A researcher says it’s possible to triple fuel economy in gasoline-powered cars by 2035, but it’ll mean getting our automotive kicks from smart electronic technology and other forms of virtual performance rather than horsepower.

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Two days ago I talked about a hydrogen fueling station in Rochester, NY catching fire and this would mean that hydrogen haters would be coming out in droves. Over at Jalopnik there is an example of fanning the flames (so to speak) of the hydrogen haters (plus to be fair a few defenders) to come out and show their true colors over the safety of hydrogen fuel.

The hydrogen haters are showing their ignorance by talking about the Hindenburg explosion (of course). But also someone posted a picture of a nuclear explosion as well. Another person speaks of Hiroshima.

Yet, there is another person talking about hydrogen being stored at 1,000 psi in cars inside steel tanks prone to hydrogen embrittlement. It’s not hard to conceive that a small group of people are spreading misinformation and fear-mongering about hydrogen to move along their own agendas.

As an analogy, in this country 25-percent of the population believe that President Obama is a Muslim and a large percentage say he was born outside the U. S. This is due largely do to a small group of people spreading misinformation and fear-mongering.

Hydrogen has enough technical issues right now in regard to widespread rollout of cars. But, because of this kind of ignorance and fear being disseminated to the public, the largest hurdle for hydrogen cars may be education and public relations.

The hydrogen deniers and delayers have their own agendas to stall the spread of hydrogen vehicles and fueling stations and the example I’ve posted is just a microcosm of what hydrogen advocates must overcome in order to assure widespread public acceptance of H2.

By the way, in case you’re interested here are some videos of some traditional gasoline station related fires and explosions:

Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
Video 5

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Microbes could soon be used to convert metallic wastes into high-value catalysts for generating clean energy, say scientists.

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I always like talking about the Formula Zero racing go-kart events. They are a fun, fast & furious venue in which to talk about the merits of hydrogen powered vehicles.

At The Hague, the Netherlands, the Technical University Delft’s Greenchoice Forze hydrogen fuel cell race team won, beating a gasoline powered go-kart. And not only did it win, but it did so with zero emissions.

The Dutch students who built the Greenchoice Forze set a record time for the last lap of 22.91 seconds. The demonstration of the racing go-karts shows that hydrogen can be used in a wide range of vehicles, ranging from ultra high mile cars such as the ETH Zurich Pac Car II to other hydrogen race cars which have more oomph to everything in-between such as hydrogen powered go-karts.

Formula Zero is a fun event that gets hydrogen fuel vehicles out before the public eye. And the fact that they can kick the butts of gasoline powered vehicles is just icing on the cake.

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In the first Shell Eco-marathon to take place in Asia, University Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) took first place with 599 km per liter (1,410 mpg US, 0.17 L/100km) of gasoline equivalent, in an electric vehicle design that hybridized Horizon’s hydrogen fuel cells with an ultracapacitor.

Horizon fuel cell system in vehicle. Click to enlarge.

Horizon’s fuel cells also powered Thailand’s first ever hydrogen participation (King Mongtut Institute of Technology) to 3^rd place for the Asia region.

Horizon started with sales of next-generation fuel cell power products in small consumer products, while developing increasingly larger-scale solutions targeted at applications that include portable power, aerospace, stationary systems and transport. (Earlier post.) Horizon currently develops complete PEM (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane) fuel cell power solutions delivering 0.3 W to 15 kW. The PEM fuel cells are air-cooled, and self-humidified, making it possible to offer simpler and therefore more reliable system designs.

The first Asian Shell Eco-marathon included 81 teams from 10 Asian countries and was held at the Formula One Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia on 7-10 July 2010. Shell Eco-marathons have been held for more than 25 years, bringing together high schools, universities, and engineering schools from different countries to create and race the most energy-efficient vehicles. With annual events in the Americas, Europe and now Asia, winning teams are rewarded for traveling the furthest distance using the least amount of energy, as fuel or fuel equivalent.

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Filed under: Hydrogen, GM

Hydrogen faces a number of challenges when it comes to supplanting gasoline as the world’s transportation fuel of choice. A little reminder of that fact occurred last Friday when the Monroe County Green Fuel Station in Rochester, NY went ka-boom last Thursday afternoon. Luckily no one was killed, though two were injured. Praxair driver Robert Scruggs was transported to Strong Hospital with second-degree burns to his hands and face as a result of the incident, and a female Burger King employee was treated for ear pain in connection with the explosions.

According to local news outlets, Praxair is a supplier for General Motors‘ fleet of hydrogen vehicles, which refuel at the Rochester station. GM spokesperson Scott Fossgard told Autoblog that the company’s fleet of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles have logged over 1.6 million miles with over 16,000 hydrogen fill ups by over 800 drivers. In all of that time, the company has never had an incident like the one in Rochester. While the GM fleet uses the filling station to top off its vehicles this incident did not involve any of GM’s vehicles, personnel or customers.

The Greater Rochester International Airport was closed for about 50 minutes due the explosions, and some flights were diverted mid-air while authorities sorted out the cause of the incident. Check out security cam video of the explosion as well as an interview with R.I.T. Material Science Professor Michael Haselkorn concerning hydrogen safety. Click on the YNN link below for local news video coverage, as well as on the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle for more information. (AB’s Zach Bowman helped with this report.)

[Sources: YNN, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle]

Continue reading How safe is hydrogen? Filling station explodes [w/video]

How safe is hydrogen? Filling station explodes [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Expo 2010 Vehicles Equipped with Fuel Cell Humidifiers from Perma Pure

FC-Series used in 100 vehicles shuttling international visitors at World Expo

Toms River, NJ (August 24, 2010) – In keeping with Expo 2010 Shanghai China’s theme, “Better City-Better Life,” green fuel cell technology was chosen to power the visitor shuttles at this year’s world’s fair. Increased productivity, zero emissions and reduced costs are just a few of the reasons small vehicle manufacturers choose fuel cells as an alternative to industrial lead acid batteries. FC-Series humidifiers from Perma Pure provide the efficient water vapor management critical to the operation of these fuel cells.

Read more on Fuel Cell Cars for Expo 2010…

Energy Tags: hybrid cars, energy

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I’ve talked about the Vision Industries Tyrano hydrogen fuel cell hybrid big rig truck many times before. The goal for the company to is clean up the diesel emissions around the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles in Southern California (SoCal) using their zero emissions vehicles.

The major highway leading out of the Port of Long Beach is called the I710 Long Beach Freeway and travels 23 miles north to Alhambra, California. CalStart and Metro, clean energy organizations in California, have come up with plans to make the I710 freeway a “Zero Emissions Freight Movement Corridor”.

According to Lawrence Weisdorn, “Studies by both the California Air Resources Board and the South Coast Air Quality Management District show the port and its trucks are major contributors to cancer-causing air pollution in Los Angeles.

“In 2005, the California Air Resources Board found that the ports and goods movement throughout the state of California caused over 2,400 premature deaths annually, mostly from particulate pollution, and was responsible for 2,000 hospital admissions due to respiratory problems. Supporting data from the 2005 Los Angeles County Health Survey found that almost 20 percent of children in the Long Beach Health District have been diagnosed with asthma, significantly higher than national asthma rates.

“In March 2005, following an extensive technical and community participation process, Metro completed the I-710 Freeway Major Corridor Study (MCS). The study analyzed congestion and mobility along the corridor in order to develop transportation solutions that preserve and enhance the quality of life of surrounding neighborhoods and communities.”

Perhaps coincidentally Vision Industries is poised to take advantage of this Zero Emissions Freight Movement Corridor immediately. Their zero emissions Tyrano truck is already being tested around the ports in Long Beach and Los Angeles.

Air Products, a major hydrogen gas supplier, also has a major pipeline running through these ports and will most likely supply the hydrogen fuel for the trucks as well. The I710 zero emission freeway will give access to hydrogen freight trucks expanding the territory in which they may deliver their products before returning to port.

Here are a few more links concerning the details of this project:

http://www.metro.net/projects_studies/I710/images/Zero-Emission-Freight-Corridor-Program-Design-for-Market-Transformation-July-2010.pdf

http://www.metro.net/projects_studies/I710/images/710_projectmap.pdf

http://www.metro.net/projects_studies/I710/images/710_factsheet.pdf

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Over this past weekend I decided to read my review copy of “The Hydrogen Society … more than just a Vision?” by Arno A. Evers which had been sent to me gratis from overseas.

This is not like other books about hydrogen that serve as primers to the newly informed public. This is a more in-depth look at how to create hydrogen renewable and why fuel cell cars make sense.

Right now, according to Evers 45 million tons of hydrogen is produced each year generating sales worth around $28 billion USD. Most of this is used in the refinement of crude oil into gasoline. Ninety-six percent of the hydrogen production in the world involves the steam reformation of natural gas, which itself is not as clean as using renewable energy.

Evers talks about Germany company ENERTRAG which is the world’s largest independent renewable energy only utility using wind (400 turbines), solar and hydrogen to produce one billion kWh of electricity annually which is enough to power one million homes.

But critics to a hydrogen produced via brute force electrolysis often point out that the inefficiencies of this process. They say, why not use the electricity from solar panels and wind turbines and store it in traditional or leading edge batteries?

Mr. Evers also says there is a better way to produce hydrogen from renewable energy without using electricity. He advocates for processes like photoelectrochemical hydrogen, biological photolytic hydrogen, and conversion of biomass and wastes into hydrogen. Mr. Evers even talks about solar thermal water splitting as a more efficient method of creating hydrogen.

But the top solution that his book advocates for is direct solar hydrogen production. Evers mentions the Hydrosol project as exciting new technology in this field. According to the Hydrosol website, “… the participating research team has developed an innovative solar reactor for the production of hydrogen from the splitting of steam using solar energy, constructed from special refractory ceramic thin-wall, multi-channeled (honeycomb) monoliths optimized to absorb solar radiation and coated with highly active oxygen ‘trapping’/water-splitting materials (based on doped oxides exhibiting redox behavior).

“The ‘proof-of-concept’ of the technology has been demonstrated beyond any doubt in a pilot scale solar reactor designed, built and operating at the DLR solar furnace facility in Cologne (Germany), continuously producing ‘solar hydrogen’”.

This direct solar to hydrogen production can be used in power plants or the hydrogen can be sold and piped to various fueling stations local to the plant to be used in fuel cell cars.

The book can be found on Amazon.com and more information and Mr. Evers and his theories can be found on the Hydrogen Ambassadors website.

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