Hydrogen Prius Plug-in

One of the last times I had talked about Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and their inventive professor Dr. Clifton Ricketts was in April 2007. At that time Dr. Ricketts was figuring out how to break his own land-speed record for hydrogen cars at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

This time, however, the goal is a little different. Dr. Ricketts along with some students a MTSU are converting a Toyota Prius Plug-in hybrid vehicle to run on hydrogen, solar power and cellulosic ethanol.

During Spring Break this year while other students are headed for Daytona Beach, these students will be taking a road trip from Savannah, GA to Long Beach, CA.

According to the Farm Credit Services website, “The trip will begin in early March in Savannah, GA in a converted Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid. On each 750-mile leg of the trip, the first 100 miles will be powered by solar energy, followed by 200 miles of hydrogen gas power. The next 350 miles will be fueled by 85 percent cellulosic ethanol, with the last 100 miles coming from on-board regeneration of the solar-powered batteries.”

Now, when we are talking about solar power we are also talking about hydrogen power since ¾ of the Sun is made up of hydrogen gas (the rest is helium plus trace amounts of other elements). So, this car in essence is doubly powered by hydrogen.

So, what is next for Dr. Ricketts? In 2013 he plans to make the same trip in a vehicle powered by hydrogen from water and solar energy without the use of ethanol.

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The last time I had talked about the Town of Hempstead (part of Long Island, NY) was back in February, 2009. At that point they were installing their first hydrogen fueling station and fueling up a GM Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle which was part of the automaker’s Project Driveway program.

But, now the Town of Hempstead has decided they want more. The town has wanted a cleaner and greener way to produce the hydrogen gas for fueling its cars and buses. So, they have gone ahead and installed a 100 kw wind turbine that will electrolyze water and create the needed hydrogen.

According to the Town of Hempstead, “The wind turbine, which is located the township’s Conservation and Waterways Department in Point Lookout, stands 121 feet tall. The ‘windmill’ is capable of generating up to 180 megawatts of power per year. Powered by winds off the Atlantic coast, the turbine will provide an almost continuous source of energy that will facilitate a water-to-hydrogen process.

“The resulting hydrogen fuel is dispensed from Long Island’s only hydrogen fueling station, located adjacent to the turbine. Ultimately, the hydrogen fuel is utilized to power Toyota fuel-cell vehicles operated by the town, as well as a hydrogen/natural gas bus. The town is negotiating with another major fuel-cell vehicle manufacturer to secure additional cars.”

Now, one would think that a wind turbine this size could do more than power a couple of hydrogen cars and a bus. And this is true. The excess energy is being put back into the local grid to help power homes and businesses cleanly and greenly. The Town of Hempstead is ahead of the curve in regard to clean energy, lowering their carbon footprint and advocating for hydrogen cars as a clean source of future transportation.

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A UK firm called RE Hydrogen has invented a hydrogen compressor that is 30-percent the cost of others on the market. This means that not only can the compressors be smaller but the complimentary electrolyzers can be smaller and less costly as well.

According to The Engineer, “Small-scale hydrogen production is a potential way to capture and store energy from renewable sources and provide fuel for hydrogen-powered vehicles in place of large-scale infrastructure, as well as for industrial usage.

“RE Hydrogen has already developed an electrolyser that operates at up to 5KW at atmospheric pressure and is more than 90 per cent cheaper than most conventional models. Its latest compressor is designed to increase pressure from 1 to 350 bar in a single step.

“Most conventional devices would either require around five stages of compression with cooling in between to get up to the levels needed for storage or need the hydrogen to be produced at a higher pressure increasing the cost of the electrolyser.”

If low cost home hydrogen fueling stations can be developed this will significantly decrease the need for a nationwide buildup of larger hydrogen fueling stations across the highways of the nation. As EV and PHEV advocates say, most drivers on a daily basis travel less than 30 – 40 miles including to their jobs.

Home hydrogen refueling would offer the same advantages plus quicker refueling times. The compressor created by RE Hydrogen also has implications for larger hydrogen fueling stations as well since with this new, less expensive technology, more companies will be taking smaller risks in buying the equipment (especially fleet owners at first) and it will take less time to recoup their initial investments.

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In September 2008, I had first talked about South Africa trying to market platinum for fuel cells worldwide. You see, South Africa mines about 80-percent of the world’s supply of platinum and would like to continue selling this expensive metal long into the future.

But, it hasn’t been until recently that South Africa has actually started using hydrogen fuel cells themselves. And now they have taken another symbolic and practical step in this direction.

According to Mining Weekly, “Platinum miner Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) expects to put a fuel-cell powered mine locomotive through its paces in the first half of this year.

“The locomotive will initially be tested on surface at Amplats’ Dishaba mine, which is situated in the Limpopo province … The point of the demonstration will be to show that fuel-cell powered locomotives can provide superior efficiency and productivity and offer zero-emission underground transport.”

Amplats is the world’s largest producer of platinum, so it’s only fitting that they would be using a locomotive fitted with a platinum-bearing hydrogen fuel cell to mine, well, more platinum.

The only problem with this scenario is that South Africa is getting into the platinum fuel cell business a little late. I’ve talked about at length over the past 5 or so years about all of the research and development going into creating platinum-free fuel cells, since platinum is the most expensive material in fuel cells used in the transportation industry.

But, if no quality replacement can be found for platinum in fuel cells, then South Africa is in a unique position to capitalize on their abundant natural resource, create jobs and money and help create cleaner air while doing so.

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I’ve talked many times over the past years about the German H2Mobility plan. Germany and the surrounding countries have been planning a European Union Hydrogen Highway system for the past decade. Part of this H2 highway system has included the United Kingdom.

Well, now the UK has decided to get more focused on the 2015 deadline when the major automakers say they will start rolling out hydrogen cars. And thus the UKH2Mobility Program has been formed.

The goals of UKH2Mobility according to the United Kingdom government website are:
“Analyse in detail the specific UK case for the introduction of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles as one of a number of solutions to decarbonise road transport and quantify the potential emissions benefits;

“Review the investments required to commercialise the technology, including refueling infrastructure; and

“Identify what is required to make the UK a leading global player in hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle manufacturing thereby paving the way for economic opportunities to the UK, through the creation of new jobs and boosting of local economies.”

Car manufacturers along with the gas and utility companies plus other companies involved in the creation of the needed hydrogen infrastructure have joined the UKH2Mobility program and have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to share their technological achievements without borders.

In the past couple of years the UK Hydrogen Highway has already started to take shape. The UKH2Mobility program will give what is already in progress a boost to make sure that the United Kingdom is a major player when demand starts to pick up quickly for hydrogen products and services.

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Osaka Hydrogen Car

A group of Japanese students at Osaka Sangyo University took it upon themselves to build a hydrogen car and unveiled it in Tokyo last Friday. They didn’t have the usual support system in place in which to do this.

According to the Mainichi Daily News, “This is the first successful fuel cell electric vehicle project in Japan not backed by a major car company.

“The vehicle was built as part of Osaka Sangyo University’s ongoing research on fuel cells and hydrogen fuel as a potential power source for future generations of automobiles. The students assembled the car in their spare time using parts they bought on the open market.”

This sporty two person car (can anyone guess the make and model used?) has a battery output of 7.5 kW which isn’t a lot plus a top speed of just under 50 mph, which again isn’t a lot.

But, when you consider that the students took this project on themselves without the help of the major car companies, sourced the parts from what are already on the market and were able to build this kind of hydrogen car one has to be impressed.

It is this kind of ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that will move our society forward both technologically and economically. Kudos to the students at Osaka Sangyo University. Let’s hope they have set an example for students and others across the world to fight for the causes you believe in even when the obstacles at first may seem insurmountable.

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innish H2 Fueling Station

I’ve talked many times and in many of the past years how hydrogen fuel cells are lighting up Christmas around the world. Now, Santa is getting his own hydrogen fueling station and one that he’s willing to share with others.

H2 Logic decided it would be logical to place a hydrogen fueling station in Finland 150 meters above the polar circle at the Arctic Driving Centre (pictured above). At this frigid northern outpost the temperatures will dip at time as low as -49 F.

In the past I’ve quipped that in the future I believe one day Santa’s sled will be powered by hydrogen fuel cell. The H2 Logic fueling station is 700 bar meaning it dispenses hydrogen gas at 10,000 dpi for long journeys around the North Pole and elsewhere.

This H2Station from H2 Logic was manufactured in accordance with SAE J2601 specifications. The fast fill station will refuel most hydrogen vehicles in 3 minutes or under.

The Finnish fueling station will give engineers a chance to test not only the station but how H2 fueled cars and other vehicles perform in extremely cold weather. The Finnish educational system for decades has been ranked in the top in the world (way ahead of the United States).

So, my guess is (being ½ Finnish myself, second generation) is that this is a very smart move that will showcase that hydrogen cars and fueling stations are ready for prime time. From desert sands to the Arctic Circle, hydrogen cars and fueling stations perform as one would expect, reliably and without a lot of drama.

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In my last post, I had talked about a fleet of 3-wheel hydrogen vehicles called HyAlfa being rolled out in India. These vehicles use converted internal combustion engines (ICE) for power.

Today I want to talk about a different company in India Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., who has contracted Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc. (QTWW) in Lake Forest, California to develop hydrogen fuel systems for mini buses.

I get a lot of email from people interested in converting their vehicles with internal combustion engines to run on compressed hydrogen gas. When I respond to their emails on my short list of vendors is Quantum.

So, one of India’s top vehicle makers, Mahindra & Mahindra is asking Quantum to convert Mahindra’s 2.5L engine to run on compressed hydrogen gas. Quantum will also supply their own ultra-light fuel tanks, fuel injection system, electronics and computer controls to optimize performance on the vehicle.

Sometimes we get so caught up talking about hydrogen fuel cells that we forget there are other viable options when it comes to hydrogen technology. Right now, one of the less expensive options is converting ICE vehicles to run on hydrogen. India is grabbing hold of this wisdom and running with it.

In case you’re wondering, two other companies on my short list for hydrogen car conversions are Intergalactic Hydrogen and Collier Technologies.

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HyAlfa

I first talked about the Hy-Alfa (at that time it was hyphenated) in August 2009. Back then it was something that was being worked on in India, but there were no guarantees that it would ever make it to the testing phase.

Now, a fleet of HyAlfa (no hyphen) three-wheel vehicles have been rolled out to be tested in everyday use. The HyAlfa uses an internal combustion engine which has been converted from running CNG to running compressed hydrogen gas.

According to The Hindu, “The project took three years and over $1 million. Part of a development project dubbed DelHy 3w, a fleet of 15 HyAlfa three-wheelers will run on an experimental basis at Pragati Maidan, where a hydrogen refueling station has also been set up.

“The India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), which organizes trade fairs at Pragati Maidan, will use the vehicles on an experimental basis.”

The HyAlfa gets around 48 miles per gallon equivalent and will help develop the untapped sector of three-wheel hydrogen vehicles.

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Mercedes E Superlight

While critics are disregarding the wisdom of rolling out hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the year 2015, Mercedes (and all of the other major automakers) is plunging straight ahead. Assuming that we all make it past the Mayan end of times prophecy for December 21, 2012, perhaps the dawning of the Age of Aquarius is actually the beginning of a new energy paradigm especially in the transportation sector.

Mercedes will be doing its part by selling small production quantities of the E Superlight hydrogen fuel cell car in 2015.

According to MSN Autos, the Mercedes E Superlight will run using “… a 150-horsepower fuel cell driving the rear wheels in conjunction with a 500-horsepower electric motor. It will be a 4-door saloon based loosely on the next-generation E-Class, and it will eschew aluminum architecture for a full carbon-fiber monocoque that fully integrates the suspension and drivetrain. Also: suicide doors. Even cooler from a visual standpoint: Said suicide doors won’t need reinforcing B-posts, thanks to the strength of the carbon material.”

So, what is interesting about this to me is that Mercedes is downplaying the fuel cell as no big deal since they’ve already agreed to put out one or more models of fuel cell vehicles by 2015. With the E Silverlight, Mercedes is featured the carbon fiber body on its mid-size 4 door sedan which is strong, durable, lightweight and fuel efficient.

In fact, Mercedes is so matter-of-fact about the fuel cell in the vehicle that its says it will roll this out first, and if all works out well, it may offer the same sedan with other powertrains later such as diesel, gasoline and some sort of plug-in hybrid. Clearly Mercedes is thinking fuel cell first with the E Superlight.

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