Cadillac Provoqs The Hydrogen Vehicle Market

General Motors has unveiled its new Cadillac Provoq Hydrogen concept vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV.

The Provoq contains two 10,000-psi Hydrogen tanks that feed a fuel-cell stack to produce up to 88kW of continuous power that charges a lithium-ion battery pack. This power is used to spin both a 70 kW co-axial electric drive system at the front wheels and two 40 kW in-wheel motors at the rear. Fully fueled and charged, the Provoq will run 300 miles and get to sixty miles per hour in a respectable 8.5 seconds and achieve a top speed of 100 mph.

The Provoq also comes with several nice options including dual battery charging ports in the left and right front fenders, a roof-mounted solar panel to boost the electric charge, and front grille louvers that close up at highway speeds to improve aerodynamics.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/01/cadillac-unveil.html

Hydrogen Honda Is Here To Stay

Honda Motor Company has come out with a trial based Hydrogen fueled vehicle called the FCX Concept. During the debut of the vehicle Honda predicted a bright future for Hydrogen fuel cell cars, stating that mass production of such vehicles may happen within a decade.

Honda has stated that it is making significant efforts in the development of fuel cell vehicles with the hopes of bringing down the high price from $840,000 (more than 100 million yen) to below $87,700 (10 million yen) within the next ten years.

Honda also believes that there is no future for the auto history without Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles especially when other cleaner technology such as electric vehicles cannot go as far as needed without additional charging or a massive battery. After trying to mass produce electric vehicles three years ago Honda realized the technology was not enough and decided to pursue fuel cell technology instead.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/307388/1/.html

Keep On Truckin'

Exide Technologies (the parent company of battery maker GNB Industrial Power) and Ballard Power Systems (a Canadian fuel cell manufacturer) have teamed up to develop a hybrid energy system for lift trucks that uses both a battery and a Hydrogen fuel cell.

As part of their contract with the U.S. Department of Defense the companies are looking to produce a system that will use a Hydrogen fuel cell to recharge a lead acid battery while the battery remains in the lift truck. The battery will do its traditional work of providing power and acting as a counterweight while the fuel cell will eliminate the need to lift the heavy batteries out of the trucks for electric charging. A working prototype of the hybrid system is expected to be ready in 12 months.

Although this is not something targeted for the masses maybe the technology could be leveraged into other uses such as for automobiles, motorcycles or even boats.

http://www.mmh.com/article/CA6489246.html