Honda Backs Hydrogen as U.S. Favors Battery Vehicles

[greencat]

Honda Backs Hydrogen as U.S. Favors Battery Vehicles: "Expensive Platinum" (12/08/09)

Honda has announced that it is committed to producing fuel cell cars, despite the US government withdrawing its funding for the technology in favour of battery-run vehicles.

"Fuel cell cars will become necessary. We're positioning it as the ultimate zero-emission car," Takashi Moriya, head of the company's fuel cell car team, told Bloomberg.

Honda Motor Company to be awarded prestigious Grove Medal (19/08/09)

The Japanese automaker's flagship fuel cell vehicle, the FCX Clarity, will be awarded the prestigious Grove Medal at the upcoming Grove Symposium event, Fuel Cell Markets reports.

Fuel cell pioneer on way to Britain (21/08/09)

Auto Express reports that the FCX Clarity, which has a range of 150 miles and a top speed of 92mph, will be launched in Europe in October and make its UK debut in 2011.

PolyFuel fails to find buyer, to cease operations (13/08/09)

PolyFuel announced recently that it will be forced to shut down after failing to find a buyer for its operations.

"The board and its banker, KBC Peel Hunt, have been unable to secure a satisfactory offer for the company on a going concern basis," said the Californian fuel cell technology firm in a statement.

Boris Johnson takes to the hydrogen highway (23/08/09)

Boris Johnson will put together a fleet of 150 cars, five buses and 20 black cabs - all powered by hydrogen - in an attempt to create the UK's first 'hydrogen highway'.

The Mayor of London is also determined to build a number of filling stations in the capital after being inspired by the work of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Clean Energy Patents Set Quarterly Record (24/08/09)

Fuel cell technology continued to dominate in the latest Clean Energy Patent Growth Index, which reached record levels during the second quarter of 2009.

A total of 274 US patents were issued, with fuel cells accounting for 156, representing a quarterly rise of 23 and an increase of 42 from the same period 12 months earlier.

Aston Martin Volare Concept: A student dreams up a fuel-cell powered Aston (24/08/09)

James Trim, a 2009 graduate from Coventry University, has drawn up plans for a greener, more environmentally-friendly Aston Martin, known as the Volare.

"[The car] adopts a high-power fuel cell stack, located between the front seats, a rear-mounted battery pack, and a co-axial electric motor at the front," he said.

"To aid the Volare's weight distribution, the two hydrogen storage tanks have been positioned directly above the car's rear axle."

S. Korea plans fuel cell subsidy for 2010 (24/08/09)

The South Korean government is planning to launch subsidies which could cut the cost of using fuel cells to power homes by up to 80 per cent.

According to the JoongAng Daily newspaper, the investment - which is set to come in next year - could slash the price from 50 million won to about ten million won by 2015.

Nissan Becomes First Automaker to Commercially Deploy Methanol Fuel Cells for Material Handling Equipment (25/08/09)

Nissan North America has announced that it has adopted methanol fuel cells to help power equipment at its assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee.

"The fuel cells that are fuelled by methanol are helping us by reducing our CO2 emissions and better utilising our resources," commented Mark Sorgi, the company's Material Handling Manager.

WholeFoods, U.S. supermarket chain, installs 400 kW fuel cell (25/08/09)

US supermarket chain WholeFoods has installed a 400kW hydrogen fuel cell at its new outlet in Massachusetts, Fuel Cell Today reports.

The unit, which was designed by UTC Power, will allow about 90 per cent of the store's required energy and all of its hot water to be generated on-site.

Fuel cell investment/U.K. Technology Strategy Board (TSB) Awards £9m to Aid Hydrogen Fuel Cell Development (28/08/09)

Meanwhile, the Technology Strategy Board in the UK is planning to invest about £9 million to develop fuel cell applications in the stationary, transport and portable power markets.

Methanol fuel cell startup eyes hybrid market (28/08/09)

Oorja Protonics, a Silicon Valley-based firm, revealed that it intends to use its methanol-based fuel cells as range-extenders in both electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, Reuters reports.

"We would have something in 18 to 24 months," Chief Executive Sanjiv Malhotra told the news provider.

GENCO Buys 136 GenDrive Fuel Cells From Plug Power (31/08/09)

Clean energy firm Plug Power has confirmed that GENCO Supply Chain Solutions has placed an order for 136 of its GenDrive fuel cell power units.

The purchase, which includes 100 class-three pallet jack units and 36 class-two stand-up reach truck units, will be funded by GENCO's $6.1 million grant from the US government.

Hydrogen Storage Gets New Hope (01/09/09)

Finally, scientists have produced a new 'chemical fuel tank' which could greatly increase the storage capacity of hydrogen-powered vehicles, LANL Today reports.

Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Alabama have developed a system which would use ammonia borane to help run a vehicle's fuel cell.

"This research represents a breakthrough in the field of hydrogen storage and has significant practical applications," said Dr Gene Peterson, Leader of the Chemistry Division at Los Alamos.

The results of the team's work appear in the issue 37 of the Angewandte Chemie journal.

[deputc26]

Hydrogen simply has less potential for efficiency than batteries. Ultimately, when we run out of hydrocarbons to reform we'll end up electrolysizing it from water which is only 23% efficient. Batteries charge at greater than 90% efficiency, the only place hydrogen would make sense is somewhere with more energy than people know what to do with.