Comments on: Scientists Work On Briefcase Size Hydrogen Storage for Vehicles

By: James

James — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:47:08 +0000

Like everything that gets posted here. In another 10 or 20 years it may work but no one can afford it.
We are still at 1939 with our electric auto.
I don’t think it will make my 28 foot motor home go very far or take me and my little fishing boat to the lake and back.
As for charging the battery in 10 min. you better have all connections clean and tight or the car will melt or explode like a bomb.
Welding is the art of controling a loose electric connection at high currents.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:34:22 +0000

You’re right that the electric motor doesn’t care. If you know of a lithium ion battery or ultracapacitor the size of a briefcase that can power a car for 300 miles and recharge in 10 minutes economically, I would be most interested in checking it out. I’m sure the day will come when there will be such a battery, but the question (just like hydrogen cars) is when.

By: Chris Johnson

Chris Johnson — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:33:43 +0000

Sir: Please ‘splain me why storing hydrogen in a briefcase sized tank would be superior to storing electrons in the tank. Am I wrong, or does the electric motor powering the vehicle really care whether the electricity came from a fuel cell or a battery / ultracapacitor?

Might customers prefer to avoid paying for a fuel cell (or ICE) if it’s not needed to strip electrons from hydrogen? What advantage would the fuel cell provide?

Regarding tank capacity, how much more power could those same nanotubes (or graphene sheets) store if electrons rather than dihydrogen was the commodity being stored? Twice as much? Three or four times as much? I honestly don’t know and would be most grateful if you could cure my ignorance thereof.