Zero emissions, tons of star wattage: Hollywood hypes hydrogen cars
(from The Seattle Times)
Oscar-winning writer and director Paul Haggis owns four Toyota Priuses and is high on the waiting list to buy a $100,000 Tesla electric roadster. But when he heard about the new Honda FCX Clarity, a hydrogen-powered car that gets 270 miles on a tank and emits nothing but water, he was desperate to drive it.
"I want one. I want one," he said of the Clarity, later dispatching his agent to hunt for the not-yet-available vehicle.
A step ahead of Haggis was Joely Fisher, star of Fox's " 'Til Death" TV show. She arranged for BMW to lend her a sleek metallic-blue Hydrogen 7 Series — one of just 20 such experimental sedans in the U.S.
Never mind that it gets just 130 miles per tank and can be filled only by a trained professional, who takes it to Oxnard, Calif., and refuels it with liquid hydrogen cooled to 423 degrees below zero, a round trip that can take three hours. The sedan comes with a feature that's worth the hassle: "Bragging rights," Fisher said, laughing.
Click here for full article.
Mazda executive: Will keep focusing on hydrogen combustion vehicle
(from CNN.com)
YOKOHAMA, Japan -(Dow Jones)- Mazda Motor Corp. (7267.TO) continues to focus on hydrogen combustion vehicles as a mainstay emmissions-free car, believing the technology has advantages over the fuel-cell vehicles being developed by rival car makers, a Mazda executive said Monday.
"I have a big question (regarding) whether fuel-cell cars can really can come into wide use," said Seita Kanai, a senior Mazda executive in charge of the company's research and development.
The comments reflect the car maker's confidence about the potential of Mazda's hydrogen system, even though it isn't mainstream.
The Japanese affiliate of Ford Motor Co. (F) is the only car company in Japan that offers cars with internal-combustion engines that run on hydrogen and emit only water vapor. It is one of just two companies worldwide that leases such cars, along with Germany's BWM AG (BMW.XE). The cars can also run on gasoline when they run out of hydrogen.
Click here for full article.
New Fuel Cell System in Japan using water and air
(from Sury-lab)
Fuel hike is driving you crazy! Don’t worry, a Japanese company has developed a new fuel cell system for cars that needs only water and air. It eliminates the need for a hydrogen reformer and high-pressure hydrogen tank.
Click here for full article.
Hybrid fuel cell claims improved efficiency
(from Fuelcell Today)
UK scientists have discovered that combining two different fuel cell technologies can boost cell performance. The hybrid fuel cell developed by researchers at the University of St. Andrews contains both solid oxide and molten carbonate electrolytes.
Direct carbon fuel cells run on solid carbon fuel and typically use solid oxide or molten carbonate electrolytes to transport ions between the electrodes. John Irvine at the University of St Andrews and colleagues made a hybrid direct carbon fuel cell containing both types of electrolyte. They found that the binary electrolyte system enhanced carbon oxidation because carbon was oxidised not only on the electrode surface but also in the carbon-electrolyte slurry.
Click here for full article.
VIASPACE ships humidity sensor to fuel cell test station manufacturers in Korea
(from Azonano.com)
VIASPACE Inc., a company that transforms proven space and defense technologies from NASA and the Department of Defense into hardware and software solutions, announced today that its VIASPACE Energy division has begun shipments to fuel cell test stations manufacturers WonATech and SciTec of Seoul, Korea.
WonATech and SciTec are fuel cell test station manufacturers and service the needs of fuel cell developers such as Samsung and LG in Korea. The performance of hydrogen fuel cells using a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) depends on the moisture level of the membrane. The membrane only conducts protons when it is hydrated or moist. The moisture is provided by water vapor in the incoming air or hydrogen stream. The VIASPACE HS-1000 VIASENSOR instrument provides real-time measurements of the amount of water vapor in these gas streams and can be utilized within a fuel cell test station for that purpose.
Click here for full article. |
Vaisala monitors intake humidity on gas and liquid fueled turbines
