

Kia Borrego fuel cell prototype
Meanwhile, still working out hydrogen-related problems








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I have a thought,..
By axeman1957 on 5/26/2010 3:00:13 PM , Rating: 4
... Before anyone points out the obvious, I know there would be issues with efficiency.

That said, I think hydrogen cars are the best of all the current options. They are electric cars but their "battery storage" are tanks of hydrogen, much "greener" to produce than lithium ion or nickel cadmium batteries. And as far as the lack of fuel stations, hydrogen cars could come with a relatively inexpensive home fuel station that breaks down water through electrolysis (inefficient, I know, but stick with me) and stores it, in essence you are making your hydrogen car a plug-in EV but your fueling station can be making fuel for several days while you are driving, and you can refuel in a matter of minutes, rather than hours. And as for the efficiency, it is inefficient to charge batteries too... not as inefficient, but it is a trade off.

I would honestly like to hear some intelligent responses.

RE: I have a thought,..
By JediJeb on 5/26/2010 5:48:13 PM , Rating: 2
I agree. The thing is nothing will replace gasoline cars until someone starts to do it. Also hydrogen is not as unsafe as so many try to make it out to be. Hydrogen suffers from the Hindenburg just as Nuclear suffers from Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. In the lab where I work we handle cylinders of compressed hydrogen every day without any problems, been doing it for 20 years now. I also know the fear of hydrogen embritlement is not as big a deal as some say either because we have had cylinders that have been in use for several years, the company refills them and recycles them many many times with no problems. Design a self sealing break away connector for a cylinder and you would have no problems, unless you drive off a cliff or get hit by a semi, but then you are going to have other problems than a fire to worry about.

I personally would have no fear of driving a hydrogen powered vehicle, or even refueling one. I would be more worried about driving an EV with lithium batteries actually since so many of those have caught fire in cellphones and laptops. Probably just as unreal for me to fear that as most others to fear hydrogen though.

One thing that could eventually make the hydrogen cars better in the long run would be the ability to have a way to do a quick refuel on the road if you run out of fuel. Service trucks could carry cylinders just like welding tanks to give you a quick shot of fuel. That would be really hard to do for full electric vehicles. Of course it would probably be a long time before car nuts would be able to do much modifications on these, but it would happen eventually :)

RE: I have a thought,..
By Paj on 5/27/2010 8:37:15 AM , Rating: 2
Ive always thought of hydrogen as being more of a viable solution than electric in the long term. I remember the trial of hydrogen buses in my home city, it felt very much like the future had arrived, the steam exhaust and the unique sound it made were very memorable.

Is hydrogen obtained through electrolysis a much more energy intensive process than obtaining it from other sources (ie refined from oil/hydrocarbons)? Are there other ways of getting it besides those two?

RE: I have a thought,..
By Micronite on 5/27/2010 10:52:04 AM , Rating: 2
These guys are a little slow rolling it out, but I think this idea awesome.

RE: I have a thought,..
By axeman1957 on 5/27/2010 11:06:41 AM , Rating: 2
They have the generation system i was imagining, but they seem to be modifying combustion engines. If i remember right, a fuel cell and an electric motor are far more efficent. but of course with this, you dont have to buy a new car.

