel cell
vehicles to travel farther on a tank of hydrogen. GM's Alliance Partner, Suzuki, will use
the state-of-the-art 700 bar (10,000 psi) system in its next-generation fuel cell vehicle,
which will be unveiled later this year. GM is currently using the advanced hydrogen
storage system in several of its fuel cell vehicles operating on public roads in North
America and Europe. The 700 bar system can increase the range of fuel cell vehicles by up
to 50 percent over a comparably sized 350 bar (5,000 psi) system, currently used by the
rest of the industry. To date, GM is the only automaker operating vehicles with the 700
bar system.
|
| MICHIGAN HYDROGEN
FORECAST Business Direct Weekly August 5, 2004 |
Online Publisher
Launches Hydrogen Fuel Cell Mag
Hydrogen Forecast -
hydrogenforecast.com - a joint venture of veteran automotive journalist John McCormick and
online marketing expert Rob Cleveland of Ann Arbor-based ICON Creative Technologies Group,
will be published monthly by a newly formed company, Corland Publishing of Ann Arbor. Lead Articles in Hydrogen Forecast:
|
UNITED STATES
AutoWeek
NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION
July 30, 2004 |
Ruptured gasoline tanks kill again
H2: AS SAFE AS GASOLINE? |
Feds to Study Safety of H2 Cars
Harry Stoffer
The plan calls for four years of research, "subject to the availability of
research funds." NHTSA is seeking nearly $5 million in federal money in the fiscal
year that starts Oct. 1 to launch the research effort. The plan suggests that cooperation
with industry and coordination with other countries could help limit costs. |
Fuel Leak Simulation
Dr. Michael R. Swain
University of Miami, Coral Gables |
| UNITED STATES GENERAL MOTORS
Detroit News July 30, 2004 |
Probing
the Hydrogen Versus Gasoline Debate John McCormick
Even with the latest technology, gasoline and diesel
powertrains lose prodigious amounts of energy through waste heat, friction and other
factors. ...One of the knocks against hydrogen is that it takes a lot of energy to
produce. Today's most economical methods of converting natural gas into hydrogen, through
steam reforming (a process also used for crude oil or coal), requires an input of about
1.4 million BTUs (a standard unit of energy) of natural gas to make one million BTUs of
pure hydrogen (an energy loss of 0.4 million BTUs per million BTUs of hydrogen).
That's not a good start, but remember that gasoline also 'costs' energy
to produce, albeit substantially less than hydrogen. From this point you need to add in
the energy required in natural gas extraction and transport, hydrogen transport and making
electricity to compress the hydrogen. The total energy loss works out at about 0.7 million
BTUs per million BTUs of delivered hydrogen. That is what's known as the 'well to tank'
equation. So far gasoline is well ahead on points, but this is where the picture changes
dramatically. According to a GM well to wheel study, when you factor in the efficiency of
the fuel cell powertrain versus the IC engine, the end result leans heavily in favor of
hydrogen. more |
| JAPAN HONDA
YAKUSHIMA DENKO KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY July 30, 2004 |
Glimpse of the
Future from Hydrogen-based Fuel Trials Stuff.com
(NZ)
Honda's FCX fuel cell vehicle arrived in Yakushima on April 16. The small
island just south of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands, is a little
over 100km in circumference but has mountains 2000 metres tall. Its annual rainfall
reaches 8000mm, and thanks to its abundant water resources all households on the island
are powered by hydro- electric power. This electricity was used by the team's hydrogen
station, which produced hydrogen through electrolysis. No carbon dioxide, a greenhouse
gas, was emitted in the production process. Next to the station was a hydrogen supply unit
able to store 100 cubic metres of the substance at a pressure of 350 atmospheres.
Theoretically, this is enough to fill the FCX twice and drive 400km with the vehicle. The
hydrogen-producing equipment had to run for two days straight to produce this amount.
...The three parties finished the trials in a week and said they hope that one day all
9500 vehicles on the island will be powered by fuel cells.
- Regional Energy
System in Yakushima Island - Analysis of Energy Demand/Supply Takami
Kai, Yoshimitsu Uemura, Takeshige Takahashi, Yasuo Hatate and Masahiro Yoshida
Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Kagoshima University
- Best Mixing of Hydrogen and
Electricity in Yakushima Island - A Basic Study for Future Sustainable Society in
Yakushima Y. Uemura, T. Kai, T. Takahashi, Y. Hatate, M. Yoshida,
Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Kagoshima University, Japan July 25, 2003
|
MONTANA NATIONAL
INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
STILLWATER MINING Linda Halstead-Acharya Billings
Gazette July 25. 2004 |
| H2-ICE UNDERGROUND MINE TRUCK USES
SAFE METAL HYDRIDE STORAGE |
| Stillwater Mine
Going Green with Hydrogen-powered Vehicle |
| The cost of the technology, however, would be irrelevant if
hydrogen weren't proven to be safe. That's the number one concern when it comes to the
flammable, explosive gas - particularly when it's being used in confined underground
areas. Engineers who worked on early stages of the project learned that lesson when an
earlier prototype engine exploded inside the crank case, cracking the engine block. That's
why Varley and Woodward have devoted the past few years to ZEUS' safety systems.
Troubleshooting worst case scenarios, they incorporated numerous hydrogen sensors, they
installed fire detection tubes throughout and they fitted the system |
| with guards related to the combustion engine. "Any place where
there's a potential for hydrogen to accumulate, if it even gets to within one-quarter of
the flammable point, it shuts down and there's a voice-alarm warning," Varley said.
"The amount of free gas around this is about the amount of propane on a barbecue
grill." With such controls in place, Anderson considers the ZEUS safer than its
diesel counterpart. Gas disperses into the air, he said, while diesel spills and has the
potential to spread a fire. |
| CANADA
CHINA BALLARD POWER SYSTEMS Ballard July 22, 2004 |
Ballard to Power 3 Fuel Cell Buses
in Beijing
Ballard Power Systems announced today that it will provide three
heavy-duty fuel cell engines to DaimlerChrysler for integration into Mercedes-Benz Citaro
buses for a project funded by China's Ministry of Science & Technology, the Global
Environment Facility and the United Nations Development Program. The three buses will
operate in Beijing as part of a two-year demonstration program, beginning in late 2005 and
continuing through 2007. ...The three buses to be demonstrated in Beijing
will complement the 33 Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses equipped with 205 kW heavy-duty
Ballard(R) fuel cell engines on the roads of 11 cities worldwide: Perth, Amsterdam,
Barcelona, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Porto, Reykjavik, Stockholm and Stuttgart.
Ballard has also delivered three heavy-duty fuel cell engines to Gillig Corporation for
the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, bringing the number of buses to be
demonstrated and driven on regular routes in daily service to 39.
- BP Developing H2 Infrastructure
Platinum Today July 22,
2004
The fuel cell industry appears to be gathering momentum with news that
global energy giant BP is to build a second hydrogen facility, incorporating
groundbreaking technology that it says will be replicated across China. ...However, the
technology for the second station is likely to be more advanced due to the high cost of
transporting hydrogen produced from natural gas in trucks carrying only 150 kg of gas per
run. "The problem with gas is that it's hard to transport to the market, either
through pipelines or liquefied. Using trucks is expensive. You're using a lot of energy to
carry a lot of metal and some gas," said Dr Michael Jones, general manager for BP Gas
Power and Renewables. In order to overcome these limitations, BP is examining several
alternatives for its latest refuelling station, including the production of hydrogen on
site through electrolysis, which requires electricity and water.
|
SINGAPORE DAMLIERCHRYSLER BP HYDROGEN Business Times July 20, 2004 |
SINGAPORE
CELEBRATES THE FIRST STEP TO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE |
|
"China may be an attractive first
mover.
It may even catch up with
and overtake the developed world
by bringing in fuel cell technology."
Dr. Michael Jones
General Manager, BP Gas Power and
Renewables
Hydrogen Technology Headed
for China!
Samuel Ee
Business Times
BP may not have chosen the method of
supply yet, but it still expects its second hydrogen facility in Singapore to feature
groundbreaking technology which will be replicated in China.
more
"We could be looking at
maybe seven or 10 years away before volume production... The primary issue is to make sure
the vehicles can work in the tropical environment we are in today. The infrastructure is
implementable so that as I say by the time the technology is ready, the cost curve is
ready, we are there to implement it on a large-scale basis."
Environment Minister Lim Swee Say
Singapore's Fuel
Cell Program Rolls Out first H2 Vehicle
Ken Teh Channel NewsAsia July 19, 2004 |
|
- What Is F-Cell and How Safe Is It?
Jakarta Post (Indonesia) July
22, 2004
Andreas Truckenbrodt, director of fuel cell and alternative powertrain
vehicles at DaimlerChrysler AG, said numerous crash tests had been conducted at the
Mercedes-Benz A-Class F-Cell testing ground on this issue. "We started the design
with the hydrogen tanks and the fuel cell stack. We had to ensure that there would be no
leaks and that if there was, there should be an immediate shutdown of supply of the
hydrogen," he said, adding that DaimlerChrysler invests six billion euros (US$7.38
billion) per year for fuel cell research.
- Westport Signs MOU with Leadimg
Chinese University for Hydrogen Research Project
Westport Innovations July 21, 2004
- BP
Opens Singapore Hydrogen Refuelling Station
Samuel Ee The Business Times
(Singapore) July 20, 2004
The hydrogen facility at Upper East Coast Road is the first in the world to be
located in an existing petrol station, one of 30 BP sites which will be handed over to SPC
by the year-end. Michael Jones, BP general manager for hydrogen, gas power and renewables,
said the dispenser has sufficient hydrogen to refuel up to 35 cars.
- Air Products
Hydrogen Fueling Technology Now in Operation at BP Singapore Retail Vehicle Filling
Station Air Products
- DaimlerChrysler
Aims for Mass-market H2 Cars in 10 Years Ansley Ng ENN/AP July
20, 2004
The tiny city-state was chosen as one of the test sites because of its
tropical climate and government support for cleaner technologies, DaimlerChrysler's fuel
cell director Dr Andreas Truckenbrodt said.
- First Fuel
Cell Car Hits Singapore Roads for Testing Program
Colin Young
News Today (Singapore)
July 20,
2004
Singapore was established as the fuel cell hub in Southeast Asia in June
2000, when Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong signed an agreement with DaimlerChrysler in
Germany. Since then, F-Cell cars have been undergoing internal tests in four countries and
by the end of this year, 60 cars will be running in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo,
Berlin and Singapore.
|
"Japan's fuel cell technology
rivals or even exceeds that of the U.S., and its technology to extract hydrogen without
the use of fossil fuel is the best in the world."
Taizo Nishimuro, Chairman, Toshiba Corp.
Singapore's
Lee: Japan Needs Quick, Sweeping Reform
Nikkei June
5, 2003
"The Arab oil embargo and the resulting
rise in gasoline prices devastated the American auto industry perhaps as much as Detroit's
shortsighted executives."
Ken Auletta
The Art of Corporate Success: The Story of Schlumberger
1984
|
| GERMANY FORD |
Ford Motor Company July 14, 2004 |
JUST IN CASE...
FORD READIES PRODUCTION OF AFFORDABLE H2 CARS |
Powered by Hydrogen: Looking
to the Future with the Ford Focus C-MAX H2 Internal Combustion Engine
STUTTGART, July 13, 2004 – Ford engineers have equipped the Ford Focus C-MAX
with a prototype hydrogen internal combustion engine (H 2 ICE). The vehicle was unveiled
today at the Research Conference of the German Car Manufacturer Association (VDA) in
Stuttgart, which was attended by the German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and other
important political figures.
The Ford Research
Center at Aachen (FFA) has developed this technology demonstrator to analyse
its technical and environmental potential. On the way towards achieving sustainable
mobility, Ford regards the hydrogen internal combustion engine as an important step
towards a hydrogen-fuelled future where fuel cells delivering clean electric power is the
ultimate goal.
Before the technical and economical maturity of fuel cell vehicles is
achieved, it is important to establish a commercial demand for hydrogen fuel. This will
help to establish a hydrogen fuelling infrastructure and, as more vehicles need hydrogen,
so this network of fuelling stations will grow.
It is likely that the commercial viability of the hydrogen-fuelled
internal combustion engine will be established earlier than the fuel cell, since the
appeal of this type of engine has developed over a period of more than 100 years.
Ford's first supercharged hydrogen combustion engine was developed for the Model U. |
However, this does not mean that the
modifications required to produce the prototype hydrogen internal combustion engine are
trivial. The base engine is a 2.3 litre four-cylinder gasoline engine producing 110 hp
(82kW). The Ford Focus C-MAX with H 2 ICE differs from the base vehicle mainly in the
packaging of the engine. The battery has been moved from the engine compartment to
underneath the back seat; additionally, there are special safety systems and sensors to
suit the different fuel tank technology. The H 2 ICE power train also requires some
additional electronic systems and components such as two intercoolers.
The test vehicle uses compressed gaseous hydrogen stored at 350 bar in
three tanks. Two are located in the trunk and the third one is installed underfloor. Two
pressure regulators reduce the gas pressure down to 5.5 bar at the engine manifold.
Altogether the three tanks accommodate a capacity of 119 litres, which equates to 2.75 kg
of hydrogen and provides a range of about 200 km.
A supercharger enables the Ford Focus C-MAX H 2 ICE to have similar
performance to the corresponding gasoline engine. By compressing the intake air, the
supercharger increases the mass of the fuel mixture in the combustion chamber. During
compression the air is heated and it is then cooled by the two intercoolers, of which one
is located behind the front bumper and the other in the middle of the engine compartment.
The cooled and compressed air is fed to the combustion engine to combine with the hydrogen
in the cylinders.
The hydrogen/air-ratio of the Ford Focus C-MAX H 2 ICE can be adjusted
in a wide range since the ignitability of hydrogen in air varies from four to 70 per cent
by volume. This means that both very lean and very rich hydrogen/air mixtures are
possible, which enables the optimal control of fuel consumption and NO x emissions to be
achieved.
Another important project leading towards a sustainable hydrogen-based
future is the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) in Berlin which is funded by the German
Government. Ford is one of the nine different industry partners which participate in the
three-year-project. In the framework of the CEP, Ford will provide three fuel cell
vehicles for fleet customers.
The objective of the CEP is to prove the suitability of the mobile
application of hydrogen for everyday use. Hydrogen is considered as an environmentally
friendly energy source since it can be generated from solar, wind and water, i.e.
renewable energy sources. Compared with the hydrogen ICE, the fuel cell achieves higher
efficiency and it does not emit any greenhouse or other exhaust gases. |
|
WEB VIDEO |
The Hydrogen
Car Company's
David Freeman
on the Hydrogen Revolution
Video by VIM Services |
|
|
|
|
| CANADA BALLARD POWER SYSTEMS |
CFCN Television July 17, 2004 |
Ballard's Celebrated Drive Hits a Bumpy Road
Peter Kennedy
The omens aren't auspicious. Investors are fleeing, disheartened by the
continuing delays and technology hurdles. The auto makers, while still actively pursuing
fuel-cell dreams, have been distracted by the surprising success of so-called hybrids,
such as Toyota's Prius and Honda's Civic. |
| CANADA
BALLARD POWER SYSTEMS |
Globe and Mail July 12, 2004 |
New Ballard
Alliance Worries Investors Peter
Kennedy
Analyst MacMurray Whale of National Bank Financial estimated that
Ballard stands to lose up to 30 per cent of the revenue it would have received from future
vehicle sales after selling a 50.1-per-cent stake in the German entity. It acquired the
stake in 2001. He is concerned that DaimlerChrysler and Ford will use the German
integration system to support the development of hybrid vehicles, which run on a
combination of gasoline and electricity -- not Ballard's system.
|
| JAPAN NISSAN RENAULT
National Post
July 2, 2004 |
 |
Nissan
Unveils Vehicles that Shun Gas-only Power Graeme Fletcher
The next step in the shift away from gasoline is found in the fuel
cell-powered X-Trail FCV. Essentially, this vehicle takes the electric side of the Altima
Hybrid, ups the size |
and output of the electric motor (to 114 hp) and
replaces the gasoline engine with a fuel cell and the gas tank for a cylindrical tank that
stores hydrogen at 5,000 psi. ...Compared with the 2002 X-Trail FCV, the '03 model
features a 63-kW fuel cell that delivers 1.75 times the driving range from the same-sized
tank (now 350 km) and an electric motor that's 1.5 times more powerful. As a result, the
driving experience is much closer to that of a conventional automobile. Remarkably, the
leasing program began a full two years ahead of schedule. Yoshiharu Nakaji, one of the
FCV's engineers, is so confident the future is closer than many suggest, he says the
instant a viable refuelling infrastructure is in place, the days of the FCV will begin in
earnest. On that front, Nissan and the Cosmo Oil Company are in the process of developing
a viable refuelling station.
- Nissan to Increase Development Spending by 16% This Year
Bloomberg July 3, 2004
Nissan, 44.4 percent owned by Renault SA, plans to spend 410 billion yen
($3.8 billion) on research and development in the year to March 31, 2005, compared with
354.3 billion yen in the previous year. The Tokyo-based automaker and partner Renault have
said they will spend a total of 85 billion yen in the five years ending March 2006, to
develop fuel-cell vehicles.
|
"Hydrogen seems closer or further away,
depending on current fashion. At the moment, a number of, I think, rather poor reports are
being published saying it’s very far away. They reached that conclusion by assuming
inefficient cars and disintegrated implementation. The market is not constrained by that
perception, fortunately. The people who are developing the technologies are continuing to
do so with very good results."
Amory Lovins
President, Rocky Mountain Institute
Amory Lovins Fuels Hydrogen Solution
Jeff Karoub Small Times
August 12, 2004 |
ROMM
IS WRONG
Sandy Thomas Sets the Record Straight
| |
ICEV |
HEV |
FCV |
Fuel
economy in
2015
(p. 6-16) |
24 mpg |
34 mpg |
58 mpkg |
|
|
|
Current |
Optimistic |
Fuel Cost
/gallon or kg |
$1.80/gal |
1.80/gal |
$3.51/kg
(Table E-5) |
$2.33/kg
(Table E-36) |
Fuel
Cost
(cents/mile) |
8.3 |
5.9 |
6.1 |
4 |
Responses to Joe Romm's
Seven Points on the Hydrogen Economy
C. E. Thomas, President, H2Gen Innovations EV World
"We estimate that the life-cycle
costs of owning and operating a hydrogen FCV would be $2,290 less than owning and operating a conventional
gasoline car..., even though the FCV cost $2,800 more initially. This savings would increase to $3,260 over the life
of the car if the auto companies succeeded in lowering their fuel cell system costs to
$20/kW. But
this FC cost reduction is not necessary to achieve life-cycle cost savings
over gasoline cars."
more
- Letter to L.A. Times by South
Coast Air Quality Management District Executive Officer Barry R.
Wallerstein
Hydrogen-Power Cars Help Air Quality
Joseph J. Romm's piece, "Lots of Hot Air About Hydrogen" (Opinion, March 28), is a
shortsighted and unenlightened view of a developing technology that is likely to play a
crucial role in cleaning up the Southland's smog. Romm should spend a summer in Southern
California — where residents last year suffered 68 days of unhealthful air quality
— to appreciate the urgency for developing zero-emission vehicles. Southern
California has just six years left to meet federal health-based standards for ground-level
ozone air quality, or else potentially face sanctions that could hamstring the region's
economy.
The development of vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells will indeed
face substantial challenges, from the refinement of fuel-cell design to the building of a
hydrogen fueling network. The South Coast Air Quality Management District is co-funding a
nascent network of five hydrogen fueling stations for a fleet of 35 hydrogen-powered
Toyota Priuses. Unlike fuel-cell cars, these Priuses will burn hydrogen in conventional
internal-combustion engines, with emissions as low as or lower than the gasoline-hybrid
Prius touted by Romm.
While fuel-cell vehicles still are in the demonstration phase and can
cost millions apiece, the Priuses can be converted to burn hydrogen at a relatively low
cost. These kinds of vehicles can help jump-start a hydrogen fueling network, which will
in turn provide an incentive for automakers to produce zero-emission fuel-cell-powered
cars.
Incidentally, all of the major automakers currently are demonstrating
fuel-cell vehicles, and GM has committed to bring a model to the consumer market by 2010.
-- Barry R. Wallerstein AQMD Executive Officer
Diamond Bar
- Letter to "Issues in Science and Technology" July 1,
2004
LARRY BURNS, Vice President, R&D and Planning, General Motors
In "The Hype About Hydrogen" (Issues, Spring 2004), Joseph J.
Romm devotes considerable energy to highlighting the challenges that must be addressed in
realizing a hydrogen-based economy. As his title implies, he concludes that the world's
interest in this promising future is more about hype than reality.
At General Motors, we see the future quite differently. We
believe there are many compelling reasons to move as quickly as possible to a personal
mobility future energized by hydrogen and powered by fuel cells. These include substantial
reductions in vehicle exhaust and greenhouse gas emissions, energy security, geopolitical
stability, sustainable economic growth, and, most importantly, the potential to design
vehicles that are more exciting to own and operate than today's automobiles.
GM has demonstrated this design potential with our Hy-wire
prototype, the world's first drivable fuel cell and by-wire vehicle. We also have made
great progress in testing our fuel cell technology in real-world settings. We have vehicle
demonstration programs under way in Washington, D.C. and Tokyo, Japan, and are partnering
with Dow Chemical on the world's largest application of fuel cell power in a chemical
manufacturing facility.
Given the fuel cell's inherent energy efficiency, we estimate
that the cost per mile of hydrogen is already close to that of the cost of gasoline used
in today's vehicles. In fact, our analyses have shown that the first million fuel cell
vehicles could be fueled by hydrogen derived from natural gas, resulting in an increase in
natural gas demand of only two-tenths of one percent. Our analyses also project that a
fueling infrastructure for the first million fuel cell vehicles could be created in the
United States at a cost of $10-15 billion. (In comparison, the cost to build the Alaskan
oil pipeline in the mid-1970s was $8 billion, which equates to $25 billion in today's
dollars.)
Based on our current rate of progress, GM is working hard to
develop commercially viable fuel cell propulsion technology by 2010. This means a fuel
cell that is competitive with today's engines in terms of power, durability, and cost at
automotive volumes. Beyond this, GM plans to be the first manufacturer to sell one million
fuel cell vehicles profitably. Like all advanced technology vehicles, fuel cell vehicles
must sell in large quantities to realize a positive environmental impact. How quickly we
see significant volumes depends on many factors, including cost-effective and conveniently
available hydrogen refueling for our customers, uniform codes and standards for hydrogen
and hydrogen-fueled vehicles, and supportive government policies to help overcome the
initial vehicle and refueling infrastructure investment hurdles.
For the past 100 years, GM has been on the leading edge of
pioneering automotive development -not just because we have worked the technology but,
equally importantly, because we have been willing to lay out a long-term vision of the
future and use our considerable resources to realize the vision. We are committed to the
future-so it is not a question of whether we will be able to market exciting, safe, and
affordable fuel cell vehicles, but when. all it will take is the collective will of the
auto and energy companies, government, academia, and other interested stakeholders. Today,
we see this collective will building toward a societal determination to create a hydrogen
economy.
This is not hype. It's reality.
Letter to "Issues in Science and Technology" July
1, 2004
S. DAVID FREEMAN, Chairman, Hydrogen Car Company
I have enormous respect for the analytical ability of Daniel
Sperling and Joan Ogden, who have set forth a strong rationale for their long-term "Hope for
Hydrogen" (Issues, Spring 2004). My problem is that their conclusion is
even more apt for the short term. The public interests of America in reducing our
dependence on oil from nations that hate us and abating global warming can't afford to
wait for a fuel-cell car, which has been 15 years away for the past 15 years.
The assumption that hydrogen is or must be decades away is the
false premise of both the academic proponents of hydrogen and the self-appointed
protectors of the environment, who assume that this nation is incapable of mounting a
"Moon-shot"-type initiative for renewable hydrogen. They both fall for the
automobile/oil industry's "educational" effort that has made hydrogen and the
fuel cell linked at the hip. They are not!
The internal combustion engine, with relatively minor
adjustments, can run quite well on hydrogen. In fact, an internal combustion engine, when
converted to hydrogen, is 20 to 25 percent per more efficient. A hydrogen hybrid vehicle
is not a distant dream (as is the fuel cell) but a present reality if the public and
political leaders were really educated on this subject. For example, the Ford Motor
Company unveiled their Model U, a hydrogen-hybrid SUV with a range of some 300 miles per
fill-up, more than a year ago.
A key question is where the hydrogen originates. If it's from
domestic fossil fuels, as Sperling and Ogden as well as the critics of hydrogen assume,
it's not useful for carbon reduction but does reduce oil imports. But if the hydrogen
originates in water, it is super-plentiful; and if solar, wind, geothermal, or biomass is
used to generate the electricity to split the water, a carbon-free sustainable energy
source exists.
Let me explain why I believe that the real-world facts of life
(and death) make a compelling case for starting the hydrogen revolution at once. The
issues that could be alleviated by substituting renewable hydrogen for oil in the
transportation sector are the following:
Reducing our dependence on imported oil. No one really doubts
that we are at war in significant part because of oil. Petrodollars have funded the
terrorists. America must look the other way at Saudi Arabia because of our dependence on
their ability to raise or lower the price of oil with their spare capacity. The national
security threat of oil dependence is a clear and present danger. More efficient cars are
necessary but insufficient. Until we start building cars without oil, the increasing
populations here (and in China and India) will control our destiny.
Global warming. The issue is a well-known serious threat to all
humankind. A renewable hydrogen economy would be carbon-free. But "Hope for
Hydrogen" says that hydrogen is not competitive and would deliver fewer benefits than
"advanced gasoline and diesel vehicles." This statement ignores the benefits of
zero-oil vehicles to reduce oil imports, and it assumes that hydrogen must come from
fossil fuels. The answer-renewable hydrogen-is assumed to be decades away. And it will be
unless we recognize that the renewable resources and the technology to harness them are
much closer to commercial reality than the fuel cell. What is lacking is a sense of
necessity and the leadership to mount a "can-do" initiative.
Local air pollution. Gasoline and diesel continue to be serious
sources of local air pollution. Burning hydrogen creates water vapor and nitrogen oxide
that can be controlled to near zero levels. There are no particles. It's a clear benefit.
The hope for hydrogen is not a distant dream. It could be a
reality in this decade. We need to take the discussion out of the hands of people who see
only the problems-and they are real-but don't see the vital need and opportunity to
overcome them in 5 to 10 years, not decades. There is a legitimate fear that we may drift
into fossil/hydrogen energy. The best way to avoid it is to promote renewable hydrogen. A
solar/hydrogen initiative of Moon-shot intensity is the answer. No one can say for sure it
can't be done, starting now, unless we try.
|
CALIFORNIA
SCAQMD HONDA |
American Honda
June 25, 2004 |
Honda Delivers Two
Fuel Cell Vehicles to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in
California
American Honda Motor Co., Inc., this week
delivered the first of two Honda FCX fuel cell vehicles, the world's first commercially
certified fuel cell car, to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) at
its headquarters in Diamond Bar, Calif. The delivery brings the number of Honda fuel cell
cars on the road in the United States to twelve, including five vehicles with the city of
Los Angeles, two with the city of San Francisco, two with the SCAQMD and three in Honda's
demonstration fleet.
...The FCX has a range of up to 160 miles and seating for four people,
making it a practical choice for a wide range of real-world applications. In 2003, the
city of Los Angeles celebrated its one-year anniversary as the first Honda fuel cell
customer with five fuel cell vehicles in every day fleet use. Earlier this year, the city
of San Francisco also took delivery of two FCX vehicles for their alternative fuel fleet.
In addition to the current FCX, Honda has developed its own Fuel Cell stack with the
ability to start in sub-zero temperatures, a major breakthrough for fuel cell technology.
|
| NEW YORK |
Clean Energy June 24, 2004 |
| "The State of New York has established the most progressive
policy and program for State Agencies in the country, for reducing foreign oil dependency,
air pollution, and leading the shift to natural gas in preparation for the future use of
hydrogen. This public/private partnership provides an important means for the local
agencies to develop and expand their natural gas vehicle programs while establishing a
network of publicly available fueling stations." |
CALIFORNIA COLORADO INTERGALACTIC HYDROGEN
THE HYDROGEN CAR COMPANY ANUVU
MSNBC |
June 23, 2004 |
Hydrogen Cars Ready to Roll - for
a Price Miguel Llanos
Like sports cars? There's a Shelby Cobra with a 351 engine that runs on
hydrogen. How about a Nissan Frontier pickup powered by fuel cells and hydrogen? That will
soon be available. Or hankering for a hydrogen Hummer? That, too, can be yours. |
MICHIGAN
GENERAL MOTORS US POSTAL SERVICE
HONDA TOYOTA SHELL
June 15, 2004 |
"Neither snow
nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of
their appointed rounds."
Larry Burns, VP, GM research, development and planning
Postal Service to Use FC Van Mercury News
|
GM to Lease Fuel-Cell Minivan to U.S. Postal Service
Bloomberg
The minivan will be used to deliver mail in the Washington area starting in
September under a two-year accord, the Detroit-based company said. The postal service said
it will pay about $400 a month, similar to its other leases for delivery vehicles. General
Motors also has been testing a fuel-cell van with FedEx Corp. to carry packages in Tokyo
for the past year.
- DCX F-Cell Vehicle
Used for Daily UPS Package Delivery May
2004
Driver Charmaine Farrell, an eight-year UPS employee, was tagged to run
the Ann Arbor-area route. “I’m not a scientist or an engineer, which shows just
how far fuel cell technology is advancing,” said Farrell. “It’s been a
great experience, and I love telling my customers that their package was delivered with
zero emissions.”
|
| CANADA
RUSSIA POWERNOVA TECHNOLOGIES |
Wired June 14,
2004 |
"GAS
CAN" INVENTED FOR THE FUEL CELL CAR! |
Clean Cars Lean on Dirty Old Gas
Mark Baard
Some would-be architects of the clean-energy future want you to fuel up
on hydrogen produced from a rather familiar source: gasoline. Working in labs in Russia
and Canada, both major oil producers, the scientists say they have developed a catalyst
that converts gasoline into hydrogen in a series of emissions-free reactions that can
power a fuel-cell car for up to 500 kilometers. |
CANADA
WESTPORT INNOVATIONS
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY CANADA Westport June 14, 2004
|
Westport
Participates in Vancouver Hydrogen Bus Demonstration
Westport will approach the Greater Vancouver Transportation
Authority (TransLink) to explore the possibility of upgrading Cummins Westport C Gas Plus
natural gas engines to operate on HCNG for use in up to five low-floor natural gas buses
that are currently not in service. |
| CANADA STUART ENERGY SYSTEMS
Canadian Press
June
10, 2004 |
Stuart Energy Systems Reduces Loss, Boosts Sales
David Paddon
The Toronto-area company said its annual sales rose to $17.9 million in fiscal
2004, up from $6.5 million in fiscal 2003. In the fourth quarter ended March 31, revenues
were $5.8 million - double the $2.9 million achieved a year earlier. Stuart Energy of
Mississauga attributed half the revenue growth to its acquisition of Belgian rival
Vandenborre Technologies, which was completed in February 2003. The rest of the growth
came through its original business. |
CALIFORNIA
HYDROGEN CAR COMPANY CARROLL
SHELBY INTERNATIONAL
Hydrogen Car Company
June 8, 2004 |
 |
The Hydrogen Car Company Launches the
Hydrogen Shelby Cobra |
Conceived and built
by legendary automotive icon, Carroll Shelby, the Shelby Cobra has captivated the
imaginations of automobile enthusiasts all over the world since 1962. Operating on a
hydrogen internal combustion engine (H2ICE), the Hydrogen Shelby Cobra is the result of a
partnership between HCC and Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Carroll Shelby International, Inc. The first of HCC's vehicles available to the public,
the Hydrogen Shelby Cobra runs off clean burning, domestically generated hydrogen fuel and
is available for order immediately.
S. David Freeman, HCC's Chairman and clean technology pioneer, states,
"We have an historic opportunity to fundamentally change the fuel we use to power our
cars. There is a dominant misperception that something is wrong with American cars. It is
not the cars that are the problem, but rather the fuel. We do not have to wait decades
until hydrogen fuel cell vehicles become viable. The hydrogen internal combustion engine
can help us to end our dangerous dependence on fossil fuels today, and it will serve as a
bridging technology to the fuel cell." more
|
| CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA FUEL CELL PARTNERSHIP
June 8, 2004 |
 |
Incentive
Program Launched to Encourage Hydrogen Fuel Nozzles That Meet Industry Standard
California Fuel Cell Partnership
Eligible companies must submit their nozzle to third-party testing to meet the
design standard SAE J2600, Compressed Hydrogen Surface Vehicle Refueling Connection
Devices . CaFCP will award 50 percent of the testing cost, up to $25,000, to up to four
manufacturers. |
| ARVINMERITOR
Forbes |
June 3, 2004 |
Clearing the Air
Joann Muller
A small amount of diesel fuel is injected into the canister, where it is mixed with
a tiny bit of air and ignited by an electrical spark. The result is a highly charged,
ionized gas called plasma that burns with a bluish glow. The combustion is slow and rich,
using just enough oxygen to bust apart the diesel molecules into hydrogen and carbon
monoxide without burning off the diesel entirely. That hydrogen and carbon monoxide
mixture is then pumped into one of two NOx traps, where it strips the oxygen from the NOx,
forming nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water. Because hydrogen can clean the exhaust right
from a cold engine start, the plasma reformer method is 20% to 50% more efficient at
reducing NOx than other clean-diesel technologies, allowing less unburned fuel to pass
through in the process. ArvinMeritor says the plasmatron creates less sulphur buildup,
too. The plasmatron doesn't deal with soot emissions, but ArvinMeritor engineers are
hoping to develop by the end of the decade future variants that would. |
 |
Breakthrough Technologies
Institute
and U.S. Department of Energy
Release New Global FC Vehicle Survey
Fuel Cells 2000
May 27, 2004
Handicapping the world-wide race to commercialize |
| fuel cell vehicles is now a little easier. "Fuel Cell Vehicle World Survey
2003," from the Breakthrough Technologies Institute (BTI), provides profiles of
more than three dozen companies testing cars, trucks, buses and specialty vehicles
worldwide, usually in public-private partnerships with national or regional governments.
"The world's leading vehicle developers and national governments are investing well
more than $1 billion in this arena," says Jennifer Gangi, program director of BTI's
Fuel Cells 2000 program. "This report offers a great overview of the growing fuel
cell and hydrogen industry within the transportation sector, with company histories,
pictures and recent developments." Download Report
|
| CALIFORNIA HONDA
Edmonds.com |
May 25, 2004 |
 Fuel Cell Future
Goodbye, Gasoline — Hello, Hydrogen |
| "You valet parked it?" I asked
incredulously, finding it amazing that Steve Ellis, manager of sales and marketing for
American Honda's alternative fuel vehicles, handed over the keys of a multimillion-dollar,
hand-built, prototype car to a hotel parking attendant. |
ARIZONA PHOENIX CENTRAL HIGH
SCHOOL
May 19, 2004 |
 |
While governments & industry
spend billions,
High School Students Build
Solar Hydrogen-Fueled Truck!
Central High
Physics Phoenix, Arizona
"The range of the vehicle is about 80 miles when the tanks are filled
at 3600 psi. Currently we do not have a compressor onboard the vehicle and produce only up
to 100 psi which is enough fuel to go about 2.5 miles. Next Fall, we will be installing a
compressor on-board which will be powered by the photo-voltaic cells. Also, our vehicle is
a bi-fuel vehicle and can run on either hydrogen or gasoline so that if we do run out of
hydrogen, we are not stranded." MOVIES F.A.Q.
See also: Car Runs on Water
and Sun 12 News |
| CANADA STUART ENERGY SYSTEMS
Stuart Energy May 19, 2004 |
| Stuart Energy Joins Toyota’s FC Vehicle Community |
 |
Stuart Energy’s California-based staff will drive the
FCHVand provide on-road operational data to Toyota on the vehicle’s performance. In
addition, Stuart Energy will use the vehicle in customer and public demonstrations of its
Stuart Energy Station (SES-f) hydrogen fueling product line.
|
| UNITED STATES GERMANY
ICELAND |
Public Broadcsting Service May 19, 2004 |
| GENERAL MOTORS
DAIMLERCHRYSLER ECD FORD TOYOTA |
PBS Special on Hydrogen
Alan Alda in "Scientific American Frontiers"
Future CAR |
Why
Cars Must Be Green
In 2002, a vision of the car of the future was unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show.
Called the AUTOnomy, it did away with almost everything we've come to expect from cars: it
had no engine, no gasoline, no mechanical links between the controls and the wheels, no
steering wheel--and it produced no exhaust.
Goodbye
Gasoline
At DaimlerChrysler in Stuttgart, Germany, Andreas Truckenbrodt shows Alan how fuel
cell techology has evolved. Eight years ago, a fuel cell that provided 67 horsepower took
up the entire cargo space of a van. Today a 100-horsepower fuel cell can fit underneath
the floor of a modified Mercedes A-class sedan called the F-Cell.
Hydrogen Ahead
Using boreholes to tap into groundwater heated by the magma, Icelanders now use hot
water to heat homes and produce electricity. They hope to harness this same geothermal
energy to produce hydrogen fuel.
Meet
the Ovshinskys by Maggie
Villiger
Since the 1950s, Stan Ovshinsky has been a pioneer in the new field of disordered
materials, which utilizes the properties of substances that don't have the ordered
structure of a crystal, for instance.The Ovshinkys founded Energy Conversion Devices to
develop disordered materials technology and to figure out how to use the technology to
solve serious societal problems. They decided to concentrate their efforts on questions of
energy production and storage.
Hydrogen
Power: A Discussion with Chris Bornni-Bird by Tina Vaz
He directs GM's Design and Technology Fusion Group, which focuses on the critical
relationship between technology and design innovations. He is also Program Manager of GM's
AUTOnomy and Hywire concept cars, the first vehicles designed around a fuel cell
propulsion system and the first to combine fuel cells with by-wire technology, which
allows vehicle systems to be controlled electronically rather than mechanically. |
|
"We're very excited about
the progress we've made on cost and power density, considering that these cars are still
handbuilt by Ph.Ds. We have 500 engineers working on fuel cells, 200 of them near
Rochester. So we think 2010 is a reasonable target for commercial viability."
Scott Foster, GM
General Motors
Gets Serious About Fuel Cells
Hartford Advocate (CT) May 13, 2004
How I
Almost Wrecked a $3.5 Million Car
Eric C. Evarts Christian Science Monitor
May 13, 2004 |
CALIFORNIA US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GM
QUANTUM
CALIFORNIA FUEL CELL PARTNERSHIP SHELL AIR
PRODUCTS |
May
12, 2004 |
DOE Grant
Assists GM Fuel Cell Development General
Motors
GM will continue its role in fuel cell development, using its portion of the
recently announced $190 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to
collaborate with Shell Oil, Air Products and Chemicals Inc., and Quantum Technologies.
This partnership will work to develop more hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and fueling
stations, in addition to furthering hydrogen infrastructure. |
| UNITED KINGDOM
CANADA BP ITM
POWER BALLARD
May 9, 2004 |
 |
BP's Hopes for a
Carbon-free Future
Face Big Test
Terry Macalister The
Guardian (UK) |
| Despite government hopes that hydrogen and fuel
cells could offer a carbon-free future after the oil runs out, local residents have
stopped BP's plans, fearing a Hindenburg airship-style explosion. ...A fleet of buses is
already cruising the streets of London using the greenhouse gas-free fuel but they have
not been able to refuel - as planned - at a specially built £750,000 hydrogen fuel
station. BP is being forced to bring in canisters of hydrogen gas from a depot in Hackney,
east London, but will reduce costs tenfold if it can use liquid hydrogen at Hornchurch.
|
Bringing a Fuel Cell Bus Fleet on
the Road in European Cities
London Conference: European Fuel Cell Bus Demonstration Projects CUTE &
ECTOS in cooperation with the STEP project (West Australia)
June 14th-15th, 2004 |
| CALIFORNIA
FUEL CELL TODAY BP DAIMLERCHRYSLER |
May 7, 2004 |
World's Hydrogen Fuel
Stations Up by 33% to 87 Forbes/Reuters
The survey found more industrial gas suppliers and equipment manufacturers are now
working on cheaper small-scale refuelling facilities, capable of supplying enough hydrogen
for just a couple of vehicles per day. |
| EUROPE GENERAL MOTORS VAUXHALL
May 3, 2004 |
 |
GM HydroGen3 Begins
6,215 Mile Fuel Cell Endurance Run from
Norway to Portugal
Vauxhall May
3, 2004 |
Vauxhall’s HydroGen3
fuel cell car set out today (May 3, 2004) from Hammerfest in Norway to begin its 6,215
mile endurance test across Europe. The Vauxhall Fuel Cell Marathon, powered by General
Motors (GM) will pass through 14 cities – Oslo (Norway), Gothenburg (Sweden),
Copenhagen (Denmark), Hamburg (Germany), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Brussels (Belgium),
London (England), Paris (France), Opel's headquarters in Rüsselsheim (Germany), Zurich
(Switzerland), Salzburg (Austria), Turin (Italy) and Madrid (Spain) – before
finishing in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon and Cabo da Roca, the most westerly point of
the European continent.
This epic drive across Europe will test the durability and day-to-day
reliability of GM and Vauxhall’s hydrogen-powered vehicle over a long distance on
public roads. The car is expected to average 310 miles a day, and will cover the Marathon
distance in under six weeks.
...When the fuel cell propulsion system is ready for the
production line, it will have a service life of around 100,000 miles. The development team
is also endeavouring to make the purchase cost comparable with that of conventional cars.
The goal is to reach a cost of 50 dollars per kilowatt of rated output – a figure
that matches that of combustion engine traction systems. To achieve these targets, a total
of some 600 scientists and engineers at the fuel cell development centre (founded by GM,
Opel and Vauxhall in 1997) are working on different aspects of the joint fuel cell
programme at five different sites: in Warren (Michigan), Torrance (California), Rochester
(New York) and in Mainz Kastel (Germany) and Tokyo (Japan). more |
MICHIGAN UNITED PARCEL SERVICE
BALLARD
US EPA NATIONAL
VEHICLE |
DAIMLERCHRYSLER
AND EMISSIONS LAB
May
2004 |
 |
DCX F-Cell Vehicle Used
for Daily UPS Express
Package Delivery
UPS is using a
DaimlerChrysler F-Cell fuel cell vehicle on an established daily express-delivery route in
Southeast Michigan. The F-cell is based on a Mercedes-Benz A-Class and powered by a
Ballard fuel cell. It was delivered to UPS in February 2004. |
|
|
JAPAN
MICHIGAN
TOYOTA ENERGY CONVERSION DEVICES UNISOLAR
QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY TEXACO OVONIC HYDROGEN SYSTEMS
CALIFORNIA HYDROGEN BUSINESS COUNCIL STUART
ENERGY |
 |
Ovonic Hydrogen Prius
OVONIC FUEL STORAGE SYSTEM
From the
Laboratory
to the Real World
Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Systems Aug 2003 |
ECD’s Toyota Prius Hydrogen
Hybrid April 14, 2004
Larry Elliott and Patricia Boyer
H2 Nation
ECD has been developing metal hydrides for many years. These metal hydrides can
absorb hydrogen at relatively low pressures. This is the approach used in ECD’s
conversion of the Prius. |
| CALIFORNIA CHEVRONTEXACO PG&E AC TRANSIT NHA |
AC
Transit Expands Hydrogen Fuel Trial Oakland Tribune Apr 30 2004
On Tuesday, the far-sighted but far from certain hydrogen bus program took
a major step forward when energy giant ChevronTexaco Corp. announced it will build a
state-of-the-art hydrogen refueling station at AC Transit's bus yard near the Coliseum.
The fuel farm of the future will be ready to pump hydrogen in August 2005, San
Ramon-based ChevronTexaco announced at a National Hydrogen Association conference in Los
Angeles. The fuel station will strip hydrogen from natural gas coming through existing
PG&E pipelines, and, project managers say, become the biggest hydrogen fuel stop in
California. |
Hydrogen
Bus Service in Oakland, California
Jamie Levin A.C. Transit RealVideo
by VIMS
Spring 2001 Meeting: California Hydrogen Business Council
Bechtel Headquarters, San Francisco, California |
BMW Takes Lead in Hydrogen Internal
Combustion Research for
the New U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Car Program
Combination hydrogen or gasoline-powered Series 7
BMW. Photo: VIMS
"Our research has demonstrated that
hydrogen is completely viable as a fuel and the technology exists to advance its use in
vehicles with internal combustion engines or with fuel cells. However, the more
challenging step to the realization of hydrogen-powered vehicles is the development of a
supporting infrastructure of fuelling stations and service facilities. This requires the
cooperation of a significant group of partners and BMW is honoured to be a part of the
group brought together by the DOE." -- Karl-Heinz
Ziwica, BMW N.A.
|
| UNITED STATES GERMANY
BMW US
DEPT OF ENERGY
April 30, 2004 |
BMW Commits 7-Series Car to H2-powered
Research WaitNews
The U. S. Department of Energy has awarded a grant to a partnership that includes BMW and
is led by Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., for a combined research project titled
"Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Demonstration Project." Air
Products & Chemicals said that the goal of the project is to study hydrogen as a fuel
in real-world driving conditions. This 5-year program will use Federal funds, as well as
donations from partnership members, to finance construction and testing of 24 hydrogen
filling stations in California. The partners said that due to the nature of the project,
the stations will vary from using renewable resources such as wind power to using a
hydrogen pipeline. Some stations will be fixed; others will be relocatable. Other
partnership members include Toyota, Honda and Nissan who will contribute a total of 65
fuel-cell powered vehicles to the project, but BMW, as the designated leader in hydrogen
internal combustion engines, will provide up to 15 7-Series cars, the only test vehicles
using proven internal-combustion engines. |
“To get to fun-to-drive fuel cell cars, rugged and
durable fuel cell trucks and fuel cell SUVs that are versatile and capable, we need
terrific hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles to build the hydrogen
infrastructure....”
Jim Padilla, Ford Motor Company |
| Ford
also is working on long-term research related to hydrogen-powered vehicles. This work includes the
development of a Ford Focus with a supercharged hydrogen internal combustion engine
(H2ICE), an H2ICE- powered Focus with a Modular Hybrid Transmission System (MHTS) called
the Hydrogen Hybrid Research Vehicle (H2RV) and a growing fleet of Focus Fuel Cell
Vehicles (FCV) -- all on the road today.
Ford Expands Hybrid Lineup
Ford April 7, 2004 |
H2ICE
Ford's supercharged H2ICE engine
A
2.3-liter, four-cylinder supercharged, intercooled hydrogen internal combustion engine,
coupled with a hybrid electric transmission, propels Model U. It offers enhanced fuel
economy - the equivalent of 45 miles per gallon and about 300 miles of range - plus
near-zero regulated emissions and a 99-percent reduction in carbon dioxide. Model U Concept
Ford |
MASSACHUSETTS
CALIFORNIA HYUNDAI
PROTON ENERGY
UTC FUELCELLS CHEVRONTEXACO
Mass High Tech
April 28, 2004 |
UTC Fuel Cells Joins $350M
Hydrogen Economy Project
UTC Fuel Cells is teaming with ChevronTexaco and Hyundai on a five-year
project that will include hydrogen fueling stations primarily in California. The stations
will fuel a fleet of Hyundai Tucson vehicles equipped with UTC Fuel Cells' 80- kilowatt,
all-weather proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power plants.
|
| UNITED STATES US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY FORD
BP BMW TOYOTA HONDA NISSAN
AIR PRODUCTS CONOCOPHILLIPS DAIMLERCHRYSLER
USA Today/AP |
April
28, 2004 |
Development of
Hydrogen Vehicles Gets First Cash Infusion
Private industry will add an additional $225 million to the first-phase
effort. The $575 million total is about what it costs to develop an all-new,
gasoline-powered, internal-combustion vehicle. More than 130 research institutions and
companies are involved in the Energy Department-sponsored projects. Among the projects:
• Ford Motor will place up to 30 hydrogen-powered
vehicles in Orlando, Detroit and Sacramento. BP plans to build fueling stations to support
them. The stations will test real-world viability and safety of different methods of
harnessing hydrogen for fuel, such as reforming it from natural gas.
• BMW, Toyota, Honda and Nissan will put 80
hydrogen-powered vehicles in California. ConocoPhillips and Air Products and Chemicals
will construct 24 hydrogen fueling stations in Pennsylvania. Those stations will draw
hydrogen from renewable sources such as wind power and will use waste hydrogen from
industrial work sites.
• DaimlerChrysler will put from 20 to 37 fuel-cell
vehicles into fleets in Michigan and California by this summer.
|
MICHIGAN DELPHI
FORD NEXTENERGY
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY |
April 27, 2004 |
Grants Help Fuel
Hydrogen-powered Cars Detroit
News
Detroit’s three automakers, auto parts supplier
Delphi Corp. and Wayne State University received U.S. Department of Energy grants today to
fund research programs on hydrogen-powered vehicles. |
"Uh-oh..."
 |
IS
CALIFORNIA'S GOVERNOR OUT TO TERMINATE OPEC? |
ARNOLD
SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER FOR
"HYDROGEN HIGHWAYS"
Photo: UC Davis
"These stations will be used by thousands of hydrogen-powered cars and
truck and buses. This starts a new era for clean California transportation. These vehicles
produce no emission and no smog. They will clear the air and get rid of the smog that is
hanging over our cities."
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California
Schwarzenegger Proposes
'Hydrogen Highways' Plan
MSNBC/KCRA April 20, 2004
Schwarzenegger Hits Gas Pedal Financial Times (UK) April
23, 2004
Mr. Schwarzenegger, who has struck the word "impossible" from his vocabulary,
set a 2010 deadline for completion of up to 200 stations - enough to put one within easy
reach of every Californian. He added he also expected to see 500,000 fuel cell vehicles on
the road within six years.
|
UC Davis Hosts Calif. Governor's Hydrogen Highways Event
University of California, Davis April 20, 2004
Today California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger launched the
nation's first Hydrogen Highway Network in an event at UC Davis, home of the world's
largest university research and teaching program on clean transportation.
The governor drove a hydrogen-powered fuel cell car to the event
and refueled it at UC Davis' new hydrogen fueling station -- the first publicly accessible
station on California's Hydrogen Highway. He is the first member of the general public to
use it.
"This is the future of California and the future of our
environmental protection," Schwarzenegger said. "This starts a new era for clean
California transportation."
Flanked by state officials and UC Davis Chancellor Larry
Vanderhoef, the governor signed an executive order to create a hydrogen transportation
network throughout California by 2010.
UC Davis transportation programs are vigorous and growing, with
more than 40 faculty members, 15 research staff and 80 graduate students involved.
Anchored by the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis), the researchers are based
primarily in the campus's College of Engineering and College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.
"UC Davis is the pre-eminent university in hydrogen-fuel
research and teaching," said Vanderhoef. "Just as California's university-based
innovators and visionaries launched the global computer and biotechnology revolutions, UC
Davis is helping California launch the clean-transportation revolution."
UC Davis scientists conduct clean-transportation research
programs that aid government, industry and public-interest group decision-making, to help
ensure well-grounded transportation planning.
They study and teach aspects of transport and energy "from
the well to the wheel," including advanced vehicle technology; alternative fuels;
vehicle emissions and air quality; transportation economics; and travel behavior, which
includes consumer acceptance of new technologies and systems, telecommunications impacts
on travel and regional travel demand.
One of those scientists is ITS-Davis director Daniel Sperling,
who directs the institute in studying the key questions that must be answered about
hydrogen for transportation, like fueling station costs, whether there will be true
environmental benefits, and consumer acceptance. Others include Joan Ogden, premier U.S.
analyst of hydrogen energy; Paul Erickson, expert in hydrogen production; Marshall Miller,
expert in hydrogen bus technology; and Anthony Eggert, research manager of the UC Davis
Hydrogen Pathways Research Program.
"None of us knows what the future of transportation will
be. But we do know change is needed," said Sperling. "We should take wise first
steps now to find the best path. Intelligent demonstrations, strong research and public
education are imperative if California will continue to lead in efforts to clean our air
and reduce greenhouse gases that are warming the planet.
"At UC Davis we have a rich history of programs supported
by industry and the state that we will build on," concluded Sperling, an
international authority on transportation.
Today's event -- Gov. Schwarzenegger's first official visit to
any University of California campus -- highlights the potential of hydrogen fuel and
hydrogen-
powered fuel cells in personal automobiles.
In its research fleet, UC Davis has two hydrogen-powered Toyota
SUVs (the most at any university campus, a distinction shared with its sister campus UC
Irvine) and a new transit bus, the first in the nation in everyday service to be powered
by a blend of hydrogen and natural gas.
The campus Hydrogen Pathways research program is supported by 16
industry partners. The program examines a broad set of economic, environmental and
consumer issues that will determine the costs, benefits and challenges of hydrogen being
used as a broad-based transportation fuel. Nearly 30 UC Davis faculty and graduate
students collaborate on this work, which includes careful monitoring of the new UC Davis
hydrogen fueling station.
That station already is attracting non-university users. Two
Honda fuel-cell cars participating in a demonstration project of the city and county of
San Francisco drove to the governor's event today from San Francisco and refueled here for
their return trip.
 |
|
CHINA SHANGHAI AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
TONGJU UNIVERSITY |
April
16, 2004 |
China's First
Fuel Cell Car Makes Debut in Shanghai
Peoples' Daily
A group of scientists from Tongju University and Shanghai
Automotive Industry Corp. have developed China's first hydrogen-powered car, which they
hope is a key step toward mass production of a pollution-free vehicle by the end of the
decade.
From its appearance, the car, called Chao Yue I, is no different
from an ordinary one. It is based on the chassis of a Santana 2000, and can reach a
maximum speed of 110 kilometers per hour.
The real difference can be seen on the inside of the car.
Without a gas engine, the car is equipped with an electromotor and a hydrogen tank.
Wan Gang, director of the project, says the car is quite special
in several ways.
"The fuel of the car is not traditional gasoline, but
hydrogen. With the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, electricity can be
created to drive the car, while water is the only emission."
With this characteristic, director Wan says, the air quality in
many cities can be greatly improved. A survey shows that around 60 percent of air
pollution in cities is caused by car emissions.
And because of the electromotor the car carries, the vibrations
and noise of the car can also be greatly reduced.
In addition, while driving, surplus electricity created in the
chemical reaction can be collected and stored in the accumulator installed in the car.
Talking about the reasons for replacing the traditional
petrol-powered engine, director Wan gives his answer.
"China's oil demands are increasing day by day. According
to statistics, each year, about 40 percent of oil is used in transportation. So if we can
find some alternative recycling energy, we can save that portion of resources, and also
protect the environment."
But before the car becomes a standard feature of car showrooms,
they still need to be worked on.
"We still need more time to test the reliability and
stability of the car during different weather conditions and over different terrains, and
to test its long-term performance. Plus, before mass producing the vehicle, we will try to
reduce its cost to the consumer."
In the next step, director Wan says they expect to produce a
hydrogen-powered car, which can experience various road conditions, in August this year.
The first batch of these cars is expected to enter the market in 2005.
But the only disadvantage of the car in the future, director Wan
predicts, is its price, which probably will be 20% higher than the same brand car equipped
with a petrol-powered engine.
Beijing and Shanghai will obtain two hydrogen fueling stations to fill the 12
fuel cell buses (6 buses respectively in Beijing and Shanghai) to operate a combined total
of 1.6 million km in about four years. It should be indicated that each hydrogen fueling
station's capacity is able to fill 10 fuel cell buses....Shanghai has plentiful hydrogen
sources available in the local chemical and metallurgical industries and intends to use
them for developing fuel cell vehicles. The current capacity of supplying high purity
hydrogen (>99.99%) is >4,000/h. There are also facilities for compressing and
filling hydrogen to trailer with the capacity of 600/h@15MPa.
Preliminary Specification
of Hydrogen Fueling Stations
-- GEF-UNDP-CHINA Cooperation Project Sept 16, 2003
Fuel Cells in China: A Survey of
Current Developments
Stefan Geiger Fuel Cell Today
October 15, 2003
Transportation in
Developing Countries: Greenhouse Gas Scenarios for Shanghai
China Hongchang Zhou, Tongi University, Shanghai and Daniel
Sperling, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis |
| CHINA |
April 15, 2004 |
Hydrogen-Powered Cars Show Great
Market Potential Xinhua
China is not burdened with a large-scale traditional
car manufacturing infrastructure, so it could skip the 21st century's auto-making
techniques and develop concept cars with the 21st century characteristics, said Professor
Meinolf Dierkes, an expertwith the German Berlin social sciences research center. |
| UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF
ECOLONOMICS
April 13, 2004 |
"Replacing
fossil fuels as a principal energy source of our economy with clean, inexhaustible
hydrogen is vital for a healthy, promising future."
Dennis
Weaver's International Hydrogen Drive 2004
to Tour 3 Countries to Promote Energy Independence
Institute of Ecolonomics/PRN
Beginning in Los
Angeles on June 28, the drive travels to Mexicali, Mexico before heading to its final
destination in Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 12. The caravan of hydrogen fuel cell,
hydrogen internal combustion, hybrid, biodiesel, electric, propane, CNG and ethanol
vehicles will drive 1800 miles along the west coast of North America to raise awareness of
the availability of a wide range of alternative fuel vehicles and the advent of vehicles
fueled with renewably sourced hydrogen.
International
Hydrogen Drive 2004
|
| ILLINOIS ILLINOIS COALITION CITY OF CHICAGO ILLINOIS
H2 PARTNERSHIP |
'Hydrogen Highway' Proposed
for Illinois
Michael Krauss Chicago Sun-Times
April 12, 2004
It's very critical now with
what's going on with prices," says Sam Skinner, chairman of the Illinois Coalition.
Skinner, retired CEO of USFreightways, is a former White House chief of staff and
secretary of transportation.
Dubbed "The Hydrogen Highway: Illinois' Path to a
Sustainable Economy and Environment," Skinner proposes a "corridor of hydrogen
energy demonstration projects situated around I-90." Depending on location, the price
tag is "between $600,000 and $2 million per station," Skinner says. While the
cost is significant, the benefit of demonstrating hydrogen-fuel viability will be greater.
The long-term geo-political benefits of weaning America from foreign oil are immeasurable.
|
JAPAN NEW YORK CALIFORNIA HONDA
YAKUSHIMA ISLAND CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO |
 City of San Francisco Takes Delivery of Two Honda FCX Fuel Cell Vehicles
American Honda
April 7, 2004 |
The 2005 FCX testing program will begin this month in California, followed by the
placement of a vehicle in New York State in the fall. The New York test program will play
a critical role in proving the cold-weather performance capabilities of the Honda FCX and
the breakthrough Honda FC stack, which has the ability to start in temperatures as low as
-20 degrees C (-4 degrees F), until recently a major hurdle in the development of a truly
mass-marketable fuel cell vehicle.
Honda's experimental Home Energy Station (HES) will supply hydrogen
fuel for the California road tests. HES generates hydrogen from natural gas for use in
fuel cell vehicles while supplying electricity and heat for the home.
...The addition of San Francisco as a Honda FCX customer brings to
twelve the number of Honda fuel cell cars on the road in the United States and Japan.
|
|
Honda to Test
Fuel-cell Car
in Unique Hydrogen Project
SPANISH RUSSIAN POLISH
TURKISH
Japan Today April 6, 2004
Test runs of the FCX fuel-cell car
will begin in late April on public roads on the southern Japanese island of Yakushima,
Kagoshima Prefecture, as Honda joins forces with academics and a local business in the
project unprecedented in Japan, Honda said.
"If
businesses start taking an offensive instead of a defensive attitude to environmental
issues, then many opportunities appear."
Masatsugu Taniguchi |
Mister Natural
Benjamin Fulford Forbes
Skipping
stones across an inlet, the 64-year-old cement executive hardly seems like someone out to
change the world. But Masatsugu Taniguchi aims to do exactly that. |
He is leaving Taiheiyo Co to start a
new career on Yakushima Island, south of Kyushu, Japan, a place designated by the UN as a
world heritage nature preserve. His mission: to create the world’s first
zero-emission, hydrogen-based economy – and to pull it off through no-nonsense
business principles, not tree-hugging wishful thinking.
“I heard that Iceland was planning to switch its economy over to
hydrogen, and I realised we could do it way faster on Yakushima,” says Taniguchi. The
338-square-mile Yakushima makes a perfect test case. It is a steep granite island drowning
in 320 inches of rainfall a year. That means it can, says the Agency for Natural Resources
and Energy, potentially generate 233 megawatts of hydropower without having to build any
dams bigger than 100 feet. Strong ocean winds are another potential source of energy. In
addition to harnessing hydroelectric power from an existing 60-megawatt plant to make
silicon carbide, used in various industries, Taniguchi realised he could make plenty of
cheap hydrogen fuel with current technology....
“It is a wonderful idea,” says Yuji Kawaguchi,
Honda’s top researcher for future auto technologies. He says it’s the best
private-sector plan he has seen for a hydrogen economy. more
|
CANADA HYDROGENICS CELLEX POWER
DEERE FEDEX CANADA
GM CANADA NACCO MATERIALS HANDLING GROUP
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY
CANADA
CANADIAN TRANSPORTATION
FUEL CELL ALLIANCE |
Hydrogenics to Develop Hydrogen Fuel Cell Class I Forklifts and
Refueling Station
Hydrogenics/Canada Newswire April
2, 2004
SDTC's contribution of $1.56 million, announced today at Globe
2004, an international environmental conference in Vancouver, has been leveraged by a
$1.98 million funding commitment from a consortium that is led by Hydrogenics. The
consortium members include Deere & Company, FedEx Canada, General Motors of Canada,
NACCO Materials Handling Group and the Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance. The
total project is estimated to cost approximately $3.54 million. ...The project involves
outfitting two Class I sit-rider electric forklifts manufactured by NACCO Materials
Handling Group with fuel cell propulsion systems. Hydrogenics will supply its HyPM fuel
cell power module for the forklifts. Deere & Company and NACCO Materials Handling
Group will assist in the integration of the fuel cell systems into the vehicles. The
funding also supports the provision of a [Hydrogenics] hydrogen refuelling station that
will serve to refuel both forklift vehicles. ...Demonstrations of the forklifts and
refueler will take place at GM and FedEx operations within the Greater Toronto Area, and
potentially other locations, throughout the fall and winter of 2004/2005. 2
|
| JAPAN TOYOTA
March 25, 2004 |
Forget Corporate Image, This Is About Corporate Survival
Leo Lewis
and Robert Thomson Times (UK)
...Fujio Cho, Toyota’s president, explained that his company’s
...hybrid cars and fuel-cell technology are not about corporate image but about corporate
survival in a world without oil. |
|
CANADA GERMANY BMW WESTPORT March 22, 2004
Westport Receives Purchase Order
from BMW Group
on H2 Engine Development Program Westport Innovations
Westport will provide fuel injection hardware
and engineering support, including sets of Westport’s prototype hydrogen fuel
injectors for testing at BMW Group facilities.
CALIFORNIA QUANTUM SCAQMD TOYOTA
PRN March 18, 2004
Quantum Awarded
Contract to Develop Fleet of H2 Fueled Vehicles
Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide,
Inc. today announced that California's South Coast Air Quality Management District has
approved $2.3 million for Quantum to provide the engineering, design and development of
advanced hydrogen fuel systems for a fleet of 30 Toyota Prius Hybrid Electric Vehicles.
The value of the contract may be expanded to $2.5 million, contingent on co- funding by
the Department of Defense National Automotive Center, which would increase the total
number of vehicles to 35.
JAPAN NIPPON
SANSO
Nippon Senso's
Approach to the Hydrogen Station Business
CALIFORNIA SOUTH KOREA ENOVA HYUNDAI March 11, 2004
Enova Systems
Partners with Hyundai Motor Company to Develop and Produce Next Generation FC Vehicle
JAPAN March 10, 2004
Japan Strives for Clean-energy
Cars Washington Times
CALIFORNIA ANUVU March 10, 2004
Anuvu Fuel Cell
Powers Hydrogen Car at Mohegan Sun
SINGAPORE DAIMLERCHRYSLER BP MICHELIN
March 4, 2004
DaimlerChrysler to Test F-cell
Cars on Singapore Roads in 2-year Trial
At yesterday's launch of the F-Cell Global Programme
Partnership, DaimlerChrysler announced that it would test six Mercedes-Benz fuel
cell-powered A-Class cars with five partners - the Singapore National Environment Agency,
BP Singapore, Conrad Hotel, Michelin, and Lufthansa. One advantage for the F-cell project
is that a small island provides easy access for economical and effective testing.
Singapore Business Times
Hydrogen
Pump Station Being Built for Fuel Cell
Bridgette See Channel NewsAsia
March 3, 2004
CALIFORNIA
TOYOTA HORIBA
The Auto Channel March 1, 2004
Toyota, UC
Irvine and Horiba Expand the Hydrogen Community
|
INDIA MAHINDRA
& MAHINDRA TEXACO OVONIC HYDROGEN SYSTEMS ECD
U.S. DEPT OF ENERGY U.S. AGENCY FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT |
U.S.,
TexacoChevron, Mahindra & Mahindra in Test Run
for Hydrogen 3-Wheeler India
Business Standard April 1, 2004
“Hydrogen engine technology can
have a dramatic impact in the developing world by improving the air quality and energy
security, and promoting sustainable economic growth,” US Secretary of Energy Spencer
Abraham said. “The positive impacts are far-reaching both in the US and abroad,”
he added. “This project could ultimately hasten introduction of hydrogen- fuelled
transportation in the US by building upon lessons learned in wide-scale deployment of
small vehicles in India,” Abraham said.
|
| Well-to-Wheel Analysis of Future Automotive Fuels and Powertrains in the
European Context |
EUROPEAN
UNION
Releases
Wells-to-wheels
Analysis for
Future Fuels
March 11, 2004 |
Greenhouse gas: hydrogen from electrolysis |
HYDROGEN: Many potential production routes exist and
the results are critically dependent on the pathway selected.
If hydrogen is produced from natural gas:
- WTW GHG emissions savings can only be achieved if hydrogen is used in fuel cell
vehicles.
- The WTW energy use / GHG emissions are higher for hydrogen ICE vehicles than for
conventional and CNG vehicles.
- In the short term, natural gas is the only viable and cheapest source of large
scale hydrogen. WTW GHG emissions savings can only be achieved if hydrogen is used in fuel
cell vehicles albeit at high costs.
- Hydrogen ICE vehicles will be available in the near-term at a lower cost than
fuel cells. Their use would increase GHG emissions as long as hydrogen is produced from
natural gas.
- Electrolysis using EU-mix electricity results in higher GHG emissions than
producing hydrogen directly from NG.
Hydrogen from non-fossil sources (biomass, wind, nuclear) offers low overall GHG
emissions.
- Renewable sources of hydrogen have a limited potential and are at present
expensive.
- More efficient use of renewables may be achieved through direct use as
electricity rather than road fuels applications.
- Indirect hydrogen through on-board reformers offers little GHG benefit compared
to advanced conventional powertrains or hybrids.
- On-board reformers could offer the opportunity to establish fuel cell vehicle
technology with the existing fuel distribution infrastructure.
- Large scale central hydrogen production (from coal or gas) offers the potential
for CO2 capture and sequestration and this merits further study.
- The technical challenges in distribution, storage and use of hydrogen lead to
high costs. Also the cost, availability, complexity and customer acceptance of vehicle
technology utilizing hydrogen technology should not be underestimated.
|
CALIFORNIA FORD
GM February 27, 2004
FORD, CALIFORNIA ARB QUESTION GM-ARGONNE H2/ICE
STUDY
Carmakers
Divided Over Time Line for Hydrogen Fuel
Jeffery Ball WSJ/Morning
Call
Ford Motor Co. is considering building a demonstration fleet of cars that use
hydrogen in internal-combustion engines. Those carmakers say this half-step would get
hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road sooner and ease the transition to the cleaner fuel,
in part by prompting the oil industry to sell hydrogen at gas stations. Others,
principally General Motors Corp., say the industry should wait until fuel cells are ready.
|
| MINNESOTA |
DIVERTING FEDERAL
MONEY TO ETHANOL SUBSIDIES
The Hybrid Highway
David Morris Mother Jones February
23, 2004
COUNTERPOINT:
|
| HAWAII ENOVA |
Hydrogen
Fuel Bus Begins Oahu Routes
KITV
February 19, 2004 |
As part of an ongoing
project with the Air Force, Hawaii Electric
Vehicle Demonstration Project (HEVDP) initiated the conversion of an El Dorado
National hybrid electric bus to an all-electric Enova Panther
120 kW drive system and advanced batteries, capable of rapid charging. This bus will serve
as a flight crew transport bus at Hickam Air Force Base. The Alternative Fuel Vehicle
Systems Program Office at Robins Air Force Base is sponsoring this project, and plans call
for the continuing demonstration of advanced vehicle technologies on this bus platform. -
HEVDP |
|
jAPAN HONDA February 27, 2004
Honda FCX with
Breakthrough Fuel Cell Stack Proves its
Cold-Start
Performance Capabilities in Public Test
Testing
was conducted at Honda's test track and on public roads on the northern Japan island of
Hokkaido. As a part of the test, the FCX successfully started after being parked outside
overnight in temperatures as low as -11 degrees C (+12 degrees F). Test drives conducted
immediately afterward demonstrated the vehicle's excellent cold weather driving
performance. Honda/PRNewswire
STATEMENT OF DAN BECKER,
DIRECTOR, GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY PROGRAM, SIERRA CLUB, ON THE BUSH
ADMINISTRATION’S DUAL-FUEL LOOPHOLE EXTENSION Sierra Club February 19,
2004
CALIFORNIA
California State University Los Angeles Unveils Plans for
Hydrogen
Fueling Station to Enhance Advanced Power, Energy and Transportation
Program
Hydrogen Reformed from Ammonia
by
New Mexico's MesoFuel to Power Train!
PROMISE OF FUTURE NATIONAL RAIL TRANSPORT
POWERED BY
DOMESTIC FUEL
Nuvera
Receives Order to Supply Power Modules
for World's Largest Fuel Cell Vehicle
Nuvera Fuel Cells/PRNewswire
February 10, 2003
The development effort,
called the Defense Fuel Cell Locomotive Project, aims to demonstrate a 109 metric ton,
1.2-megawatt fuel cell powered locomotive for defense and commercial railway applications.
The project is funded and administered by the U.S. Army Research, Development, and
Engineering Command's National Automotive Center. According to project leader Arnold
Miller, Nuvera's FORZA power module was selected over seven bidders representing six
nations due to "the ruggedness and compactness of its metal bipolar plates and the
simplicity of its proprietary direct-water injection system of cooling and membrane
humidification."
|
Hydrogen
Fuel Bus Begins Oahu Routes
KITV February
19, 2004 |
As part of an ongoing project with the Air Force, Hawaii Electric Vehicle
Demonstration Project (HEVDP) initiated the conversion of an El Dorado National hybrid
electric bus to an all-electric Enova Panther 120 kW drive
system and advanced batteries, capable of rapid charging. This bus will serve as a flight
crew transport bus at Hickam Air Force Base. The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Systems Program
Office at Robins Air Force Base is sponsoring this project, and plans call for the
continuing demonstration of advanced vehicle technologies on this bus platform.
-
HEVDP |
 Stuart Energy
Partners with the
Hydrogen Car Company
Globe and Mail/CCN Mathews January 13, 2003
TORONTO, ONTARIO--Stuart Energy Systems
Corporation (TSX: HHO) announced today that it has formed a strategic
partnership with the Hydrogen Car Company (HCC), led by S. David Freeman, former Chairman
of the California Power Authority. HCC is a privately-held, California-based company
focused on developing and marketing a new generation of cars and trucks that are powered
by hydrogen internal combustion engines (H2ICEs). To support the sale of its vehicles, HCC
will exclusively offer Stuart Energy hydrogen fueling infrastructure solutions to its
customers, ranging from the Personal Energy Stations (PES), under development for home
fueling, to large scale Hydrogen Energy Stations (HES), currently being deployed around
the world for fleet fueling and power applications. In addition to being an exclusive
hydrogen infrastructure partner, Stuart Energy is also a strategic investor in HCC.
HCC has partnered with Carroll Shelby, through Carroll Shelby
Licensing Inc., to jointly develop a full line of H2ICE-powered vehicles that will be
manufactured by Shelby and sold and serviced by HCC directly. HCC and Shelby plan to
modify the engines and fuel storage systems of new and existing sport coupes, sport
utility vehicles and pick-up trucks to run on hydrogen, with production expected to start
in 2004. The first vehicle, an H2ICE-powered Shelby Cobra, is currently being demonstrated
by HCC. Carroll Shelby is the creator of the Shelby Cobra and is legendary in the
automotive world for developing, racing and marketing high-performance cars for more than
40 years.
|
WEB VIDEO |
The Hydrogen
Car Company's
David Freeman
on the Hydrogen Revolution
Video by VIM Services |
|
|
|
|
STUART ENERGY MOBILE H2 FUELING STATION
SHAZZAM, IT'S THERE -- ANYWHERE YOU WANT IT!
Web Video by VIMS 5 MINUTES WINDOWS
MEDIA 2.6MB
REALVIDEO 9.2MB
get RealPlayer
QUICKTIME
8.4MB get Quicktime
STUART ENERGY H2 FUELING STATION FOR THE
BC TRANSIT/BALLARD BUS DEMONSTRATION IN VANCOUVER - SPRING 2000 ( from HYDROGEN HAWAII )
Web Video by VIMS 4
MINUTES WINDOWS MEDIA
5.9MB
REALVIDEO
10.1MB get RealPlayer
QUICKTIME
4.1MB get Quicktime
|
BALLARD FUEL CELL
NEXA MODULE POWERS
SOLAR-HYDROGEN CAR
ACROSS AUSTRALIA
Images courtesy of Tamagawa
University |
Record-breaking
Car Reaches Sydney
Amy Coopes Sydney Morning Herald December 28, 2003
Lord Mayor Lucy Turnbull came up
with an unusual toast to students from a Japanese university who yesterday became the
first people to cross Australia in a solar and hydrogen-powered vehicle. Mrs Turnbull met
the Apollondine under cloudy skies at Sydney Town Hall at 10.30am, commending the crew for
demonstrating the potential that hydrogen fuel-cell technology has to revolutionise motor
vehicle energy. To toast the achievement, she drank the waste product of the car, an
ecologically friendly glass of distilled water. Mrs Turnbull congratulated [President and]
Professor Hiroyuki Obara and his team from Tokyo's Tamagawa University for
continuing the dream Australian adventuring pioneer Hans Tholstrup started 21
years earlier. Mr Tholstrup set off on the original trans-continental journey from Perth
on December 19, 1982. |
NETHERLANDS:
Amsterdam Tests
Hydrogen Buses
Expatica December 15, 2003
Test Fleets of Hydrogen Buses
Operate in Ten European Cities
CHINA:
Hydrogen Buses
for Trial Run
Shanghai Daily (China) December 19, 2003
China on Thursday announced plans to buy six buses powered by hydrogen for trial
operations in Shanghai and Beijing
Stuart Energy Teams with
Cheung Kong, Ford in H2 I.C. City Bus Project for Hongkong
Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter
Cheung Kong to
Launch Hydrogen-powered Bus Forbes
U.K.:
Fuel Cell Buses Take the Streets
of London
SolarAccess.com December 18, 2003
AUSTRALIA:
Ballard Secures
Contract
for
Three Fuel Cell Bus Engines
The Auto Channel December 1, 2003
 Will Japan Dominate the U.S.
Hydrogen Vehicle Market?
Honda Signs
Fuel-cell Car Deal in California
Independent On Line (South Africa)
December 8, 2003
The FCX, with a top speed of 150km/h, a range of up to 355km and four
seats, claims to be practical for a wide range of applications. LA city employees will use
them as regular pool cars and for commuting. The city and Honda are finalising plans for
refuelling support systems to supply hydrogen fuel for the vehicles.
"This vehicle is now ready for practical use," said Tom
Elliott, a Honda America executive vice-president. "Using a fleet of advanced
fuel-cell vehicles in a real environment will help us to evaluate them and their
fuel."
Japan
Steel Works Teams With GTI to Support Advanced
Hydrogen Storage Using Hydrides
JSW/PRNewswire December 2, 2003
|
 Hyundai, Kia to Sell Hydrogen Cars in U.S.
Korea Herald
November 21, 2003
Hyundai Motor Co., Korea's largest automaker, and its
affiliate, Kia Motors Corp., plan to test release 32 ecofriendly experimental cars using
hydrogen and fuel-cell technologies in the United States next year, company officials
said.
...The plan was unveiled during an inaugural meeting of the International Partnership for
the Hydrogen Economy, which ended Thursday in Washington. |
|
Japan Carmakers
Show Fuel Cell, H2 I.C. Concepts, Prototypes
at Tokyo Motor Show
Peter Hoffmann's Hydogen & Fuel Cell
Letter November, 2003
Mitsubishi's Fuel Cell-Driven Vehicle Receives Certification
Dale Huq Japan Corporate
News November 5, 2003
Flash Animation of Effis' Fuel
Cell Powertrain Nissan
Nissan Effis
Unveiled Carlist
November 2, 2003
 Report Released
U.S Climate Change Technology Program
Research
andCurrent Activities
U.S. Department of Energy November 2003
Within the overall Federal R&D portfolio, these activities are further complemented by
an array of baseline R&D activities, catalogued in a companion report:
Technology
Options for the Near and Long Term
Selected Hydrogen
Transportation Specific Sections:
Light Vehicles
– Hybrids, Electric, and Fuel Cell Vehicles
Transit Buses
– Urban Duty Cycle, Heavy Vehicles
Zero-Emission
Power, Hydrogen, and Other Value-Added Products
High-Efficiency
Gas Fuel Cell/Hybrid Power Systems
Hydrogen
Production
Hydrogen Storage
and Distribution
Hydrogen Use
Hydrogen
Infrastructure Safety R&D
“We are asking
ourselves: If we have the defining technology for fuel-cell vehicles, should we also
become the Intel of this business with ‘GM Inside’ being the brand that creates
widespread acceptance of hydrogen power in all its forms?”
Larry Burns
Director of R&D, General Motors
Aid for Ailing
Power Grid
David Kiley Rochester Democrat & Chronicle/USA
Today
September 28, 2003
|
 |
|
Approaching the Eco-Car
The Toyota FCHV
Toyota |
| In pursuit of the ultimate eco-car, Toyota has
faced - and overcome - many challenges. In 1997, based on its accumulated experience and
expertise, Toyota introduced the Prius, the world's first mass-produced hybrid vehicle.
Welcomed as an environment-friendly car around the globe, the Prius achieves the highest
fuel efficiency of any 5-passenger mass-produced gasoline vehicle. Toyota considers the
hybrid technology it developed through the creation of the Prius to be a core technology
for the eco-cars of tomorrow. The FCHV recently introduced on a limited basis in the U.S.
and Japan is seen as the closest yet to an ultimate eco-car. But Toyota will not be
satisfied until the day when such ultimate eco-cars become available to everyone.
more |
|
Energy Legend, Advisor to Presidents:
David Freeman Leaves California Power Authority
to Produce Hydrogen ICE Vehicles
"We are at one of the
more fundamental opportunities in our history because we have run out of time with this
fossil fuel oil oriented energy economy of ours. And we either are going to get on a
cleaner path, which is hydrogen - as though our lives depended on it - or we are going to
get in more and more trouble."
David Freeman
SCAQMD Diamond Bar,
California July 25, 2003
WEB VIDEO |
|
Complete text of David
Freeman's speech to the CHBC
Hydrogen Fuels Power Broker's New Venture
Nancy Rivera Brooks Los Angeles Times October
24, 2003
Hydrogen Cars: Why Wait Sixteen Years?
George Ditmar Frost & Sullivan |
|
Air Products'
Hydrogen Fueling Station Technologies Dedicated and Now In Use at UC-Davis Institute of
Transportation Studies
Air Products/PRNewswire October 20, 2003
30 Hydrogen Hong Kong Buses to
Expand Entry for Stuart, Ford, Westport, and Cummins into Vast Asian Marketplace
Stuart Energy Targets China
Hydrogen Power
Phelim Kyne
Doe Jones Newswires October 23, 2003
Stuart Energy Teams with
Cheung Kong, Ford in H2 I.C. City Bus Project for Hong Kong Peter Hoffmann's Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter
Cheung
Kong to Launch Hydrogen-powered Bus
Municipal Transit
Hydrogen Fueling on Video
Hydrogen Cars
Expected Soon
Tyler Hamilton Canadian
Press October 20, 2003
Clean-air Benefits of Hydrogen + Natural Gas
Reach Municipal Transit
California Unitrans Fleet
Gets Hydrogen-powered Addition
Ben Antonius California
Aggie October 23, 2003
The bus is a modified version of the natural gas-powered Bluebird model. It was built by
Collier Technologies, a Reno, Nev.-based company that specializes in producing the
equipment for hydrogen-burning engines.
The Hydrogen Bus
Technology Validation Program
Collier Technologies
HCNG Technology Description Collier Technologies
|
|
"Until such time as fuel cell vehicles are commercially viable and available,
those alternatives that reduce our dependence on OPEC oil and improve air quality and
public health should be aggressively pursued and incentivized. Among them are vehicles
with natural gas, blends of hydrogen and natural gas, and hydrogen internal combustion
engines."
Catherine Rips
Former Director of Hydrogen Programs, Sunline Transit |
|
Hydrogen Heroics
The 2003 Michelin Challenge Bibendum
Bill Moore EV World
October 11, 2003
If Tai Robinson showed its possible to
create a relatively low-cost approach to using hydrogen as an automotive fuel, Ford Motor
Company intended to demonstrate that it doesn't intend to wait a decade to begin deploying
large numbers of affordable hydrogen-powered cars. more
QuestAir Technologies' HyQuestor
Hydrogen Purifier
Installed in Tokyo Hydrogen Fueling Station
Canada Newswire
October 17, 2003
The Senju hydrogen station has sufficient capacity to
fuel a single large fuel cell bus or 5 fuel cell passenger cars per day. The station is
the result of a joint venture between Tokyo Gas and Nippon Sanso Corporation, and forms
part of the Japan Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Demonstration Project directed by the Japanese
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Toyota Expands Its Real-World
Testing of Fuel Cell Hydrogen Vehicles - Space Daily September
30, 2003
The new FCHVs have been
improved for U.S. use, including left-hand drive operation, improved braking performance
and a new navigation system. The addition of these vehicles will bring the total
number of FCHVs on the road to 18. Four will be with the universities, three with the
California Fuel Cell Partnership, one at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and 10 with
Japanese government agencies and private companies.
|
|
"I believe that
hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines will bridge the gap until fuel cells are
commercially viable."
Jon Slangerup, President of
 Stuart Energy |
Hydrogen
Car Near, Energy Firm Says
Tyler Hamilton Toronto Star
(Canada) July 23,
2003
[President of Stuart Energy] Jon Slangerup
said internal combustion car engines that run on hydrogen gas, similar to vehicles powered
by natural gas, could see "mass commercialization" within two years, at least a
decade sooner than hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles that companies such as Burnaby, B.C.-based
Ballard Power Systems Inc. are helping to develop.
Stuart Energy,
Statkraft and EHN Sign Joint Cooperation Agreement for Renewable Hydrogen
Business Wire/Yahoo! October 9, 2003
Stuart Energy in
Talks with General Electric on Possible Partnership
Canadian Press/Fuel Cell Today September 17, 2003
Stuart Energy
and Dynetek Industries Enter into Strategic Alliance Agreement
Business Wire September 15, 2003
Stuart Energy Teams with Cheung
Kong, Ford in H2 I.C. City Bus Project for Hongkong Peter Hoffmann's Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter
August, 2003
Linde Gas Signs Preferred
Supplier Agreement with Vandenborre Technologies, a Stuart Energy Company Stuart Energy July 8,
2003
Stuart Energy: The Evolution of Energy
Stuart Energy Delivers 7 of 8 Corporate Milestones
Stuart Energy: Shell Hydrogen
Signs Agreement with Vandenborre Technologies to Develop and Market Home Hydrogen
Refuelling Product June 16, 2003
Stuart Energy: Cheung Kong to
Launch Hydrogen-powered Bus
Stuart Energy: Ballard Power/BC Transit Fuel
Cell Bus Demonstration in Vancouver (1999-2000) - from HYDROGEN HAWAII
Stuart Energy: Drive Towards Home Refuelling
E4 Engineering
Stuart Energy Narrows
Loss as Hydrogen Product Sales Rise |
It's 'Four More
Years' for the California Fuel Cell Partnership
CaFCP July 7, 2003
Life in the Slow
Lane
Tracking Decades of Automaker Roadblocks to Fuel Economy
Richard Byrne Union of Concerned Scientists
July 2003
Showa
Shell Opens Tokyo’s First Liquid Hydrogen Station
Shell Hydrogen June 18, 2003
Showa Shell’s hydrogen
refuelling station is part of the Japan Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Demonstration Project, a
programme sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to build five
hydrogen refuelling stations in and around the Tokyo metropolitan area. The station will
provide liquid and compressed hydrogen to a fleet of prototype fuel cell vehicles provided
by several automotive companies. The vehicles will be used on the city’s streets.
“On hydrogen power,
we’ve reached the point of no return. It will happen.”
Alain Bugat, General Manager
Centre de l’Energie Atomique, France
PSA/Peugeot-Citroen
Expects Fuel-cell Car Boom by 2015
AutoWeek June 24, 2003
Transportation and the Hydrogen
Economy
Institute of Transportation Studies, University of
California, Davis
Ford to
Put Fuel Cell-powered Focus Into Fleets Early Next Year
Harry Stoffer AutoWeek
June 9, 2003
Ford's Hydrogen
Fuel Cell Focus
Jim Kerr - Canadian Driver June 12, 2003
GM Launches
Japan's 1st Commercial Fuel-Cell Vehicle
Reuters July 9, 2003
As part of the Japanese government's initiative to explore the viability of FCVs, the
world's largest automaker and the delivery firm will operate GM's HydroGen3 vehicles on
FedEx Express's regular routes in Tokyo.
PERTH
HYDROGEN FUEL CELL BUS TRIAL |
AUSTRALIA:
State Sustainability Strategy Background Paper
‘The
Hydrogen Economy’
Prepared by Lisa Garrity, PhD Student, Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy,
Murdoch University
For Oil Vulnerability and Hydrogen Economy Reference Group
Chair: Prof. Peter Newman |
Emerging
Climate Change Emission Reduction Technologies
Presented to the International Vehicle Technology
Symposium
California Air Resources Board (ARB), Sacramento March 11-13, 2003
The Billion Dollar Bet
60 Minutes II CBS April 2, 2003
UPS and FedEx to Test Hydrogen Fuel
Cell Delivery Vehicles
 
"These vehicles are going
to be rolling laboratories. Environmental improvements like this and the needs of business
are not incompatible."
Tom Weidemeyer
CEO of UPS and president of UPS Airlines |
UPS to
Test Fuel Cell Vehicles in U.S.
Delivery Fleet -- Collaboration with
EPA and DaimlerChrysler a First
UPS May
19, 2003 |
The deployment of the zero-emission vehicles, in two different sizes, will begin late this
year and continue in 2004 and will be the first use of fuel cell technology in a
commercial delivery fleet in North America. It was announced at a news conference at the
National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory by EPA Administrator Christie Whitman and
corporate executives along with Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Sen. Carl Levin and Rep. John
Dingell.
...DaimlerChrysler will supply the fuel cell vehicles for UPS, while
the EPA will supply a hydrogen refueling station at its Ann Arbor facility. The fueling
station will be operational by the end of 2003 and will provide compressed hydrogen fuel
to the UPS vehicles as well as other fuel-cell cars in the area.
The first fuel cell vehicle to be tested by UPS will be a
DaimlerChrysler "F-Cell," which will be used for early-morning deliveries by
late 2003. In 2004, UPS will add one or more fuel cell-powered Sprinter delivery vans to
its fleet. There are currently 2,500 Sprinter vehicles in UPS's domestic and international
fleets.
|
 |
GM Is First
Automaker
Approved To Drive A
Liquid Hydrogen
Vehicle On Japanese
Roads
General Motors
March 10, 2003 |
Pictured with GM's
HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle are: Raymond Grigg, Chairman and CEO, Representative Director,
General Motors Japan Ltd. (left) and David J. Ross, Vice President, North Pacific Region,
Federal Express Corporation. Photo: GM |
GM's HydroGen3
Boasts Highest Range Of Any Road-Approved Fuel Cell Vehicle In Japan |
Beginning in
June, FedEx will operate HydroGen3 several days a week on its regular delivery routes in
Tokyo. GM will collect data from FedEx, and will provide all vehicle engineering and
maintenance. FedEx drivers will receive training from GM engineers.
"This testing project is the first true commercial use of a fuel
cell vehicle in Japan," said Raymond Grigg, chairman and CEO, representative
director, General Motors Japan Ltd. "We expect to learn a lot about how fuel cell
vehicles operate under demanding, real-world conditions by having FedEx operate the
HydroGen3 like they would any of their regular delivery vehicles." |
Hydrogen Leak Prompts Toyota to
Recall Fuel Cell Vehicles
Japan Times May 21, 2003
 |
FREIGHTLINER,
OWNED BY DAIMLERCHRYSLER,
DEVELOPS
METHANOL
FUEL CELL APU |
Idling
Away Brent
Hunsberger The Oregonian May 13, 2003
The device, mounted on the driver's side of the truck, funnels
reformulated methanol fuel through a series of fuel cells to generate 5 kilowatts of
electricity -- enough to power the microwave, air conditioner, stereo, computer and lights
inside a stationary Freightliner cab and sleeper.
CHBC Note: Due to concerns about excessive emissions, it is illegal to
idle a stationary truck in Germany.
|
Japan and European Union to Standardize
Fuel Cell Auto Specifications
Daily Yomuri Japan May 11, 2003
After concluding an agreement on standardizing specifications for fuel
cells, which are being developed as a clean source of power to replace gasoline, the
government will try to win ISO recognition for the specifications as next-generation
technology up to world standards by 2005, the sources said.
Specifically, domestic carmakers basic technological specifications for
fuel cells, such as the purity of the hydrogen, the installation position for fuel tanks
and the measurement criteria for fuel costs, all of which currently vary greatly, will be
standardized, the sources said.
Fuel-cell Caravan in Central Valley
Carl T. Hall San Francisco
Chronicle May 15, 2003 |
The three-day, 400-mile fuel-cell car
demonstration through one of the worst smog belts in the country started in West
Sacramento, headquarters of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, a research and
promotional collaboration of carmakers, energy companies and government regulators.
|
Secretary Abraham Announces $150
Million for Hydrogen Vehicle and Infrastructure Demonstration and
Validation Project
USNewswire May 8, 2003
GM, BMW
to Develop Liquid Hydrogen Refueling
Technology
John Porretto San Diego Uniton-Tribune April 9, 2003
U.S., European Union to Cooperate on Hydrogen Energy Research
American Embassy, London March 10. 2003
Quantum Delivers Hydrogen Storage Systems to Suzuki
Quantum WorldWide March 6, 2003
INITIAL LEASE
OF FUEL CELL VEHICLES BY JAPAN PRESENTS A PROFOUND CHALLENGE TO U.S. AUTOMAKERS AND
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH
WILL JAPAN DOMINATE THE U.S. HYDROGEN VEHICLE MARKET?
Road-ready Toyota Fuel Cell Hybrid Highlanders
Delivered to two University of California campuses; EPA Certified Honda FCV Delivered to
City of Los Angeles
December 2, 2002 (see stories and videos
below)
"We think we can build a
compelling and affordable car by 2010. ...Four years ago, I never dreamed we'd have made
as much progress as we have by now. So far, we haven't seen anything that says it can't be
done."
Larry Burns
Vice President of Research and Development and Planning - GM
Gas
Station to Pump Hydrogen
John Tierney
New York Times March 4, 2003
HYDROGEN REFUELING STATIONS IN JAPAN
Japan Hydrogen & Fuel Cell
Demonstration Project |
| Hydrogen station |
Location |
Company in charge |
| Facility for liquefied hydrogen storage
and hydrogen refueling |
Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo |
Iwatani International and Showa Shell
Sekiyu |
| LPG reforming type hydrogen refueling
facility |
Minami-senju, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo |
Tokyo Gas
and Nippon Sanso |
| Desulfurized-gasoline reforming type
hydrogen refueling facility |
Daikoku-cho, Tsurumi-ku,
Yokohama City |
Cosmo Oil |
| Garage and Showroom |
| Naphtha reforming type hydrogen
refueling facility |
Kami-shirane-cho, Asahi-ku, Yokohama
City |
Nippon Oil |
| Methanol reforming type hydrogen
refueling facility |
Kojima-cho, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki City |
Japan Air Gases |
| Demonstration of liquefied-hydrogen
production technologies |
Kimidu, Kimidu City, Chiba Prefecture |
Nippon Steel |
Japan's Government Targets 5 Million Fuel Cell Vehicles by 2020
Lindsay Whipp Bloomberg
March 12, 2003
Japan's government said it wants to have 5 million
vehicles fuel cell vehicles running on domestic roads by 2020 and is beginning to develop
a hydrogen- refueling infrastructure to help. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
may spend 22.5 billion yen ($191.7 million) in the business year starting April 1 on fuel
cell related projects, 28 percent more than this year's 17.6 billion yen, the Japan
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Demonstration Project said in a release. The project, a government
subsidized organization, opened its first hydrogen refueling station today near Yokohama,
south of Tokyo. Through the project the government plans to set up five refueling stations
by March 2004 in a test to find the most effective method for hydrogen refueling. |
General Motors and
Shell to Build
Hydrogen Fueling Stations in Washington, D.C.
On Wednesday, GM and Royal Dutch Shell
announced a partnership to improve on the current technology as well as create a
nationwide network of hydrogen gas stations. GM will bring a fleet of hydrogen minivans to
Capitol Hill this spring for lawmakers to test drive. ...As part of the deal, Shell will
open the first and only neighborhood hydrogen filling station in downtown Washington.
...Shell will also be opening filling stations in several other countries, trying to turn
hydrogen hopes into commercial reality.
A Boost for the Hydrogen Car?
Diana Olick MSNBC
March 5, 2003
"We have to make it real in the eyes of our
customers, and we have to make it real in the minds of policymakers," says Larry
Burns, GM's vice president of research and development. GM says it can have a
"compelling and affordable" fuel-cell vehicle ready for regular production by
2010. The six vehicles being used in the D.C. test are based on a compact van called
Zafira, which is sold in Europe under GM's Opel brand. GM calls the vehicle the HydroGen3.
...The Society of Automotive Engineers recently estimated that a new nationwide system of
hydrogen fueling stations would cost up to $300 billion.
GM, Shell Push for Acceptance of
Hydrogen-powered Autos
Earle Eldridge USA Today
March 4, 2003
Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Powered Cars Promise Major Benefits
Carolene Langie U.S.
Department of State March 4,
2003
GM Says
Fuel Cell Cars Will be Ready by 2010
by Ed Garsten - Detroit News (OH) March 2, 2003
During a speech before the Detroit
Economic Club last Friday, U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said a decision on
whether to commercialize fuel cell vehicles could be made by 2015 -- with vehicles
arriving in showrooms about five years later.
"I'm not buying it," Larry Burns, GM vice president of
research, development and planning, said in an interview during a media event showcasing
the automaker's advanced technology vehicles.
"He's listening to a lot of different companies," Burns said.
"If you're telling a story about 2020, I'm not sure people want to hear about
that." Burns said GM is sticking with its target of making fuel cell vehicles widely
available by around 2010.
...One hurdle has been the development of a hydrogen refueling
infrastructure, the goal of the year-old partnership between the federal government and
Big 3 automakers called FreedomCAR. But Burns insists the use of electrolyzers, devices
that create hydrogen from electricity, natural gas or water, could be made available
fairly quickly.
Within three months, GM's Adam Opel AG plans to test a home
electrolyzer, according to staff engineer Gerd Arnold. The device is about the size of a
refrigerator and would sit in a home's garage, producing enough hydrogen in 24 hours to
let a fuel cell vehicle travel about 240 miles, Arnold said. |
Hydrogen
Fuel-Cell Powered Cars Promise Major Benefits
Carolene Langie
U.S. Department of State March 4, 2003
A Closer Look at Hydrogen
Joerg Dittmer, Frost & Sullivan
Machine Design
February 6, 2003
"The
first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and
pollution-free."
President George W. Bush
Your Child's
Car? by Ned Potter ABC
News January 30, 2003
"If fuel cells can wean
America from dependence on foreign oil and clean up the environment, after all, why spend
only a billion or two on them?
Why not launch a new Manhattan Project?"
Detroit News Columnist Tom Bray
Energy
Independence Fantasies
Washington Times February
3, 2003
...BUT EXPERTS ASK, "WHY WAIT?"
CALIFORNIA IS DEPLOYING FC TEST FLEETS AND
HYDROGEN INTERNAL COMBUSTION IS HERE NOW |
 Ford Unveils First U.S. Hydrogen
ICE Vehicle Capable of Mass Production
Model U |
H2 HYBRID POWERPLANT
EMISSIONS ARE ALMOST UNMEASUREABLE
Model U
Concept: A Model For Change
Ford
January 5, 2003 |
Model U is powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE) that is optimized to run on
hydrogen. The engine is supercharged and intercooled for maximum efficiency, power and
range. Its emission of all pollutants, including carbon dioxide, is nearly zero, and the
engine is up to 25 percent more fuel-efficient than gasoline engines. |
The
hydrogen ICE is based on Ford's global 2.3-litre 4-cylinder engine used in the Ford
Ranger, the European Ford Mondeo and a number of Mazda vehicles. The engine is optimized
to burn hydrogen with 12.2:1 high-compression pistons, fuel injectors designed to handle
hydrogen gas, a coil-on-plug ignition system, an electronic throttle and new engine
management software.
| Because hydrogen has a very wide
combustion range (from 4 to 75 percent), hydrogen-fueled engines are able to use a wider
range of air/fuel mixtures than gasoline engines, and can be run in the fuel-efficient
"lean" regime without the complications of pre-ignition or "knock."
Much like a diesel engine, the hydrogen ICE runs unthrottled while under way, with
air/fuel mixtures as lean as 86:1 during highway cruise, compared to the 14.7:1 of
gasoline-powered vehicles. It can reach an overall efficiency of 38 percent, which is
approximately 25 percent better than a gasoline engine. |
|
"We
can start developing the hydrogen infrastructure as we perfect the fuel-cell
car. The internal combustion engine can run rather well on hydrogen, and the
ICE hydrogen car is not the enemy of the fuel cell. Indeed, if we were starting to
deploy hydrogen-powered ICE cars tomorrow, it would hasten the day when fuel cells were
viable because it would help bring the hydrogen infrastructure into place sooner rather
than later." |
David Freeman,
Chairman
California Power Authority
Lost Opportunities, Slaying
Dragons, and Hydrogen Now
Peter Hoffmann's Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter |
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In four sentences of his
State of the Union address, President George Bush endorsed fuel-cell electric vehicles
powered by hydrogen. "The first car driven by a child born today could be powered by
hydrogen, and pollution- free," the President said on Tuesday evening.
Fuel cell technology has developed to the point that it can power
electric vehicles -- a number of such vehicles are being demonstrated by automakers.
However, fuel cells remain expensive, and it is not clear that the cost can be reduced
enough to make them economically feasible for automotive use.
Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are far more energy-efficient and
far less polluting than gasoline-fueled vehicles. President Bush proposed spending $1.2
billion for further research of this technology. The President's goal is to make FCEVs
available in about 16 years.
However, technology that provides benefits almost as great as FCEVs is
available today. Hydrogen can be used not only in fuel cells to generate electricity, it
can be burned cleanly and efficiently in internal combustion engines.
This is a far smaller leap in technology than a shift to FCEVs would
be. Unlike an effort to develop practical, affordable FCEVs, an effort to develop
hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine (H-ICE) vehicles would be virtually assured of
success.
Lack of a hydrogen refueling infrastructure is the main obstacle to the
introduction of H-ICE vehicles. Other obstacles are the relative difficulty of handling a
gaseous fuel such as hydrogen, and the fact that the cost of providing hydrogen on a large
scale is unknown.
Developing a hydrogen refueling infrastructure would be a better use of
government money than pursuing a program that may or may not yield benefits in 16 years,
even if those benefits would be greater. more |
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