Smaller hydrogen pumps mean more fuel-cell cars
Wednesday, April 30, 2008

"Tokyo Gas and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have come up with a much smaller hydrogen pump that should make it simpler to fit out normal petrol stations. The new separation devices generate the hydrogen from normal city gas and water vapour using alloy membranes as filters instead of by the older method of purifying hydrogen. This lends itself to equipment that is small enough to go mainstream." More

posted by Steve @ 10:09 AM, ,


ReliOn raises $23M for hydrogen fuel cells

"ReliOn, a Spokane-based fuel cell maker that helps provide backup power for communications companies and air traffic control towers, has taken over $23 million in a round that will likely be the company's last, according to its CEO. ReliOn is among the few fuel cell makers actively making sales and growing its business, in part due to government regulations requiring longer-lasting backup power at telecommunications towers. ReliOn's cells, capable of delivering from 100 watts to 6 kilowatts, have proven useful for that purpose."  More

posted by Steve @ 10:07 AM, ,


South Carolina leads region in hydrogen economy
Monday, April 28, 2008

"Through the efforts of government, university and business leaders throughout the state, South Carolina is developing, demonstrating and deploying an energy infrastructure based on hydrogen gas and fuel cell power units. Just five years ago, a small group of visionaries gathered in regional meetings across South Carolina to ask what might be possible if a focused effort was placed on developing the market for fuel cells and hydrogen infrastructure in the Southeastern United States. Today, the Aiken County Economic Development Partnership is working with Bridgestone/Firestone South Carolina to deploy over 40 hydrogen and fuel cell powered lift trucks at its plant in Aiken County."  More

posted by Steve @ 7:59 AM, ,


Hydrogen power has an Edge

"As more consumers start demanding green products, Ford is looking to catch the environmental wave. The company gave the media a sneak peek into its sustainability initiatives with a demonstration of the Ford Edge with HySeries Drive on Thursday at the local Ford plant. The automaker claims it is the world's first drivable fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle. The Edge with HySeries Drive is a battery-powered, plug-in hybrid with a fuel cell that operates as an on-board charger. The vehicle runs in battery-only mode for the first 40 km at speeds up to 136 km/h. When the battery is depleted to approximately 40 per cent, the hydrogen-powered fuel cell auxiliary power unit starts and recharges the battery, giving it an additional 320 km of range."  More

posted by Steve @ 7:58 AM, ,


Hydrogen Cars for the Masses

"Ford began working on hydrogen technology in the early 1990s. The company's first hydrogen internal combustion engine demonstration vehicle, released in 2001, was based on a lightweight aluminum sedan body, which also was used in the development of the company's first drivable hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The company currently has a fleet of 30 hydrogen-powered Focus fuel cell vehicles on the road as part of a worldwide, seven-city program to conduct real world testing of fuel cell technology. The fleet has accumulated more than 650,000 miles since its inception. With this fleet on the ground, information is being generated in different local environmental conditions that can be integrated into future fuel cell vehicle propulsion systems." More

posted by Steve @ 7:57 AM, ,


Silicon Nanotubes May Outpace Carbon Nanotubes for Hydrogen Fuel Cells

"Watch out carbon-based batteries, silicon still has some juice left after all. While carbon and its extensive uses in various forms like nanotubes, graphene and buckyballs has been receiving scads of research and media time, another element, hydrogen, has made a consistent showing for its use as an alternative fuel. The promise of clean cars and long-lasting batteries has piqued the interest of our electric society. The two together have been shown to hold some incredible promise for powering all sorts of devices." More

posted by Steve @ 7:56 AM, ,


Peugeot Hydrogen-Electric Hybrid Delivery Van
Thursday, April 24, 2008

"Peugeot-Citroen and Intelligent Energy have built a hybrid delivery van featuring an electric powertrain supplemented by an all-new hydrogen fuel cell system.  Created under a three-year technology development partnership called H2Origin, the van uses an Intelligent Energy 10 kWe hyrdrogen fuel cell system that increases the otherwise hybrid vehicle to a 300km, or 187 mile range -- a threefold improvement over the electric only variant. The hydrogen storage system allows for the zero emission fuel to be secured in an exchangeable rack, allowing for quick and easy refueling, and and the ability to weather extreme conditions."  More

posted by Steve @ 7:44 PM, ,


Air Products Commercializes Alberta Hydrogen Plant

"Industrial gases provider Air Products Canada, has commercialized its new 100 million cubic-feet-per day hydrogen plant to serve the Petro-Canada refinery near Edmonton, Alberta, and other customers in the Alberta Heartlands industrial corridor."  More

posted by Steve @ 7:42 PM, ,


Department of Defense Announces Hydrogen Funding Scheme

"An announcement requesting research proposals concerning the design and development of hydrogen storage systems, for use by the military, was made by the Naval Surface Warfare Center and the Defense Logistics Agency.  Proposals must be submitted by May 23rd and can consist of "basic research, applied research, or advanced technology development not related to the development of a specific system or hardware procurement". According to the Broad Agency Announcement, development awards are expected to range between $500,000 (£252,000) and $1.5 million." More

posted by Steve @ 7:40 PM, ,


The Power of Pond Scum: Biodiesel and Hydrogen From Algae

" As anyone who has had to clean a swimming pool or fish tank knows, algae grow quickly. All they need is light, carbon dioxide, and a little water to grow like, well, weeds. It turns out that algae produce oil that can be processed to make biodiesel. In some species, this oil represents more than half of the plantlike organism's mass. Researchers are also trying to genetically alter algae to make them give off copious amounts of hydrogen to meet the needs of future fuel-cell-powered cars." More

posted by Steve @ 7:38 PM, ,


California offers funding for improved hydrogen felling stations

"California's Air Resources Board (ARB) is offering US$7.7m to construct and improve hydrogen-fuelling stations in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. The deadline for funding application is 13 June 2008." More (subscription)

posted by Steve @ 7:36 PM, ,


'Car Talk' Guys Looks at Hydrogen Cars
Monday, April 21, 2008

"As the boys joke about various prototypes, they learn that changing an economy based on petroleum won't be easy.  There they are at rush hour in Reykjavik, Iceland, where gas is $8 a gallon, riding a hydrogen-powered bus. There they are, in hunter hats, learning about geothermal power as steam shoots up their pant legs."  More

posted by Steve @ 8:05 AM, ,


Business Journal: Alternative Fuels

"Fuel cell cars powered by hydrogen produce no tailpipe emissions. Research continues to improve this technology, and UT-Chattanooga is among research locations. California has most of the private-access hydrogen fuel stations now in operation." More

posted by Steve @ 8:03 AM, ,


Hydrogen Car Project Begins
Saturday, April 19, 2008


More

posted by Steve @ 9:24 PM, ,


Gas Purification Primer

"A number of commercial processes are available for removing hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from natural gas, tail gas from the Claus Process (containing un-reactive sulfur compounds, particularly CS2 and COS), coke-oven gas, pyrolysis gas and solution tail gas from heavy oil production. These processes are often limited by economics and technology." More

posted by Steve @ 9:22 PM, ,


How Soon will you have a Reasonably Priced Hydrogen Vehicles
Friday, April 18, 2008

"Project Driveway is the first step in what we hope to be the introduction of increasingly larger fleets of fuel cell vehicles into the market. With each wave of these vehicles, we expect the technology to ultimately become more capable of competing with a traditional gasoline vehicle in terms of durability and cost. Eventually, we anticipate these vehicles will drive 300 miles with no harmful emissions and using no petroleum! To the extent all of these efforts are successful, the energy and environmental impact could be significant." More

posted by Steve @ 9:09 AM, ,


California Earmarks $7.7m to Spark Hydrogen Gas Station Expansion

"The viability of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles across California took a step forward this week with the announcement that the Air Resources Board (ARB) is set to make $7.7m available to support the improvement and development of hydrogen fuelling stations. The ARB said it was inviting firms looking to construct new stations or improve existing refuelling infrastructure in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas to apply for access to the new funding before June 13th." More

posted by Steve @ 9:06 AM, ,


Toyota, GM and Hydrogen Power
Thursday, April 17, 2008

"Larry Burns, the General's vice president for research and development, basically said that as far as GM is concerned, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are ready for prime time. All they need is a fuel infrastructure to support them. He suggested that an infrastructure of 12,000 hydrogen stations would put 70 percent of the U.S. population within two miles of a hydrogen fueling station. Reaching this goal, he said, probably would cost about $24 billion." http://blog.toyota.com/2008/04/toyota-gm-and-h.html

posted by Steve @ 9:04 AM, ,


Samsung Developing Water-Powered Cell Phone Battery

"Samsung Electro-Mechanics has developed a micro-fuel cell and hydrogen generator that runs on water. When the handset is turned on, metal and water in the phone react to produce hydrogen gas. The gas is then supplied to the fuel cell where it reacts with oxygen in the air to generate power. Other fuel cells need methanol to produce hydrogen, while Samsung's needs only water. Since micro-fuel cells can generate up to three watts of electricity, they could be used in mobile devices. The new fuel cell could power a handset for ten hours, twice as long as rechargeable batteries." http://www.mobiledia.com/news/65860.html

posted by Steve @ 9:00 AM, ,


Hydrogen Fuel Stations in Britain

"Britain's first hydrogen fuel station will open on 17th April 2008 – another three hydrogen stations are planned for London and there will be at least twelve stations countrywide by 2010. The company that installed the fuel station, is also working with Transport for London (TfL) to build fuel stations for a fleet of 70 hydrogen-powered vehicles being introduced from next year. The vehicles will be a mixture of buses, vans, cars and motorcycles that will be used by the police and the fire brigade." http://www.eta.co.uk/node/10471

posted by Steve @ 8:58 AM, ,


A Futuristic Look at Hydrogen Vehicles
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

"Microwaves may one day be used on a variety of hydrocarbon sources to separate the hydrogen from the carbon atoms. Microwaves may be used on other hydrogen-rich compounds as well. In fact, there is now a patent pending on a plasma reactor that will use microwaves on ammonia to extract hydrogen from the chemical substance."  More

posted by Steve @ 8:23 AM, ,


MOF-74, A Potential Hydrogen-Storage Compound

A research team from NIST, the University of Maryland and the California Institute of Technology studied metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). One of several classes of materials that can bind and release hydrogen under the right conditions, they have some distinct advantages over competitors. In principle they could be engineered so that refueling is as easy as pumping gas at a service station is today, and MOFs don't require the high temperatures (110 to 500 C) some other materials need to release hydrogen. In particular, the team examined MOF-74, a porous crystalline powder developed at the University of California at Los Angeles. MOF-74 resembles a series of tightly packed straws comprised of mostly carbon atoms with columns of zinc ions running down the inside walls. A gram of the stuff has about the same surface area as two basketball courts. More

posted by Steve @ 8:21 AM, ,


Revolutionary Wind Project Set For Fall Launch

A cutting-edge project that may revolutionize how isolated communities are powered is on track to launch later this year. Since early 2007, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and some research partners have been preparing to install a system in Ramea that converts excess energy generated from wind turbines into hydrogen that will be stored and converted back to electricity. More

posted by Steve @ 8:19 AM, ,


Xynergy Corporation Moves Closer to Unveiling "Model T" Hydrogen Generator

"Xynergy Corporation (Other OTC:XYNG.PK), the upstart alternative energy company making noise with its bold announcements of its new invention, has predicted its hydrogen generator will become the "Model T" of all alternative energy generators. "We know what we have, and soon, so will the rest of the world," says interim CEO Joseph Emas. "We predict it will be superior to the model we originally anticipated, more dependable, less expensive, more accessible and easier to retrofit. We believe it will set the standard for alternative energy generators, just like the Model T Ford did in the advent of auto making." More

posted by Steve @ 8:18 AM, ,


A Hydrogen Based Car Engine Conversion In Your Car Now
Sunday, April 13, 2008

"Hydrogen fuel powered vehicles were thought to be the domain of large automobile companies, but things are changing. It may seem bold and daring to make such a major conversion on your car but it is actually just easy, effective and rewarding. Not only will a hydrogen system lower your gasoline consumption it will also be a great help to the environment by reducing the toxicity of the emissions to near zero. Water is released through the exhaust system; no more nasty carbon monoxide emissions, just pure water." More

posted by Steve @ 7:06 PM, ,


Distributed Hydrogen Production From Natural Gas : Independent Review
Friday, April 11, 2008

"The distributed hydrogen production Independent Review Panel has assessed the information available from NREL, DOE, and related industry efforts and has determined, through use of the H2A model, that the range in the total cost of producing hydrogen including a 10% internal rate of return (hereafter, total cost) is $2.75-$3.50 per kilogram. The "Distributed Hydrogen Production from Natural Gas -2005 Cost Goal" of $3.00 gge (or kg) is well within that range and thus adequate progress has been completed to meet the cost target." More

posted by Steve @ 8:15 PM, ,


New Highly Efficient Hydrogen-making Process Developed to Fuel Car Engines

"A new process that is said to be highly efficient in producing hydrogen (from plant sugars) has been developed to cheaply power vehicles with a hydrogen fuel cell. The new process was presented here in New Orleans at the 2008 National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. The study titled "Complete conversion of carbohydrate and water to hydrogen and carbohydrate dioxide by a synthetic enzymatic pathway" was presented by Dr. Percival Zhang, lead researcher from the Virginia Tech University. Dr. Zhang is a biochemical engineer." More

posted by Steve @ 8:14 PM, ,


New System Makes Hydrogen From Plant Sugar

"A U.S. scientist says he has developed a technology that can convert plant sugars into hydrogen to be used in hydrogen-fueled cars. Virginia Tech Assistant Professor Percival Zhang says the process involves combining plant sugars, water and a cocktail of powerful enzymes to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide under mild reaction conditions. "This is revolutionary work," said Zhang. "This has opened up a whole new direction in hydrogen research. With technology improvement, sugar-powered vehicles could come true eventually."" More

posted by Steve @ 8:12 PM, ,


Solar-Powered Hydrogen Fuel Station Opens in Woodland CA
Wednesday, April 09, 2008

"This is really the greenest clean energy source that one would get on the planet right now. Quite simply put, it does not use any kind of fossil fuel and in that sense it is not just green, but it does not even produce any emissions. The new fuel station that opened in Woodland, California, is the greenest power station that is available for a refill on the planet. It is an amalgamation of both solar energy and the process of electrolysis that separates Hydrogen from water." More

posted by Steve @ 8:06 PM, ,


In a First, Boeing Flies Hydrogen-Powered Plane

"US aircraft giant Boeing claimed Thursday a world first in putting into the air a plane powered by a hydrogen-cell battery, a breakthrough that could herald a greener future for the industry. For the first time in the history of aviation, Boeing has flown a manned airplane that was powered by a hydrogen battery," Boeing chief technology officer John Tracy said. The development was "a historical technological success for Boeing (and) ... full of promises for a greener future," Tracy told a news conference at the firm's research center in the central Spanish town of Ocana."  More

posted by Steve @ 5:21 PM, ,


Leno on Hydrogen Fueling Our Future: Jay's Green Garage
Thursday, April 03, 2008

More

posted by Steve @ 8:27 PM, ,


GM Pushes for More Hydrogen Stations

"General Motors on Wednesday said it has reached a stage in the development of fuel-cell electric vehicles where it "cannot continue to make significant progress" without a hydrogen filling station infrastructure.  It urged the energy industry and government to "step up and help automakers make volume production of fuel-cell electric vehicles a reality by opening more hydrogen fueling stations."" More

posted by Steve @ 8:24 PM, ,


UK Leads Hydrogen Research
Wednesday, April 02, 2008

"... researchers at Polar Foil plc, a company which until now has specialised in research on the effects of global warming on the Arctic and Antarctic, have worked out a way of miniaturising hydrogen generators used at home to make them suitable for use in medium to large cars. Storage in the form of solid hydrides, chemical compounds of hydrogen and a metal or semi-metal, are possibilities, but have not been well suited to automotive applications." More

posted by Steve @ 5:36 PM, ,


Air Products Surpasses 50,000th Hydrogen Fueling

"By way of cars, trucks, vans, buses, scooters, forklifts and even submarines, Air Products , the global leader in hydrogen fueling infrastructure and technology, surpassed a milestone when it completed its 50,000th hydrogen fill. Fueling hydrogen powered transportation vehicles and other varied applications in 14 countries, this trend-setting technology involving Air Products know-how, equipment, and hydrogen continues to be increasingly used at a pace of approximately 2,000 hydrogen fills per month." More

posted by Steve @ 5:35 PM, ,