Replacing Oil Blog

Eight different auto manufacturers drove from Portland, Maine to Los Angeles in modified hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. I was pleasantly surprised with this video from GreenEnergyTV despite the opening, “It was a finish with no medals but many firsts”. Please!

The purpose of the cross country trip was to spread the word. Sadly, most Americans I meet still confuse hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with dubious “HHO Technology” that allows you to mystically “run your car on water”. I’m hoping that the hundreds of people that peeked under the hoods realize that these cars use electric motors.

I can’t understand the statements from the Hyundai representative who offers his insight on fuel cell vehicle manufacturing: “who knows exactly when we’ll see a hydrogen vehicle”. He must be familiar with Honda’s FCX Clarity, a 100% “Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle”. It might be limited to areas with available filling stations, but we’re seeing them right now, just not from Hyundai.

Honda’s FCX Clarity may be the most promising hydrogen fuel cell vehicle today, but good luck getting one. They’re only leasing 200 this year, and even those will only be offered in Southern California. It appears they’re being very selective about who they allow to pay $600 a month for the cars, instead of a first come first serve system.

It’s not easy to lease a new FCX Clarity

I just saw that the 2nd of only 200 people to receive the world’s first automobile engineered specifically for hydrogen fuel cell power will be Jamie Lee Curtis and her husband. She hasn’t starred in anything I’ve enjoyed since she did a very memorable strip tease in that movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Does anybody remember what it was called?

I’ll dance in my underwear for a FCX Clarity!

Is that what it takes to be allowed the opportunity to pay $600 a month to lease this car? A strip tease for a future governor? If so, most of us stand little chance of ever driving one. At least now I understand why they’re only leasing them in Southern California.

Hydrogen Filling Stations Please!

Unless you live in Washington DC, New York State, or Southern California you’ll probably only be able to see the FCX Clarity on youtube. Hydrogen is getting cheaper and the amount of filling stations and infrastructure will expand, but when? I want one now!

Hydrogen, How Low Can You Go?

Two weeks ago a Penn State research team supported by a DOE grant found a way to produce hydrogen directly from solar energy using nanotubes in a photoelectrochemical diode. This means that the energy from the sun is directly stored in the form of hydrogen. Depending on the cost of the arrays, once they’re being manufactured, this could mean some super cheap hydrogen.

Just over a week ago Global Hydrogen Inc. reported that they could produce hydrogen for $2.47 per kg. using higher efficiency electrolysis generators. Surprising enough the industry average for hydrogen production is about $3.57/kg. To put that in perspective the Honda’s new FCX Clarity runs between 60-70 miles on a kg of hydrogen. So now, instead of paying $10 to drive 200 miles, you can go 300. Cheap!

An MIT researcher did something, everybody pay attention!

I’m very shocked by the lack of attention heaped on the Penn State research team and Global Hydrogen, it seems their developments went largely unnoticed. I guess they should of included a photo of themselves looking intelligent, yet rugged, like MIT researcher Daniel C. Nocera.

It’s not that his findings aren’t significant, they certainly are. Platinum costs around $2000 an ounce and is the main expense in both electrolysis equipment (makes H2O just H and O) and hydrogen fuel cells (generates electricity by letting H and O come back together). Basically the MIT team found a way to do it with cobalt and phosphate which are, compared to platinum, practically free.

Where do I fill up the FCX Clarity that I can’t purchase?

Unless you live in California, Washington D.C. or New York State you have to enviously watch other prople fill up their fuel cell vehicles, but not the FCX Clarity they’re still testing the first 100 production models in Southern California.

While watching remember that it only costs $10 to fill it up and then quickly compose a scathing letter to your state legislators demanding hydrogen filling stations!

I’ve been saying this for years

I haven’t spent a great deal on research as an individual, but it doesn’t take a team of mathematicians to realize that there’s a gold mine of energy in the Saharan desert. I often get bewildered looks from friends, and the occasional stranger, when I try to tell them that North Africa could quite easily be the wealthiest region in the world. According to Arnulf Jaeger-Waldau of the European commission’s Institute for Energy, just 0.3% of the light falling on the Sahara and Middle East deserts would be enough to meet all of Europe’s energy needs.

That doesn’t seem so difficult now, does it?

Problem #1: Photovoltaic cells or turbines?

Right now there’s debate between photovoltaic cells or turbines powered by steam created by an array of mirrors. Personally I’ve never been a fan of the turbine technology, it just seems like a dead end. Photovoltaic cell technology on the other hand is constantly being improved. New breakthroughs involving nanotechnology make photovoltaic cells a much more exciting choice. Steam and turbines … BORING!

Problem solved for 45 billion Euros

Problem#2 Distrubution via high voltage cables? Why not hydrogen?

There are a few reasons I don’t like the direct cable to Europe. First, they would limit Saharan nation’s power export markets to European countries that are connected to the “supergrid,” instead of being able to sell their power to the highest bidder. Second, what happens when a massive dust storm reduces electricity across solar farms in the Sahara? Both problems could easily be solved by using hydrogen to store and distribute power effectively.

I’m sure we’ll be hearing something from Greg Blencoe’s Hydrogen Discoveries Blog on the subject of infrastructure soon enough. I’d be very interested to know how the energy lost on a DC line from the Saharan Desert to Paris stacks up against transportation of hydrogen via pipeline or canister.

The idea of a European supergrid powered entirely by renewable energy is exciting in itself. It’s hard to believe such a radical departure from traditional power distribution methods has won support from political leaders like Nicholas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown. Let’s hope they don’t bungle it!

During Feburary and March of this year, just south of Madrid, a real living breathing pilot flew an airplane powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cells.

Unmanned hydrogen fuel cell crafts have been flown in the past, but this was the first time in history that a real person has been in the plane.

Boeing’s, soon to be historic, hydrogen fuel cell powered airplane

The takeoff required more power than the fuel cells could supply at once, so a lithium-ion battery system on board with a full charge is required before takeoff. However once reaching an altitude of 1,000 meters the plane shut off it’s batteries and cruises solely on power generated by fuel cells. The electric motor turning the conventional prop was able to maintain a speed of 100 km/h using only power generated by the hydrogen fuel cells on board.

Although Boeing doesn’t expect to be developing commercial airliners with electric motors powered with Hydrogen anytime soon, the experiments bolster confidence in the use of hydrogen powered EVs.

Although there’s talk of solar/hydrogen powered hybrid planes. Panels on the wings be used to recharge the Lithium-Ion batteries for the next take off and/or add hydrogen to the tank. We suppose if you parked one of these hy-bird planes on a sunny tarmac long enough the panels could charge the lithium-ion batteries necessary for takeoff and create enough hydrogen fuel to keep it going once it’s up there. Talk about cheap travel!