How to Reach 200 MPH on Hydrogen Fuel Cells

the_manatee writes "Ford's 999 hydrogen-powered speedster is making waves for its upcoming speed record attempt in the Bonneville Salt Flats, but details on what's actually going on under the hood have been scarce. As it turns out, there are NASCAR-style brakes, steering, and suspension components, along with 16 Ballard Mk902 fuel cells that produce 350 kW of electricity. All that juice spins up a 770-hp motor and the rest is (hopefully) history. One final ingredient: 400 lbs of ice for cooling, which will melt in seconds once the car gets up to speed."

Comments

Re:AC?

[MichaelSmith]

Just have the motors situated a foot or so in from the wheels, with a short driveshaft connecting them to the wheel

I think some sports cars have brake disks mounted this way, to reduce the inertia of the wheels.

Re:AC? - because they are idiots...

[nickull]

Anyone who has a basic knowledge of physics knows hydrogen is stupid. If you have electricity, use batteries - you can skip the 400 pounds of ice and twenty five other major problems with trying to convert good electricity into hydrogen and back again. It will never work for terrestrial applications. See: http://technoracle.blogspot.com/2005/12/hydrogen-a gain-tweedle-dumb-and.html and http://www.tinaja.com/h2gas01.asp Hydrogen is dumb. Hydrogen is a bad idea.

Can't beat the Buckeye Bullet 2

[SamAdam3d]

Just objectively, the Buckeye Bullet 2, made at the Center for Automotive Research at OSU (where I work) will soon beat whatever record this car creates. This car is designed for speed, rather than using some bulky Ford Focus shape. I have seen it in person; it is very large and very powerful. The engine is simply massive, and the fuel cells are the size of V8s.

http://buckeyebullet.com/vehicle.htm