Hydrogen News

The biggest news today is the announcement by BMW that in 2007 they will be leasing to the public a small fleet of hydrogen powered cars. That is certainly a great step in the right direction but there is more going on with hydrogen power.

BMW to lease hydrogen cars in April

Eager to put its stamp on cars with green credentials, BMW announced Tuesday that it will roll out the world’s first hydrogen-burning car in serial production early next year.

Dubbed the Hydrogen 7, the specially equipped 7-Series executive cars emit only water vapor when running on hydrogen. That means zero emissions of pollutants and carbon dioxide, a gas that many scientists tie to global warming.

"The complete change from a fossil fuel infrastructure to a hydrogen economy will require decades," the German carmaker said in a statement, but the Hydrogen 7 "shows that bringing hydrogen technology to the road is indeed feasible."

There's more about the Hydrogen 7 in the article but it also states that GM will soon have its own model out on the market.

GM shows off hydrogen Sequel

BMW's announcement comes on the heels of General Motors on Monday unveiling a driveable version of the Chevrolet Sequel, a hydrogen fuel cell SUV that it called "the most technologically advanced automobile ever built."

GM said the Sequel "is the first vehicle in the world to successfully integrate a hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system with a broad menu of advanced technologies such as steer- and brake-by-wire controls, wheel hub motors, lithium-ion batteries and a lightweight aluminum structure."

The Sequel can go 300 miles before refueling, GM said, well beyond the industry standard of 150 miles. And it does 0-60 in 10 seconds, the carmaker said.

"General Motors is proving that advanced technology can remove the automobile from the environmental debate and reduce our dependence on petroleum," Larry Burns, GM's research and development vice president, said in a statement.

"Sequel fundamentally changes the DNA of today's automobiles," Burns added, "exchanging an internal combustion engine, petroleum and mechanical systems for fuel cell propulsion, hydrogen and electrical systems."

Hydrogen is big business not just in California where construction is well underway on the Hydrogen Highway but there's also a story out of South Carolina, of all places, stating that SC intends to become ground zero for the blossoming business of hydrogen technology.

South Carolina and the new hydrogen economy

Using hydrogen as fuel could one day lessen the United States’ dependence on foreign oil, as well as do much to promote a “greener” way of life. Unarguably, however, much research and development is needed before the use of hydrogen as a fuel is a practical alternative to its fossil fuel counterpart. Still, South Carolina is more than willing to do the work and wants to lead the new hydrogen economy.

While practically every state has some sort of hydrogen initiative, lawmakers and business leaders in South Carolina believe they have an edge that other states do not: the Savannah River Site (SRS). The SRS officially opened its hydrogen research facility in February, 2006; it was designed to facilitate cooperative hydrogen research among the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), universities and industry.

The SRNL, at which work began in the 1950s, boasts of having the nation's largest collection of hydrogen experts. While the lab's initial mission was the study of tritium, a hydrogen isotope used to enhance nuclear bombs, its new specialty is separating hydrogen from sources such as water and safely storing the element onboard a vehicle.

"Because of SRS, we're ahead of the curve," said House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston. "Whoever cracks the nut first will probably be the center of the universe . . . This can be so powerful for South Carolina's economy."

Fred Humes, the director of the Economic Development Partnership in Aiken and Edgefield counties, believes the research and resulting investments could bring in $10 billion and tens of thousands of well-paying jobs in the next two decades.

The national facility is leasing half the center, built and owned by Aiken County; the rest is available for private industries. Toyota Technical Center USA became the first non-SRS company to lease space to perform research; General Motors, though not leasing, is working with the lab. With the assurance of President Bush’s 5-year $1.2 billion initiative announced in 2003, most car manufacturers are testing hydrogen-powered vehicles.

While public availability is likely a decade away or more, the impact of a viable hydrogen fuel solution would be immense. Using hydrogen as a fuel means cars will emit water rather than exhaust fumes, making it a clean, widely available alternative to fossil fuels.

"It's exciting," said Theodore Motyka, a hydrogen technology program manager at Savannah River. "There are not many places you can do something as important as this."

South Carolina’s statewide initiative resulted in the National Hydrogen Association choosing Columbia as the site for its 2009 convention, which should further propel South Carolina as a leader in hydrogen technology.

Well building hydrogen fuel cells is certainly better than building atomic bombs!

Lastly, in a hydrogen related story, it turns out that cobalt could make buying a hydrogen car feasible for us regular folks.

Cobalt could be key to lower cost hydrogen vehicles

Life just got really good for you if you have a cobalt mine in your backyard. Thousands of researchers around the world are working on finding innovations and developments that will help to make the widespread use of hydrogen in vehicles possible. This summer, scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have discovered a way to use cobalt as a catalyst for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Platinum has been the metal of choice in the cells until now, but cobalt will be much less expensive, and you need less cobalt in a cell as well. Platinum costs about $45 per gram, while cobalt rings in at 20 cents per gram, though that will surely rise if it is in wide demand. The cobalt cells don’t produce as much power as a similar platinum one does, but the cobalt cell is able to maintain the same power level for a significant amount of time, while platinum degrades rapidly, decreasing the power output.

The idea behind PEFCs is not new. They were used in the Apollo missions during the 1960s and 1970s.