Back in late May, I shared some information about the Medis 24 x 7 PowerPack, a fuel cell that charge a variety of electronic devices through the use of interchangeable tips. Last night I noticed an story on CNET’s Crave (”the gadget blog”) about a new application for the cell. It described an LED flashlight with an adapter to plug into a PowerPack that can operate for as long as six weeks on a single fuel cell.
Honda has started rolling the first US specification FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell sedans off a production line in Japan to be delivered to a small group of hand-picked high-profile California test customers. Leases to these customers, including Jamie Lee Curtis, are scheduled to begin in July.
The combined sales plan for the US and Japan calls for a few dozen to be leased the first year with about 200 total units leased over the next three years.
Last Thursday I had the opportunity to attend a VW press event showing off the new hydrogen fuel cell powered Tiguan. The vehicle (above) is one of only two concept prototypes in the world, and this one was flown in from Germany for its US debut.
The event was originally intended to be a test-drive of the HyMotion Tiguan, but the vehicle was having “electrical problems” that kept it out for display only. A VW spokesperson assured us that it had nothing to do with the fuel cell, but whatever the problem was they didn’t want it to happen to us in mid-day San Francisco traffic.
GM’s new Equinox hydrogen fuel cell electric cars are on the road. Well, one hundred of them are, and you can apply to become a test driver for three months.
The Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell has been honored with the Green Car Journal’s Green Car Vision Award, the first time the magazine has recognized a limited-production vehicle for its forward-thinking technologies. “Project Driveway” is the first large-scale market test of fuel cell vehicles with real drivers.
Algae grows prolifically in adverse conditions, and can store large amounts of oils or starches useful for making biodiesel or ethanol. But some strains also use an enzyme called hydrogenase to produce small amounts of hydrogen gas. Scientists think this is the organism’s way of getting rid of excess energy under high-light conditions.
French analysts have concluded that the wild popularity of gasoline-hybrid electric vehicles in the United States could potentially hinder development of more sustainable and advanced green vehicles:Hybrid electric vehicles that run on both conventional gasoline and stored electricity can be no more than a stop gap until more sustainable technology is developed, according to researchers in France. They suggest that the adoption of HEVs might even slow development of more sustainable fuel-cell powered electric vehicles.
The researchers go on to argue that the “misinformed craze” for hybrids in the U.S. is creating a situation where every manufacturer must include hybrid technology in their portfolio in order to stay afloat:
Another one making its debut at the Geneva Auto Show, the Morgan LifeCar is a concept vehicle by the venerable British car maker that “will demonstrate that a new step in vehicle architecture is enabled by the use of a fuel cell hybrid power train.” Morgan not only wants to take a step away from the notion that a “green car” must sacrifice style and power, but also towards “[lowering] the entry barriers for [...]
When we think about “clean” energy, we envision big, dark solar panels out in a field or on a roof. Or maybe wind turbines with those big whooshing propellers. What we don’t often think about are the other components that make solar panels and other technologies possible and practical for everyday use.
One very important component of these systems is the inverter. Inverters make it possible to hook your solar panels (or other energy dynamo) into batteries, your electrical system, and/or feed electricity back into the grid. An inverter’s most important task is to convert D.C. (direct current) electricity into A.C. (alternating current). In case you’ve forgotten your high school chemistry, A.C. is all the rage with the power company. Depending on the type of inverter you buy, they can pump all the excess electricity you produce into batteries or back into the power grid. And yes, the power company will pay you for the energy you send them.
General Motors says they’re committed to ‘diversifying away from petroleum.’ That sounds like something President Bush would say, but reducing our nation’s dependence on oil was a message repeatedly proffered to me by GM officials throughout the course of the auto show. I’m calling it GM’s grand vision for U.S. transportation energy independence, they call it their ‘Advanced Propulsion Roadmap.’ Either way, GM plans to implement this by investing in a range of new and diverse technologies. It looks something like this:
The first step is to increase vehicle efficiency and improve emissions by continued advances to the internal combustion engine (ICE). Believe it or not the ICE is still a work in progress. Take ‘cylinder deactivation’ for example, which drops a V6 to a V4 when the extra capacity is unnecessary. One potentially notable technology coming out of the auto show was Ford’s ‘Ecoboost’, which uses gasoline-turbocharged-direct-injection (GTDI) technology to increase fuel efficiency up to 20%. These are diesel engine principles—which are typically 30% more efficient—now being applied to gas models.
Everyone loves new technology, but what about a most basic consideration: vehicle size? This doesn’t seem to be on the radar for several auto manufacturers. It’s not listed on GM’s chart either, even though the Hummer brand announced it will be following that trend (see earlier post on the ‘2nd Greenest Hummer on Earth’).
Lolland-Falster, Denmark
Until recently, I might have searched California’s sustainable communities to find the greenest living place on the planet. To my surprise, on a recent visit to
Lolland-Falster (LF), two Danish islands with about 120,000 residents
combined, I was introduced to a place that takes sustainability to the next level and provides a glimpse into the future.
I've been a doubter of fuel cell technology for a very long time. Commercialization has always seemed just "over the next hill" with promises of "we're almost there" silencing the eager in the backseat. Before going green was cool, and when gas purchases didn't require a second thought, a hydrogen economy seemed too expensive, too laborious, and not worth the investment or effort. My, how things have changed.
Fuel cells are now poised to
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