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Hydrogen Powered Toy Car

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the who-will-be-the-first-to-just-use-the-hydrogen dept.

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."

4 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Big Oil by gatzke · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

  2. Re:Big Oil by pete-classic · · Score: 5, Funny

    I would like to withdraw my post in this thread. Seeing this guy get bitch-slapped by a Chemical Engineering Professor with a four-digit user ID was way better than what I said!

    -Peter

  3. Re:All the cool stuff comes out after I grow up by dominique_cimafranca · · Score: 5, Funny
    This is already the real thing. The next step is to breed smaller and smaller people so that they will be able to fit in a car like this. This will also solve the world's population density problem in the larger cities.

    Just kidding.

  4. Re:Big Oil by kfg · · Score: 5, Insightful

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

    Usually because of all the extra fossil fuels it takes to keep it going. Not only does the hydrogen need the energy added to it in the first place, but platinum does not mine and refine itself. Biofuel schemes all overlook the amount of energy needed to grow the plants in the first place, like the gas/petrol in that harvester over there, which itself consumed a lot of fuel to create it.

    Virtually all schemes for "alternatives" to oil amount to "can you please burn 10% more of it over there, where I'm not looking? Thank you. I feel so much better now."

    It's the same way makers of "perpetual motion" machines demonstrate that they "work." They plug them into the wall.

    I've got a dashiki and a peace sign around somewhere. I used to actually wear them. I wear ancient, unsewn clothing today. Sandals even. I've hugged a tree. I grow some of my own food in an urban setting. I ride a bicycle. I don't own a car. There's a tipi folded up in a corner of the room, right over there. If I designed a city you couldn't see it from the air. The trees would be all in the way and shit.

    But I try not to let all of that make me stupid.

    KFG