Posts Tagged hydrogen

Toyota FCV-R Hydrogen Fuel Cell Concept Set for Production in 2015

Posted by Benji Jerew in Hydrogen Power on May 7, 2013

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles haven’t seen a whole lot of the limelight in recent times, in part because the technology is wildly expensive, not only for the infrastructure, but the vehicles themselves. Still, imagine a vehicle that has zero emissions [tailpipe anyway] like an electric vehicle, but can refuel in about the same amount of [...]

Naturally-Occurring Hydrogen Fuel Could Come From Geological Formations

Posted by Benji Jerew in Hydrogen Power on April 18, 2013

One problem that hydrogen fuel has is the efficiency of the system by which it is produced, mainly electrically or chemically, but what if there was a naturally-occurring source of hydrogen? This is one reason why some believe that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles aren’t a good idea. On the other hand, a lot of current [...]

Genetic Engineering Increases Hydrogen Yield from Biomass, Virginia Tech

Posted by Benji Jerew in Hydrogen Power on April 4, 2013

Hydrogen itself is a clean fuel and can be used in fuel cells to generate electricity or even burned in traditional internal combustion engines with zero harmful emissions, but producing hydrogen isn’t so clean. The goal of hydrogen power is to eliminate carbon dioxide from the equation, but this has proven difficult. The never ending [...]

Leftover Ash Generates Hydrogen Gas, We Just Need to Collect It

Posted by Benji Jerew in Hydrogen Power, Recycling on March 25, 2013

When power plants burn coal, wood or even refuse to generate electricity, the leftover ash generates hydrogen gas, which is why it must be stored outside. Leftover ash from power production often finds its way to landfills or, in some countries, as a construction material. It can’t be stored inside though, because the leftover ash [...]

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Locomotive Gains Ground in Multiple Applications

Posted by Benji Jerew in Hydrogen Power on March 8, 2013

Natural gas becoming more abundant doesn’t necessarily leave the hydrogen fuel cell locomotive without a track forward. More likely, hydrails will continue to grow from small beginnings in 2009. Earlier hydrogen fuel cell locomotive technology lent itself to smaller applications, such as the BNSF Port of Los Angeles HH 1205 locomotive developed in Kansas. The [...]

H2USA Plan Pushes for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles and Infrastructure

Posted by Benji Jerew in Green Policy, Hydrogen Power on March 8, 2013

Several automakers have already decided that they want to release fuel cell vehicles as early as 2017 or so, and the Department of Energy’s [DOE] H2USA plan could expand the infrastructure. There are already a few hydrogen fueling stations in the US, but only a couple dozen or so are available for public access. This [...]

Artificial Leaf Unfurled, Stores Solar Energy as Hydrogen

Posted by Benji Jerew in Energy Storage, Hydrogen Power, Solar Power on March 6, 2013

Photovoltaic solar cells generate electricity that must be used immediately or stored, but an artificial leaf could store solar energy in a different manner, chemically. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] have recently unveiled an artificial leaf prototype that does indeed generate electricity when exposed to sunlight, but when placed in water, generates hydrogen [...]

New Catalyst Gets Hydrogen from Methanol at Normal Pressure/Temp

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Hydrogen Power on February 28, 2013

Because it contains 4 atoms of hydrogen, methanol (CH4O) is generally considered a good hydrogen carrier, but has never been used in actual applications where gas is directly extracted from it and used. A team of University of Rostock chemists discovered a way to extract hydrogen from methanol at low temperatures and ambient pressures. This [...]

Forze VI – Fuel Cell Race Car to Compete in Dutch Caterham Cup

Posted by Benji Jerew in Hydrogen Power on February 27, 2013

The Dutch Caterham Cup is a Lotus 7 race league. These cars weigh in at just 1,212 pounds and are powered by 200hp engines. There should be a newcomer this year, one with a completely different powertrain, a hydrogen fuel cell and electric motors. The Forze VI hydrogen fuel cell race car has been under [...]

Gold Nanorods Generate Hydrogen Using Solar Power

Posted by Benji Jerew in Hydrogen Power, Solar Power on February 25, 2013

Gold nanorods, a titanium dioxide filter and platinum were used by researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen fuel cell, in fact, is nothing new, and has been around for nearly one hundred years. The most ideal fuel, hydrogen gas, isn’t freely available in the [...]

Elon Musk on Hydrogen Fuel: “It makes no sense”

Posted by Benji Jerew in Hydrogen Power on February 17, 2013

“Except for the upper stage of a rocket, hydrogen makes no sense,” Elon Musk, the parent of the battery-powered Roadster and Model S said in an e-mail interview to ScienceFriday. If there is anyone to ask about electric vehicles, it would be Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors. In fact, the second electric vehicle to [...]

Bio-Oil Hydrogen Generation Just Needed a More Efficient Process

Posted by Benji Jerew in Biogas, Hydrogen Power on February 15, 2013

We’ve been watching hydrogen fuel for a while now, and the utilization of hydrogen has seen fairly rapid development, as seen in the decreasing size of fuel cell stacks and increasing efficiency. In fact, by 2015, Toyota, BMW, and others are planning on having at least one hydrogen fuel cell model in production. Of course, [...]

Delaware Solar Fuel Generator Advances One Step Further

Posted by Benji Jerew in Hydrogen Power, Solar Power on February 8, 2013

A few quick notes about hydrogen. As an element, it is the simplest, lightest, and most abundant on this planet that we call home. Also, when it is pure, which rarely happens naturally, hydrogen is highly combustible. When it does burn, though, it releases no carbon dioxide like hydrocarbon fuels do. We have known for [...]

Daimler Partners Ford and Nissan to Develop Hydrogen Vehicles

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry, Hydrogen Power on January 29, 2013

Hydrogen vehicles are more than just a dream that won’t die, but are getting closer to production than ever before. Hydrogen just could be the perfect fuel, and advances in production of hydrogen as well as hydrogen fuel cell [HFC] technology have made it possible to realize a clean transportation future. Just last week, Toyota [...]

Nanosize Silicon Found to Generate Hydrogen Efficiently

Posted by Benji Jerew in Experiments, Hydrogen Power on January 24, 2013

The science of nanotechnology, specifically nanomaterials, has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade, and scientists are discovering more material characteristics than they ever could have before, just examining macromaterials. For example, when silicon [Si] oxidizes with water [H2O], it gives off hydrogen gas [H2], leaving a layer of silicon dioxide [SiO2]. While [...]