In the past Honda has pointed towards fuel cell powered vehicles as the future — Today at the Tokyo Motor Show, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito has again stated his company’s stance on the fuel cells saying that hydrogen energy is the best long term strategy for the auto industry.

Sure, Honda has some electric vehicles in the works such as the Honda EV-N and the Honda CR-Z but Ito says once the industry realizes the limits of batteries they too will turn to hydrogen.

What do you guys think? Is hydrogen the future or will we be seeing batteries stick around for a bit longer?

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Tags: ceo, fuel cells, Honda, Hydrogen, takanobu ito, tokyo motor show

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Volvo is shifting into high gear for their fuel cell technology venture, possibly creating additional jobs in Stockholm if everything goes according to plan. Swedish Energy Agency and the Volvo Group are investing SEK 200 M in Volvo’s development of fuel cells. The investment will create around 100 new positions in the Gothenburg region within the next three years.

In the autumn of 2009, Powercell Sweden will need to hire around 60 people in an entirely new plant in the Gothenburg region. Per Wassén, who is Investment Director at Volvo Technology Transfer and chairman of Powercell Sweden AB, foresees that the company will create around 100 new jobs within the next three years.

With the growing need for alternative energy and fuel for various means but largely for vehicles, fuel cell technology can truly be a big help towards the efforts of local motorists and car companies. A fuel cell resembles a small battery. It is charged with hydrogen gas and converts this into electricity, water and carbon dioxide through a chemical reaction.

The areas of use can be power supply units for households, trucks, boats, radio masts in remote locations and electric hybrid vehicles. Compared with normal diesel or gas-powered engines, fuel cells produce significantly less carbon dioxide and no emissions at all of particulates and nitrogen oxides. In addition, they are more efficient, smaller and lighter.

(Source) Press

Tags: Alternative Energy, car companies, carbon dioxide, chemical reaction, energy agency, fuel cell technology, fuel cells, gothenburg region, hybrid vehicles, hydrogen gas, investment director, jobs in stockholm, motorists, new jobs, nitrogen oxides, particulates, powercell, radio masts, technology venture, volvo group

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A top secret two-seater hydrogen car is the first car that has been enabled by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. The new fuel cells back the new UK car which is said to be better than most hybrid and electric cars in the market today. It can consume only 360 miles to the gallon and could be made available to consumers for just 200 pounds Sterling ($315) per month.

Developed by Riversimple, the small city car integrates a 6kW fuel cell from Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. The vehicle maximizes energy efficiency by utilizing lightweight composite materials, eliminating heavy mechanical component, and by networking fuel cells with ultra capacitors and 60% regenerative braking energy into one symbiotic system. The result is ground-breaking: 240 miles (390 km) can be traveled on one small tank of hydrogen weighing only 2.2 lbs (1 kilogram).

When you talk about price and alternative fuel or transportation, this supposed secret car does seem enticing. With the growing rant for other forms of potential vehicle preference, this latest top secret car certainly promises a lot. Best of all, it has a ready supply of fuel cells to back it up!

(Source) Press

Tags: alternative fuel, capacitors, city car, electric cars, energy efficiency, first car, fuel cell powers, fuel cell technologies, fuel cells, horizon fuel cell technologies, hydrogen car, kilogram, lightweight composite materials, mechanical component, pounds sterling, small tank, uk car, vehicle preference

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U.S. President Barack Obama has scrapped the $1.2 Billion development fund for a fuel cell-powered car that was a brainchild of the previous Bush Administration. The issue of fuel cells has been a contentious one, with many believing the technology is of dubious benefit when battery-electric cars offer a far simpler solution. The USA’s newly-minted President agrees, and last Thursday scrapped the fuel cell funding plan set up by former President George W. Bush in 2003.

Instead, President Obama plans to spend just US$68.2 million on fuel cell research – less than half the amount spent last year. With Bush’s US$1.2 billion plan in the bin, a further US$100 million will be saved each year. In contrast, the Bush administration spent a total of $500 million in automotive fuel cell research, with limited results and no prospect of wide-scale adoption of the technology in the near future.

Battery-electrics are the new darling of the Obama administration, with Energy Secretary Steven Chu saying the government wanted to target more “immediate energy-saving solutions”.

(Source) The Motor Report

Tags: 100 million, adoption, Barack Obama, benefit, brainchild, bush administration, darling, electric cars, electrics, energy secretary, former president, fuel cell research, fuel cells, george w bush, hydrogen car, last thursday, president george w bush

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Electric vehicle owners situated in Sierra Nevada are likely to find car charging easier as Coulomb Technologies has announced the installation of ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations at its brewery in Chico, CA.

The two charging stations are available for patrons and employees of the brewery with electric vehicles. Coulomb’s charging stations are an important part of Sierra Nevada’s sustainability initiatives that include solar, fuel cells, recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation and transportation improvements. Sierra Nevada is the first corporation to install the ChargePoint networked charging stations.

The Coulomb charging stations will be featured at Chico Fest on Sunday, April 26, 2009 from 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm. Chico Fest is a free event featuring a sustainability focused expo, food, live music and the dedication of Sierra Nevada’s new 1.5 MW AC solar system.

(Source) Press

Tags: chico ca, chico california, coulomb, dedication, electric vehicle, electric vehicles, energy efficiency, expo, fuel cells, live music, networked, patrons, sierra nevada, solar system, sustainability initiatives, system source, transportation improvements, water conservation

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Electric and hybrid cars are in focus these days and while we see the likes of Toyota, Ford and Honda coming up with their own concepts, there is one car that has been lingering in the back and that happens to be the GM Hydrogen4.

The GM Hydrogen4 is powered by a fuel cell, the technology which many hope will all but remove cars from the global-warming equation. Fuel cells take hydrogen and oxygen and combine them, in a reversal of the electrolysis process, to produce electrical power to drive the car. The only tailpipe emission is harmless hot water vapor.

The HydroGen4 feels much in line with its standard, petrol-powered counterpart; it does not quite have the “thump in the back” acceleration from standstill of purely battery-powered cars. But apart from its notable quietness, there are far fewer moving mechanical parts in a fuel-cell drivetrain compared with petrol or diesel. Even the extra weight of the still-prototype drivetrain (fuel cell plus electric motor), at 600kgs, has no seriously detrimental effect; it being packaged very low down in the car and sited amidships.

Filling HydroGen4’s tank is only a little more complex, and takes only a little longer, than filling a conventional car at the petrol and diesel pumps. Safety is a priority: a puncture at pressures of around 10,000lbs per square inch would probably propel the car from Berlin to Munich.

(Source) Financial Times

Tags: diesel pumps, electrolysis, fuel cell, fuel cells, hybrid cars, tailpipe emission

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