New Fueling Stations for London's Hydrogen Buses

Air Products & Chemicals Incorporated announced that it has signed an agreement with Transport for London to supply Hydrogen fuel and a dedicated fueling station for 10 Hydrogen-powered buses. The deal is worth around $6.8 million, with extra being paid for the fuel. The company expects the buses, which will form a central part of London's Hydrogen transport program, to be operating by 2010.

Air Products is based out of Allentown, PA and is the world’s largest supplier of merchant Hydrogen, operating over 60 gaseous and liquid Hydrogen production plants.

http://www.eta.co.uk/node/10409

Hydrogen and Hythane Station In Delhi

Hythane Company LLC (owned by Eden Energy Limited) has been selected by IndianOil Corporation to install and supply the first public Hydrogen fueling station in India. The $1 million retail outlet is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2008 and will be located at one of India's busiest natural gas fuelling stations in the center of Delhi .

The station will produce, store, blend, and dispense Hydrogen as well as Hythane (a patented mixture of Hydrogen and natural gas that provides a dramatic reduction in nitrous oxide emissions) that will used to power natural gas vehicles, including buses, cars, and trucks.

India has set a target of having at least 20% of all of its vehicles operate on Hydrogen based fuel by 2020 (an estimated one million vehicles). This Hydrogen fuel project in Delhi is seen as a important springboard for the commercial rollout of Hythane worldwide.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/energy/article/eden-energy-install-supply-indias-public-hydrogen-fueling-station_463499_11.html

Good Day Sunshine

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Bioinorganic Chemistry in Mülheim, Germany have developed a promising new catalyst for splitting water using sunlight and storing the Hydrogen and oxygen produced.

The team of scientists found that titanium disilicide (TiSi2) can split water using a photocatalytic process similar to photosynthesis whereby chlorophyll molecules use light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into glucose. The semiconductor is also able to separate and store the Hydrogen and oxygen released.

Using simply the sun and no other fossil fuels to produce Hydrogen is about as clean as a method as one can find. Assuming this can be implemented on a large scale it will definitely be something that we can expect to see in the Hydrogen Future.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2007/October/01100701.asp

He Sells Hydrogen Hyundai's on the Sea Shore

Hyundai has unveiled its new Hydrogen fuel cell concept vehicle called the i-Blue at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. The company says that the zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) is built on a car based crossover platform in what it calls a two plus two crossover utility vehicle (CUV).

Hyundai is confident that they have succeeded in designing a true Hydrogen fuel cell ZEV that still retains the comfort, convenience, safety and driving range of a traditional internal combustion engine vehicle. The company is optimistic that it will begin mass production of the vehicle within the next decade.

Hopefully with all of their technology and ingenuity Hyundai will become successful in producing the Hydrogen fuel cells necessary for vehicles like the i-Blue without using any fossil fuels. This would position the company very well into the Hydrogen Future.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4217080a30.html

Coming to a Movie Premiere Near You - The New Toyota Hydrogen SUV

Toyota has announced that a new version of the Highlander SUV fitted with Hydrogen fuel cells is capable of driving 900km (560 miles) at around 80 km (50 mph) on a single tank of Hydrogen. This is excellent news especially given that the only exhaust produced during the trip would be water.

The company did not mention when the vehicle might become available or what it might cost.

Once again though we have to ask whether the original Hydrogen fuel cell was made using fossil fuels or not. Either way, this is very promising.

http://www.tech.co.uk/gadgets/future-tech/news/toyotas-hydrogen-car-covers-new-ground?articleid=832724589

The Basics of Hydrogen

Hydrogen gas (H2) represents nearly 75% of the universes elemental mass and is the most abundant of chemical elements. It is odorless, colorless, tasteless, nonmetallic, and highly flammable. Hydrogen is lighter than air and since it rises into the atmosphere it is not found on earth by itself but rather compounded together with other elements. When combined with oxygen it is water (H2O) and when combined with carbon, it forms other compounds such as methane (CH4), coal, and petroleum. Hydrogen is also found in biomass and is an abundant element in the earths crust.

Since Hydrogen is not an energy source itself it has to be produced by either electrolysis of water or reforming of fossil fuels. Electrolysis of water is a process whereby electricity is used to split water molecules (H2O) to create pure Hydrogen and oxygen. Although this process can be done just about anywhere it is the more expensive of the two processes. In the reforming of fossil fuels, a device called a fuel processor or reformer is used to split Hydrogen off the carbon in hydrocarbons that are found in oil and natural gas (methane) to create pure Hydrogen and carbon, the latter being discarded into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

In order to create a true Hydrogen Future pure Hydrogen should be derived from renewable sources and not fossil fuels so that there is no release of carbon into the atmosphere. Today this can be achieved only by generating pure Hydrogen through electrolysis utilizing electricity that is not generated itself by fossil fuels. There are several non fossil fuel options for generating the electricity needed for electrolysis which include wind turbines, solar cells, hydroelectric dams, nuclear power, geothermal power, wave and tidal power and co-generation.

The Hydrogen Future will be driven in large part by the non fossil fuel option that becomes not only the safest, most feasible and most efficient source of electricty needed to produce pure Hydrogen but also the most affordable.