HyEngine

Over the past year I’ve exchanged a few emails with Jonas Grooten of HyEngine Solutions. Instead of working on fuel cells, HyEngine converts vehicles with internal combustion engines to run on hydrogen.

Here is what Jonas Grooten had to say in his last email:

“My colleague, Olivier Vanhaelen, asked me to give you an update about our projects. Our HyRacer project is currently finished. We have implemented our 1.6 L Honda engine into a Honda Civic, which can now drive completely hydrogen powered with the same performances as when it drives on petrol (both 82 HP without use of turbo or compression). Thanks to our patented technology, we also do not have any backfire-problems.

“Our technicians are currently working on our next project: The HyMega. The HyMega will be a small logistical application for indoor & outdoor use. For this, we are converting a 700cc engine which will deliver about 15 HP.

“Furthermore are we currently developing a kart engine. By implementing an H2 ICE in a kart, we want to provide 0-emission kart engines which will maintain all the aspects of karting as we currently know it (vibrations, sound). We expect this project to be finished by the end of February.”

While many companies are investing their time, energy, resources and money into fuel cell vehicles, HyEngine is taking a practical and cost-effective approach of converting internal combustion engines to run on hydrogen.

Here’s a PDF that explains in more detail what HyEngine is doing.

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.

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.

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.

According to Bloomberg, “Fuel cells generate electricity in the chemical reaction that combines hydrogen and oxygen to create water. BMW has largely ignored the technology in the past, focusing research on burning liquid hydrogen in a combustion engine. Daimler AG, the world’s third-biggest luxury-vehicle manufacturer, plans to introduce a fuel-cell-powered version of the Mercedes-Benz B- Class compact by 2014.

“The talks between BMW and Detroit-based GM were reported Dec. 10 by Germany’s WirtschaftsWoche magazine, which said the carmakers are close to signing a deal as early as January.”

In 1966, GM developed the first Electrovan hydrogen fuel cell car and has been leading the other automakers ever since. BMW, however, has been late to the fuel cell game as they have chosen for many years to use cryogenic liquid hydrogen and run it through an internal combustion engine in a dual fuel system.

The problem with this arrangement is that most of the other large automakers have been developing fuel cell vehicles that run on compressed hydrogen gas. Most of the fueling stations today deliver compressed hydrogen gas and not liquid hydrogen.

So, it wasn’t until March 2010, that BMW put out its first fuel cell vehicle, so at least it would be in the same game as the other fuel cell automakers. This arrangement with General Motors will help BMW catch up on fuel cell technology. The benefit to both partners will be splitting the high costs of developing fuel cell systems with the eye towards bringing down costs which they can pass along to consumers.

If both automakers are to have a hydrogen-powered fuel cell car rolling off the production lines by 2015 (as the 8 major carmakers have stated as their deadline) they both will need a little help. And this partnership may be just what is needed in order to be competitive in the hydrogen car marketplace a few years from now.

Toyota FCV-R

Tokyo Motor Show 2011 is a little more than two weeks away and there is some buzz already about the two new fuel cell vehicles that will be unveiled during the event. Even, though the Japanese tsunami put a dent in the auto industry, the show must go on, as they say and the Tokyo Motor Show is leading the charge.

First up, automaker Daihatsu has decided that it will unveil its FC Sho Case automobile. This concept car will be powered by a liquid fuel cell that uses no precious metals such as platinum, thus driving down the cost of the vehicle.

The Daihatsu FC Sho Case uses a metal-free liquid fuel cell system that is fitted underneath the floorboard of the vehicle giving passengers more room and storage space. According to Daihatsu, the FC Sho Case is classified as a light automobile.

And the Toyota FCV-R fuel cell concept car is also supposed to be unveiled at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. The Toyota FCV-R is a midsize sedan than runs on compressed hydrogen gas. This sedan is supposed to be available for commercial sale in 2015.

And this is big news. For the past 10 years (since 1992) the Toyota FCHV and now the upgraded Toyota FCHV-adv, (which is basically a Highlander SUV with a fuel cell system inside it) has been the vehicle of choice that the world’s largest automaker has been bringing to car shows.

Toyota has been saying for months now that when they come to market with a production fuel cell vehicle the cost will be around $50,000. The assumption has been that the FCHV-adv was the vehicle that Toyota was referring to since it was the only one they were showing.

Now this assumption has been turned on its ear. Earlier this year I had called for Toyota to create a hydrogen fuel cell car that was an alternative to the FCHV-adv SUV since I thought there would be a broader market for a smaller car come 2015. I thought this mainly because the Toyota Corolla is the highest selling car of all time and SUV’s don’t start to appear until you hit the top 30+ list.

So, now the question is which of these vehicles does Toyota intend to sell for $50,000 in 2015? Since patience is a virtue and Toyota has not officially unveiled their FCV-R yet, we’ll have to wait for this answer.

Turkey Fuel Cell Car

This won’t be the first time I’ve talked turkey about Turkey. In July 2011, I had spoken about how Turkey had built the EkoKaravan that runs off a variety of energy sources including hydrogen. Turkish engineers had also built the SAHIMO hydrogen car and an H2 refueling station as well.

Now, with Thanksgiving only a few weeks away it’s time to talk Turkey again. Unlike most other hydrogen cars on the road this one is special. Most of today’s H2 cars run on compressed hydrogen gas or a few run on cryogenic liquid hydrogen.

The new car developed in Turkey runs off sodium borohydride (NaBH4), a hydrogen rich chemical carrier for H2. Borohydride is made from the chemical element boron of which Turkey owns 70-percent of the world’s supply.

So, it only makes sense that a country rich in boron would develop a fuel cell vehicle made from a borohydride (there are different varieties such as sodium borohydride, lithium borohydride, etc.).

According to the Hurriyet Daily News, “Turkey, the land of boron minerals, has a considerable capacity of refined borates besides being the biggest borate ore producer of the world. Although 71 percent of the reserves are in Turkey, about 92 percent of the production is exported worldwide and 8 percent is used domestically, according to BOREN data.”

So, you see, Turkey is not only developing a product with their fuel cell car but they are also a unique supplier for the fuel for this car. This reminds me of the manufacturers of small desktop printers who make more money selling ink than they do in the printers themselves.

So, if Turkey plays their cards right (or cars right) they will be able sometime in the future to export fuel cell cars and the fuel to countries eager to step into the 21^st century.

According to Taiwan Today, “At the opening of the new facility, the university presented its research achievements in using microbial technology to transform agricultural waste biomass into fuel for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

“The university said a hydrogen concept vehicle has been test driven on the campus for the past year, adding that the findings of this testing could be used for future hydrogen energy research. Lee Bing-jean, vice president of the university, said the hydrogen fuel cell car produces only water vapor and no air pollutants and is therefore 100-percent environmentally friendly.”

In November 2010, I had talked about Taiwan setting up swappable hydrogen canister stations throughout the country for H2-powered motor scooters and microcars. In July 2011, I had talked about how APFCT was building 10 fuel cell microcars and 10 fuel cell scooters and had just gotten permission to build another 80 hydrogen fuel cell scooters.

While I’ve talked before about the Hawaiian Island of Oahu potentially becoming the first true Hydrogen Island in existence, it looks like Taiwan keeps cranking up the pressure in this race and this country may ultimately claim this achievement as their own.

But, no matter who wins the crown of First Hydrogen Island, the competition is the important aspect that will drive both locations to achieving their goals faster and will more urgency that they would without any competing forces. And we will all benefit as a result.

Hydrogen Car Fueling

A Honda FCX Clarity, Opel HydroGen4, Mercedes B Class Hydrogen Fuel Cell, Toyota FCHV-adv and Hyundai ix35 FCEV were all tested recently at a racetrack 15 miles outside of Paris, France. All vehicles were fueled courtesy of industrial gas company Air Liquide.

I had talked a few days ago about Air Liquide being high on hydrogen forklifts, palette trucks and other kinds of lift trucks. But this major industrial specialty gas company also sees a bright future in selling hydrogen gas especially in the European marketplace.

The five hydrogen-powered cars previously mentioned were tested on a racetrack called Circuit de Marcoussis. On this racetrack, people and companies can test everything from go karts to ATVs to hydrogen cars to racecars and all types of vehicles in-between.

This was a media event appealing to French journalists. The reporters quickly saw the value of the hydrogen cars in regard to quiet ride, zero emissions, refueling in 5 minutes and a range of 270 mile – 350 miles, depending upon the make and model of vehicle.

As of 2008, the European Hydrogen Highway had about as many hydrogen fueling stations open as the United States. Now, I believe there are a few more open in the EU than the U. S. because of the aggressive approach Europe has taken towards building out the needed infrastructure. France has 5 hydrogen fueling stations and with a little more promotion such as this media event, they will likely be building out substantially more within the next 5 years.

Toyota FCHV-adv at UCLA

A select group of UCLA carpoolers will get to drive a Toyota fuel cell vehicle for 3 months before handing over the vehicle to the next group of drivers. Toyota decided to team up with UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability to get real world feedback about driving their FCHV-adv fuel cell vehicle under normal conditions.

UCLA’s “gutty little Bruins” who test drive the vehicle will be located in Irvine, Burbank and Torrance, California, which are three cities that already have hydrogen fueling stations operational for the drivers to use. UCLA has a long history of using alternative fuel vehicles on their campuses. Since the 1980’s over 40-percent of the vehicles on the campus run on alternative fuels such as low-speed electric or compressed natural gas.

According to UCLA, “The first carpools will begin commuting together by the end of October, once they’re trained to operate the vehicle and fill up the tank. Three cars will go on the road, and one will stay at UCLA as a back-up. Transportation selected the carpoolers by contacting parking-permit holders who live within a few miles of the chosen hydrogen stations. After checking for people with similar work schedules – and clean driving records – carpools of three to four people per car will be created.”

UCLA has stated a couple of reasons to engage with Toyota on this project are to cut emissions at the campuses and convert students into carpoolers (and perhaps in the future converting them into buyers of alternative fuel vehicles as well). And there is one more study that UCLA intends to conduct and that is to find out, “… more about what motivates people to take the leap to green transportation.”

UCLA has posted an FAQ section about this project for more information.