Hydrogen Powered Toy Car

Harmonious Botch writes "CNN is reporting that Shanghai's Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies will soon begin sales of a tiny hydrogen fuel-cell car, complete with its own miniature solar-powered refueling station." From the article: "Automakers and energy companies view hydrogen fuel cells as a promising technology that could wean the world from its addiction to crude oil. But it's expensive and technological hurdles remain despite billions of dollars that have been poured into research."

Comments

Big Oil

[ronark]

"Automakers and energy companies view hydrogen fuel cells as a promising technology that could wean the world from its addiction to crude oil. But it's expensive and technological hurdles remain despite billions of dollars that have been poured into research."

This could be solved in a single day if the world's major oil corporations would embrace this new technology instead of relying on a fuel system that will one day be depleted. Imagine the energy problems that could be solved if these companies would simply get a clue instead of being blind to the changing times. Unfortunately there is more money in forcing people to deal with and dated and often poorly implemented technology than in the new stuff, or so they think. Reminds me of groups that have two AA's in their names.

Re:Big Oil

[gatzke]

Do you have any clue about fuel cell technology? PV solar cells? You can't just spout off "oil companies are bad, mmmkay."

Current PEMFC fuel cells use a lot of platinum and are generally pretty big for automotive use. There are a lot of hurdles to get past (including hydrogen storage).

And hydrogen is not energy, it is a way to transport / store energy. Hydrogen won't solve all our problems.

And soloer has been five years out for thirty years. They are getting better, but it still is not economically viable.

If oil stays up above $60, maybe we will see more new technology. Most likely, we will see a lot of coal gasification plants go up, since we have 200 years of coal in the US.

You personally can get all the hippee environmental technology you want, you just have to pay 2x or 3x or 10x for it. Have fun.

H Generator- Pulsed High Voltage, Low Current

[adius]

http://www.icubenetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t= 98 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Meyer

this toy is cheaper and comes with radio controls

[Locutus]

It's a dream that's been pursued for years by governments, energy companies and automakers so far without success: Mass-producing affordable electric-powered cars that spew nothing from their tailpipes. So Jada Toys decided to start small. Really small....yada yada yada....

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=L XKGY5&P=7

The article quoted:
"Public awareness and education are the first steps toward commercialization," said Horizon founder Taras Wankewycz, 32. "We want to make sure this technology gets adapted globally."

what bull. This is just a ploy to delay the use of existing, disruptive, technologies while the oil industry cranks out as much profits as it can.

Go see "Who Killed the Electric Car" and read this on how the oil industry won't let battery makers build NiMH batteries large enough for EVs:

http://www.evworld.com/blogs/index.cfm?page=blogen try&authorid=51&blogid=104

LoB

Hydrogen ain't happening. . .

[alizard]

At last weekend's Lucerne Fuel Cell Conference, Ulf Bossel, the organizer, made a pretty signinficant announcement: the European PEMFC Forum series will not be continued because hydrogen fuel will never contribute to a sustainable world. Instead they will focus on phosphoric acid fuel cells, molten carbonate fuel cells and solid oxide fuel cells which "can meet the challenges of a sustainable future".

When the researchers themselves are packing it in despite the increasing availability of funding for alternative energy research, it's all over.

The places where hydrogen is viable are the ones where there's plenty of cheap "green" energy... like Iceland. The US is not one of those places. Ethanol isn't going to replace all the gasoline we use, either, no matter how many agribusinesses want to make it so. There isn't enough farmland. The Brazillians can make it work because their climate and soil favor sugar cane in a way that ours doesn't and because there aren't as many of them or as many motor vehicles.

The main use that hydrogen has for the rest of us is a "desperately needs a clue" detector... anyone who talks about "the hydrogen economy of the future" can automatically be pigeonholed as being full of shit. Let this be a lesson to you with respect to who you ought to be listening to about "green" energy.

This isn't to say that Kunstler's babbling bullshit about "there is NO alternative energy future" is true, either. The most interesting research I know of is algae biomass > biodiesel, which already has a couple or three VC-funded efforts going on.

I'm not sold on Hydrogen as a carrier...

[atlasdropperofworlds]

I still the electricity is the way to go. At least then, the process would be:

Fuel->Generator->Power Grid->Car

Instead of

Fuel->Generator->Power Grid->Hydrogen Refinery->Transport->Car

Seems to me the first one will be much more efficient, especially when Toshiba's new Lithium batteries are available (in 2008 I heard). As long as it only takes a few minute to "recharge" your car, I'm sure range won't matter so much.