Hydrogen fuel cells move closer to reality

The Globe and Mail ^ | Mar. 11, 2004 | Canadian Press

[doug9732]

This reminds me of the articles we used to see about fusion power. Any day they would have the problems worked out; any day!
Yawn.

[JmyBryan]

I recently read an article by Daniel Yergin ("The Prize") promoting intercontinental shipmt of LNG as the energy of the future. Your scenario suggest the insurance costs make this even more expensive. Yergin did say it would require govt backing.

[Steve_Seattle]

No need for Middle eastern oil would make the work a lot more secure.

Maybe, maybe not. If we suddenly lose our need for Mid East oil, the bottom drops out of those economies, further destabilizing the region, creating even more unemployment and more reason for the Islamic fanatics to search for scapegoats, i.e., us.

[XBob]

13 - "Uhh, given the laws of nature, it will always take more energy than is produced, as long as you're dealing with chemical processes."

Great observation. So simple, and yet so many people don't seem to understand it. To produce 'free' (unattached) hydrogen, we need to release the chemical bonds, which will always take more energy in than the energy it puts out.

Wow - I just got a revolutionary idea, why don't we store the hydrogen in something where the energy is more easily released, and yet it is still concentrated, and storable and relatively safe. How about we add some carbon to the mix, and we could have a hydro-carbon fuel - yeah,that's it. And since it is made from hydrogen gas, we could call it what? Why how about 'gas' or 'gasoline'?

[Doodle]

Hydrogen fuel cells move closer to reality

What a joke.

[Steve_Seattle]

Maybe the passenger car of the future will be a much lighter, much slower vehicle requiring considerably less power than fossil fuels can provide. If cars shed 1,000 pounds and have a max speed of 35-40 mph, alternate lighter fuels might be good enough. I bet about 80-90% of most people's driving is done at less than 40 m.p.h.

[Restorer]

I really don't think hydrogen is a realistic option, but I sure would like to present my middle finger to the Arab oil cartel!

Using existing fission nuclear power technology to produce electricity and hudrogen, we could do this within a relatively short period of time, probably less than 10 years.

That we do not do so is due to political/legal/PR issues, not technical ones.

[XBob]

22-"intercontinental shipmt of LNG"

This has been done for many years now. Giant 'gas' tankers with huge ball tanks routinely ship gas around the world. I helped build a plant in Indonesia in 1980 to ship gas to Japan.

We are currently building a terminal off the Texas/Lousiana coast to offload such tankers for importing gas into the US. Should be finished next year.

[Voltage]

The University of Iowa is working on a new process whereby you can put corn cobs directly in your fuel tank, completely avoiding Saudi Arabia.

Amazingly its being funded entirely by the farmers themselves, who have sworn off any government money!

It seems too good to be true!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

"Here's an interesting statistic: If you take all of the power that's in the engines of the 50 million cars made a year, that's equal to the entire global installed electricity generating base," he says.

"You're making enough power every year in cars to power the whole world."

Now what does that really have to do with anything related to this article?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Ballard Power Systems Ltd.,

These guys use to be located in Kansas City.

Wonder why they moved to Vancouver?

[farmfriend]

Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.

[EEDUDE]

"Maybe the passenger car of the future will be a much lighter, much slower vehicle requiring considerably less power than fossil fuels can provide."

The first car I ever owned was a 1961 Studebaker Lark. (No I'm not THAT old! I bought it from my grandmother when she bought a new car.)

It had a 230 Cu.In. V8, a three speed manual transmission with overdrive, and an aftermarket air-conditioner. It was made of HEAVY steel.

I consistently got 28 MPG on the highway at 70 MPH with the AC on! If you've ever seen one you know they are not exactly aerodynamic.

What many don't realize about modern vehicle emissions technology is that lower emissions ALWAYS comes at the expense of fuel mileage. It is a compromise.

Most systems rely on EGR to reduce the optimal Air/Fuel ratio to prevent the formation of oxides of nitrogen by keeping flame front temperatures below the point at which they form. This COSTS extra fuel. A restrictive catalytic converter also costs fuel.

The best deal going today for both emissions and fuel economy is European Diesel passenger cars. The technology has advanced to the point where amount of polution per mile is excellent.

But don't try to sell a Diesel here! They're "dirty"!

[Dan Evans]

how hard would it be for a terrorist to ignite an H powered vehicle? How big a boom will one get?

Hydrogen as a fuel is no more dangerous than gasoline. It's just a stupid and wasteful idea to convert cars to hydrogen when we don't need to.

If we didn't have the EPA and a bunch of enviro-luddite agencies in government we would not have any energy problems.

[Amerigomag]

Funny how these articles always ignore the problems with the other byproduct of the electrolysis of sea water: Oxygen.

Lots of oxygen. Tons of oxygen and no where to put it. An acute poison in the quantities that we are proposing to produce.

[Boot Hill]

"If you explode hydrogen...the force of the explosion will go only one way: straight up. Compare this against gasoline and natural gas--if it explodes it will explode in every direction..."

LOL, hey Einstein, I wouldn't quit your day job just yet, if I were you!

--Boot Hill

[calcowgirl]

These guys use to be located in Kansas City.

They used to have a division in Poway, CA. (they still may, don't know.)
Where did you find Kansas?

Wonder why they moved to Vancouver?

Maybe so they could get listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange with all the other great 'development stage' companies?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Where did you find Kansas?

You mean in the article? It wan't, I just remember reading about them with occasional writups in the KC Star. They were over in Eastern Jackson County somewhere as I recall. Never had occasion to visit them though.

[BurbankKarl]

The state is MAXED OUT? $700 billion!

[BurbankKarl]

the SMART cars are coming.....by summer 51/mpg