Filed under: Hydrogen, Suzuki, On Two Wheels

Suzuki and Intelligent Energy have been working on hydrogen fuel cell-powered two-wheelers for the last few years, with the Crosscage, their first public concept, debuting back in 2007 at the Tokyo Motor Show. Then, earlier this year, we heard rumblings that Suzuki hoped to have its first production hydrogen cycle ready within the next 12 months.

Falling right in line with those expectations, Suzuki unveiled a new concept just last week at the most recent show in Tokyo, and instead of using a pie-in-the-sky motorcycle chassis with single-sided suspension bits that have little chance of actual production, the Japanese company placed its proprietary fuel cell and storage system in a regular old Burgman scooter.

Now, Wired reports that we can expect these hydrogen two-wheelers in production in very short order. Says Dr. Henri Winand, CEO of Intelligent Energy, “These clean fuel cell engine-powered motorcycles are not simply for motor shows, and can be widely available to everyone in the near future.”

If that does indeed take place, as cool as the Crosscage may be, we’d expect the initial offering to take a form similar to the conceptual Burgman scooter. We’ll know for sure soon enough.

[Source: Wired]

REPORT: Suzuki to put hydrogen two-wheelers into production originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now days most models of hydrogen fuel cell cars come with some sort of hybrid or plug-in hybrid batteries to increase mileage and range of the vehicle. The major automakers have come to realizing that the marrying of these two technologies (fuel cells and batteries) will be a winning combination for years to come.

Battery electric vehicles (BEV) require a vast recharging infrastructure to be built plus beefing up the electric grid to support millions of BEV’s will be no easy task. Likewise, fuel cell only cars will require a vast hydrogen fueling infrastructure to be built to support millions of cars.

But, what if we could split the energy needs between hydrogen used as fuel and electricity stored in batteries? This would require that two different sets of infrastructures be built (hydrogen refueling and electrical charging stations) but these two infrastructures together would be much smaller than the current gasoline infrastructure plus this would not put as big of a strain on the electrical grid as BEV’s alone would.

Right now the batteries of choice for hybrid cars are either lead-acid or lithium ion with some form of lithium ion seen as the future of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and BEV’s. But, what if nickel-hydrogen (NiH2) batteries were to take over the market instead? What if future hydrogen fuel cell cars were also powered by nickel-hydrogen batteries as well?

What brought this to mind was an article I read yesterday about how Panasonic has decided to reduce its stake in a joint venture with Toyota in developing batteries for hybrid cars. The battery of choice is not lithium ion but rather nickel-hydrogen.

Now, NASA has been using hydrogen as a propellant for years for their spacecraft. NASA has also used hydrogen fuel cells to power onboard systems and supply drinking water for the astronauts.
But, NASA has also been at the forefront of developing nickel-hydrogen batteries for use in spacecraft especially satellites.

According to the Florida State University website, “The nickel-hydrogen battery has a nickel oxide positive electrode similar to the nickel-cadmium cell, and is like the hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell since it has a hydrogen negative electrode. This hybrid battery has a long cycle life, high specific energy, high power density, and also exhibits tolerance for overcharge, and is therefore the choice battery in many aerospace applications, especially geo-synchronous (GEO) and low earth-orbit (LEO) satellites. In addition, the battery’s hydrogen pressure is a good indicator of the charge state of the battery.” The nickel-hydrogen battery from the FSU website is pictured above.

Now, yes there are some hydrogen car purists who would not like to see batteries of any kind used on H2 cars for supplemental energy. At the other extreme are BEV enthusiasts who thumb their noses at plug-in hybrids and anything that is not lithium ion. But, meeting in the middle are those who see the value of hydrogen plug-in hybrid vehicles as the integration of the best of technologies we have today and most probably for decades to come.

For more reading about nickel-hydrogen batteries see:

http://www.aero.org/publications/thaller/thaller-1.html

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.jsp?url=/iel3/62/3208/00103781.pdf?arnumber=103781

http://pdf.aiaa.org/jaPreview/JE/1982/PVJAPRE62569.pdf

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993STIN…9413265D

http://www.electrochem.org/dl/ma/206/pdfs/1465.pdf

http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oce/llis/0568.html

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Wind power out West is booming… and that’s a bit of a problem. No, not a problem because of all of the clean energy the wind is producing. But the aging infrastructure to get that power to the people who can use it is loaded to the max, and this article from UPI says it’s time for an update:

Future wind projects mean the region’s electrical grid must be expanded, which won’t be without controversy, said Brent Fenty, who heads the Oregon Natural Desert Association, which is tracking transmission proposals.

“There’s no question that we are changing the face of the state right now. And the important part is that we do that in a way that is responsible and reflects our values,” Fenty told The (Portland) Oregonian.

Hundreds more wind turbine projects are planned for Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, most of them on private land. New power lines to carry that energy, however, must be built on public lands and carry a long-term impact, said Erik Fernandez, spokesman for the group Oregon Wild.

“If we do this the wrong way, there’s going to be a large price tag environmentally,” Fernandez said.

So I guess that’s the right kind of problem to have: too much green power. Now, if some upgrades that are in the works, such as the Tres Amigas Super Station in Clovis, New Mexico that aims to link major wind and solar projects with the U.S. population centers (see my post from October 14, 2009), come to fruition, all this bounty of wind power should be a blessing.

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A biodiesel plant that will make the green fuel from Wisconsin wood biomass is set for commissioning next week.

This article from Biomass Magazine says the Flambeau River BioFuel LLC’s project will be commissioned using Honeywell Process Solutions’ supplies and automation equipment for what has been called the largest second-generation green diesel plant in the United States. The pilot testing is being done at the Southern Research Institute facility in Durham, N.C.:

“We need to operate [the pilot facility] for 1,000 hours to meet the requirements for a DOE loan guarantee and we need to prove the mass energy balance to make sure we have a project,” [Bob Byrne, president of Flambeau River BioFuels LLC, Park Falls, Wis.] said. “We need to know the economics are there.” An earlier proposal to collocate a cellulosic ethanol plant next to the paper mill at Park Falls was dropped because the economics proved unfavorable as the study progressed. This time, the developers are utilizing gasification and Fischer Tropsch technologies to convert woody biomass into biomass-based diesel and waxes.

The pilot facility at Southern Research Institute will be using Wisconsin wood to fuel a biomass gasifier designed by ThermoChem Recovery International Inc., Baltimore, Md. The syngas produced in the gasifier will be formed into liquids and waxes using catalysts developed by Emerging Fuels Technology, Tulsa, Okla., in a FT reactor. The $257 million plant in the engineering phase for Park Falls will produce 18 MMgy of FT liquids and waxes from 350,000 dry tons of biomass per year, according to Byrne. Depending on the pressures and temperatures of the FT reactor and the activity level of the catalyst, the plant will produce up to 10 MMgy of FT waxes and 8 MMgy FT diesel or 9 MMgy of each. The plant will also be supplying steam to the adjacent paper mill.

Company officials say the wax and steam produced pays the bills, and the biodiesel gives them operating income.

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Mark your calendar for Nov. 10th, as the Farm Foundation sponsors the latest in its free forums that discuss the food, agricultural and rural policy issues facing this country.

This upcoming discussion, held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, Washington D.C., focuses on energy issues, in particular biofuels:

Burton English of the University of Tennessee will discuss projected impacts of proposed federal renewable portfolio standards on the economy of four states-Kansas, Colorado, North Carolina and Florida. This study was done by the Biobased Energy Analysis Group of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Tennessee, and was funded in part by a grant from the Bipartisan Policy Center. English will also discuss methodologies and scenarios used by University of Tennessee researchers in preparing a second study that was funded by 25x’25. Results of that study are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

How greenhouse gas (GHG) policies might affect U.S. agriculture is the subject of a third study, to be discussed by Bruce McCarl of Texas A&M University, one of the report’s nine authors. This study indicates “that policies encouraging agricultural and forestry bioenergy and GHG mitigation efforts could stimulate agricultural income significantly, despite higher associated input costs.”

The program will also look at energy inputs on croplands, which include, of course, feedstocks for biofuels.

Make your reservation for the free forum by the close of business, next Friday, Nov. 6th to to Mary Thompson, Farm Foundation Director of Communication by e-mailing her at mary@farmfoundation.org.

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Energy vampire. Image credit:PeopleJam

I’m not one to dress up for Halloween, but I like to find creative ways to get on board with the spooky spirit of the holiday. If you’re an energy activist like me, I think you’ll enjoy these ideas:

Energy Vampires
When you sleep, when you eat, while you’re hard at work, vampires lurk in the depths of your home. From morning to night they are sucking you dry. It is called vampire power and t… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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My aunt takes good care of me – sending me little treats in the mail all the time. Yesterday I got a Halloween package in a cute little envelope. When I opened it, it proceeded to howl and cackle at me – a little recorded sound track that played every time you flexed the envelope open. On the one hand, I had to laugh, thinking about how she put thought into picking out this admittedly adorable envelope. On the other hand, I had to suppress anger that this stuff is made in the first place. Exactly what are we expecting will happen to these envelopes? … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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A Good Idea that Faces Many Big Challenges
I couldn’t resist using that old photo from an experiment that Mercedes did in the 1970s with battery swapping. The modern version of that technology is a lot more automated than this (see our post about Better Place’s robotized swapping station), but the general idea is the same and not all the auto makers that are working on electric cars are enthused about it. Among those that aren’t sold on the idea is Ford…. Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Tom Konrad CFA

My entire portfolio of Geothermal companies received DOE cost-sharing grants
Friday.  Here’s a quick run-down:

• Nevada
  Geothermal (NGLPF.PK, NGP.V) received $1.7M
  for its Crump Geyser project, and $1.6M for its Black Warrior project. NGP
  also celebrated
  completion of  its Blue Mountain Faulkner 1 plant the same day.
• US
  Geothermal (HTM) received $3.77M for it San Emidio project.
• Sierra
  Geothermal (SRAGF.PK, SRA.V) received $10M
  for exploration at its Alum and Silver Peak projects. 
• Ormat (ORA)
  received two
  grants, and is likely to benefit from other grants since geothermal
  exploration companies such as US Geothermal contract with them for many
  services.
• Up to
  $61.9M was awarded to ground source heat pump demonstrations, which will
  help my two Geothermal
  Heat Pump stocks, Waterfurnace
  Renewable Energy (WFFIF.PK) and LSB
  Industries (LXU).  

Market Reaction

While the geothermal exploration companies (NGP, HTM, and SRA) were all up
today, Ormat and the geothermal heat pump stocks were down (ORA -1.23%, WFI.TO
-1.12%, and LXU -2.67%, on a day the S&P 500 fell 2.81%)  Ormat was
probably down in sympathy with the market because it is much larger than the
other companies listed, and these grants won’t make that much difference to its
bottom line.  Waterfurnace and LSU may have gotten less market benefit
since the grants were not directly to them, and money for geothermal heat pumps
was already expected to be part of these grants.

Practically the only (nearly)
pure-play geothermal company that didn’t get something was Raser
Technologies (RZ), which I told readers I sold
in September when the DOE announced they were no longer under consideration.
I sold Raser at $1.78, taking a small (11%) loss.  It closed Friday at
$1.18. I’m glad I got out when I did, although readers of the article who sold
on my recommendation will have done better than I.  Raser bumped around in
the $1.80-85 range for a couple weeks after I published my article, and even hit
$2 briefly.

DISCLOSURE: LONG NGPLF, HTM, SRA.V, ORA, WFFIF, LXU.

DISCLAIMER: The information and trades provided here and in the comments are for
informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to buy or sell any of
these securities. Investing involves substantial risk and you should evaluate
your own risk levels before you make any investment. Past results are not an
indication of future performance. Please take the time to read the full
disclaimer here.

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Learn the limitations of biomass fuels here when you check out this site on biomass energy disadvantages.

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