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

Pedalling Hydrogen in China

Recently Shanghai Pearl Hydrogen Power Source Technology unveiled a Hydrogen fuel cell bicycle at an international fair in Shanghai, China. According to the company the $2,600 bicycle is similar to a conventional electric bicycle except that there are two hydrogen gas bottles and a small fuel cell. The bicycle has a range of 100km (62 miles) at a speed of around 25km (15.5 mph). The bicycle only takes 30 minutes to refill compared to three hours for recharging an electric bicycle battery.

Given the technology involved the bicycle is expensive although the company is confident that price will drop to around $670 once mass production begins.

This is a great start although one has to wonder how the Hydrogen fuel cell was made in the first place. If it was made using a wind mill or some other non fossil fuel source that is great. However if it was made using fossil fuels, although it is still great progress, it is not yet a true product of the Hydrogen Future.


http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22395601-664,00.html

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.