Remember fuel cells? They're the perpetually "ten years away" technology that will allow us to drive around in electric cars that emit nothing but thirst quenching water droplets. Sounds refreshing eh?
Well, there are still a few problems to overcome. It's not quite as convenient as a battery-powered electric car, namely because the ratio of electric outlets to hydrogen fueling stations is roughly 10 billion to one.
Then there's the fact that creating hydrogen fuel requires massive amounts of electricity. Hmm....using electricity to create hydrogen that you then turn back into electricity? Sounds like cutting out the middle man might be easier, no?
Just bumps in the road according to the various automakers who are working on such systems. GM is one of them and it recently announced that its latest hydrogen fuel cell is smaller, lighter and uses less platinum that the setup in its earlier Equinox test vehicles. The new system has been installed in yet another Equinox and delivered to one Stephanie White, a biologist who's really into this kind of stuff. According to GM officials, the technology in Ms. White's Equinox could be ready for mass production by 2015. We'll see.
e90_m3 says:
02:19 PM, 03/17/10
Women in science > women in everything else
7driver says:
02:25 PM, 03/17/10
Ed,
Fuel cells run on more than just hydrogen gas. For example, these guys are powering their fuel cells off of natural gas:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/22/bloom-energy-boxes/
http://www.bloomenergy.com/
fst1 says:
02:58 PM, 03/17/10
@7driver: True, there are many ways to make hydrogen fuel, but in this case, the Shell station that Ms. White will use most often uses electricity. From Shell's press release:
"Hydrogen produced at the Shell station will be done on-site by the electrolysis of water using ‘green electricity’ purchased from the Los Angeles City Department of Water & Power. It will then be compressed and stored to provide daily fueling."
stovt001 says:
04:18 PM, 03/17/10
How long does it take to refuel with hydrogen? Long refueling/recharging times are a big drawback to natural gas and electric vehicles. If the refueling time is short, hydrogen refueling infrastructure expands, and someone finds a way to get the hydrogen in an energy efficient manner, they may be on to something and then this progress is very, very good. Unfortunately, those are three big "ifs".
7driver says:
04:27 PM, 03/17/10
Ed,
No, no, no. You still don't get it. In a Bloom fuel cell, hydrogen gas is *not* generated/produced as an intermediate step. Natural gas goes in, electricity comes out.
Here's how it works:
http://www.bloomenergy.com/products/solid-oxide-fuel-cell-animation/
fst1 says:
08:33 PM, 03/17/10
@7driver: This Chevy Equinox does not use a Bloom fuel cell, so it's energy is coming from electricity not natural gas.
wrinklebump says:
07:23 AM, 03/18/10
I'd glad GM hasn't killed this R&D yet. It's by far the most interesting of the alternative fuels.
stephsfuelcell says:
12:04 AM, 03/20/10
@stovt001 - In answer to your 3 big "IFs":
1) H2 fueling takes about as long as filling your tank up with gasoline (3-5 mins). 2) I'm in the sweet spot for preliminary hydrogen infrastructure: 3 stations within 6 miles of home; 10 miles or work; 10 miles from my parents; and a few others stns (Irvine, Riverside), just in case. To be sure I don't get stuck somewhere, I keep my outward trips to no more than 80mi radius from a fueling stn. 3) H2 is a fantastic bridge between today's fossil-fuel dependency and tmw's alternative energy sources. It can be generated a myriad of ways (one stn from natural gas, two from city electricity & water) -- and it is as green & as inexpensive as the source it is made from (this is the wheel-to-wheels analysis), all without the need to change your car to the "next" alt-fuel.
Pretty cool, eh?!
stephsfuelcell says:
12:08 AM, 03/20/10
@teleiosgt Bummer there wasn't a big red bow for the pic, but they couldn't do that without giving me the car forever, right? ;)