A team of British researchers are refining a hydrogen-based petrol substitute due for road-testing next year and available at the pumps in three years. Being composed of hydrogen, the petrol substitute generates zero CO2 emissions and, as the team claims, could be used in all kinds of vehicles.
Unlike the present costs of petrol, the new fuel will cost about 90 pennies a gallon. The technology involves a fuel cell which combines oxygen and hydrogen to generate energy. Currently, researchers are working at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to solve the problem regarding the current methods of storing the gas, which cause safety issues. They do this by packing hydrogen into tiny beads able to be pumped like a liquid or poured.
According to Stephen Volker, from Cellar Energy (the developer of the technology), existing vehicles could use these micro-beads without needing engine modifications. Volker also said the new method is similar to that used in electric cars, with no harmful emissions.
A similar hydrogen technology is already being used to fuel several London buses. Worldwide, many other alternatives to conventional petrol are used, such as growing crops, like sugar cane which is then used to produce fuel. AA president Edmund King is not so optimistic regarding the price of the new fuel when it hits the pumps. He believes that the government will “get its hands on it” and will tax it heavily.
dear sir , i am interested to know about this technology is it real ?
i mean is this project successful…if yes than i want to knw about it..as i am having good potential of contacts in india..and finance…..i have good fundings for it..apart to that i want to knw first what is the ratio of success in this project ? and i am interested to look for its whole setup in india..
Seems nature allready have a hydrogen storage system it’s called “water”
Historically when a old farm tractor was started on gasoline and when the tractor got good and hot the farmer could open a water valve and put water into a heated intake manifold . This would produce steam (another form of hydrogen storage) and would be mixed with “distulate” (a mix of fuels from the delivery people -due to swithing their hoses and pump from one product to another)
This was also done on ww11 planes. But there are not very many of those old air pilots around “A”
Apparently there are at least two co that I know of that are working on systems of emulsifying H20 (water) by using special (high tech )surfactents and centrifuges into fuels. Seems if the water is properly emusified it will not damage the injection system. And to make sure well it will still go through the water seperator fileters which are used on some equipment to protect the injections systems by removing any condensation (water) that is not emulsifed.This has already been tested at 20% and even up wards of 30% water at even -25C temp (standard Canadian excuse why it might not work “A”- don’t know about colder temp-perhaps not- but “A” – we are not that cold all the time)
This gives the engines more power and are cleaner burning and reduces the cost of the fuel. Perhaps this is just “too simple” of a solution. Cleaner burning, using old equipment,and at less cost for fuel.