Scientists have discovered a remarkable, unexpected and cheap way to store hydrogen fuel– using carbonized chicken feather fibers.

The problem of storing hydrogen as fuel has traditionally been a perplexing and expensive dilemma. For instance, a car with a 20-gallon hydrogen storage tank made from carbon nanotubes or metal hydrides– two of the best ideas so far– would add $5.5 million or $30k respectively to the price of that vehicle.

A storage tank made from carbonized chicken feathers, however, would only mark up the cost a measly $200. The green bio-material would also help solve the problem of how to dispose of the 2.7 billion kilograms of chicken feathers generated each year by commercial poultry operations.

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Would owning 1/1000th of a Community Co-op Hydrogen Station be worth $2,000.00 to you? Greg Blencoe, CEO of Hydrogen Discoveries, Inc. thinks it would be, and he’s come up with an ingenious idea that might help “fuel” the hydrogen station infrastructure.

After corresponding with Greg, this is his plan as he related to me,

“How to build the hydrogen fueling infrastructure without the oil companies or the federal government.”

“The truth is,” says Greg, “that the car companies are very frustrated that neither the oil companies nor the federal government has stepped up to build the hydrogen fueling infrastructure. In order to break this logjam, I am proposing the following idea that would eliminate the need to depend on the oil companies or the federal government to get the hydrogen fueling infrastructure built.”

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On September 15, 2008, I published an article here entitled “GM’s $1.5 Million Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicle Wont be Available For At Least 10 Years,” and the information for the article was taken directly from my own experience, as I had seen the Equinox Fuel Cell being promoted that same morning, near where I work in Washington D.C.

After looking at the vehicle I had a conversation with a representative near the information booth, and it was a result of that conversation that spawned the article.

Well, Pete Barkley, who has been working for General Motors for the past eight years in Advanced Propulsion, was kind enough to leave a comment on the article, clarifying a couple inconsistencies and offering us some more information and a test drive.

Never one to give up a good opportunity, I’ve been in contact with him and true to his word, he is giving me the opportunity to drive the Equinox myself, and has granted an interview and will allow me to photograph and publish any pictures I take.

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Editor’s Note: This post is a guest contribution by Adam Shake.

It was an overcast Friday morning in Washington D.C., and stepping off the Metro at the Federal Triangle stop in Washington D.C., I had been thinking about how Global Warming was contributing to the strength of Hurricane Hannah.  Hurricane Ike was right on her coat tails, and looked to be like one of the largest Hurricanes on record.

Rounding the corner of the International Trade Center to enter the building from Pennsylvania Avenue, I saw an S.U.V. parked on the plaza with a small shelter positioned near it.  Inside the shelter were stacks of brochures and four people standing beneath it, staying out of the impending rain.

Intrigued, I stepped over to the vehicle to have a closer look.  The doors were open, showing a spacious interior and well designed dash board.  The vehicle was running, and idling quietly as I stuck my head into the front seat, inhaling that new car smell.

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Well, here it is folks. A company has finally gone and built the controversial hydrogen hybrid system (or hydrogen injection, or Water4Gas or HHO system – choose your poison) into what appears to be a true production car. Not only that, the car looks, well, stunning… to put it mildly.

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His name is James Hunt, I wrote about him and his invention last year. Now, from his AKVO Energy headquarters in Monmouth, Illinois, James talks about his invention and says it’s ready for manufacture and marketing.

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He refers to a series of videos he’s produced on YouTube, one of which you can see on my accompanying blog on Gas2.

You can see the series of videos on YouTube .

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Put six-gallons of water in your fuel tank and drive anywhere you wish. The only thing you’ll need to replace, is a bit more water.

Last May, I wrote about Jim Hunt, a student at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois concerning his plasmatic induction system that turns water into hydrogen gas to fuel your vehicle.

Today, the system works, and Jim is looking for a company to manufacture and market his invention. His patent is secure, the system is proven and now ready to produce.

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First stop, the nation's capital, then to Disney World, Gettysburg, the Black Hills, Yellowstone National Park, and while you’re in the vicinity, a side trip to the Grand Canyon. You visited a few relatives along the way. You’ve stayed in hotels and motels, camped out a couple of times, and eaten at both fast food restaurants and a couple of four star eateries.

The only thing you didn't buy was gasoline. You took the SUV, the gas hog, but you didn’t put one drop of gas in the tank. Let’s see, the price of gasoline is $3 a gallon, plus or minus, and you drove at least 3000 miles in a vehicle that averages 15 mgp. Wow, that’s a savings of at least $600, not bad in this day and age.

And, as you sit at the kitchen table adding up the cost of your odyssey, you offer up a silent "thank you" to a young, disabled Navy vet, 36 year old James Hunt who lives in Galesburg, IL, and attends Carl Sandburg College.

Hunt spent a year and a half working in his garage before taking his new fuel concept project to college officials who liked what they saw, and funded a lab with all the materials needed to continue the work. Hunt formed the CSC Inventors Club, and was joined by several like-minded students who developed working bench models of his system.

What’s the secret? It's hydrogen gas, extracted from those six gallons of water by plasmatic induction, and fed to the motor as a gas to power the engine. When hydrogen burns, it gives off water, which is fed back to that six gallons; the only thing coming out the tailpipe is hot air. It's all perfectly safe: you'll never re-create the Hindenburg disaster in the car. I know, water in the gas tank, it's been done before but stay with me here…

Can this work? Yes. Jim says they have internal combustion engines running on hydrogen gas produced by the energy conversion system in the lab. In June, the students will retrofit a 1991 Chevy Cheyenne 4×4 pickup to begin road testing the system. First they'll tour the Carl Sandburg campus until they receive permission to operate a non-conventional fuel-powered vehicle on city and state thoroughfares.

Is anyone really interested? Hunt says the program manager of GM’s (that’s General Motors) Fuel Cell Technology Development Division contacted him, requesting more information. In a story from Galesburg’s Register-Mail newspaper, Hunt told reporter John R. Pullium that three Fortune 500 companies have contacted him, along with several investors and possible sponsors. In his latest communication to me, Jim said he’s received inquiries from individuals concerning expanded uses for the system, such as fuel to generate electric power for small communities. "We have started to take on private investors" he said "to help raise money for research and development of our final prototype".

How much would it cost to retrofit your vehicle? Hunt figures about $2000. Will it fit in your car? Sure, he says: just replace your fuel tank with his recovery system, add water and drive away. The only thing you’ll change are some non-lethal carbon rods, about once a year. They’ll cost somewhere in the range of what you’d pay for gasoline in one month of driving.

Will it work? Will he get his patent, and will his dream survive the anticipated onslaught from big oil corporations and other interests who’d rather not see this type of energy generation system take hold? In another Register-Mail article, Hunt is quoted as saying, “I’d like to see the world benefit” and added, “I am fearful of the bad guys in the background.” Today, he feels his future is looking up, happy that he’s apparently managed to break the hydrogen safety barrier.

Jim has promised to keep me updated on their progress, and we’ll be watching this story very closely, posting updates as they become available, regardless of the outcome.

SOURCES:

CSC Investors Club BlogSpot: Newspaper Articles