University of Birmingham To Test Hydrogen In England

The British Midlands Development Corporation has announced that the University of Birmingham has unveiled a fleet of Hydrogen powered cars, making it the only university in the United Kingdom to have these vehicles.

The vehicles will be used as part of a study to research the viability of Hydrogen in transport applications. Engineers will be comparing the Hydrogen powered vehicles with gasoline, diesel and electric vehicles to learn more about their efficiency and performance. The researchers will determine how these vehicles need to be adapted in order to make Hydrogen an attractive and cost effective option.

The cars will utilize a Hydrogen fueling station at the university designed by Pennsylvania based Air Products that can fuel up to six vehicles per day. The Hydrogen fueling station is part of a cluster being set up across the region by the British Midlands Hydrogen Forum. The cluster known as the Midlands Hydrogen Ring consists of stations that will be at the heart of the Hydrogen fueling infrastructure planned throughout the region. A second station is already operational at Loughborough University and further sites planned include vehicle testing centers, an airport, a visitor attraction and eventually the open road.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/British-Midlands-University-Unveils-Fleet/story.aspx?guid={9AC0AD32-92E3-451A-AA85-88266E8DB4FD}

Hydrogen Center Opens In Wales

The UK's first dedicated Hydrogen demonstration center has opened at the University of Glamorgan.

Based near Swansea in Wales, the £2.2 million ($3.8 million) building will develop Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies to power cars and homes in the future.

The center will also test the viability and safety of making Hydrogen fuel from Welsh renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

http://www.smartplanet.com/news/tech/10001742/glamorgan-opens-uk-s-first-hydrogen-centre.htm

Hydrogen Road Trip

A group of Hydrogen powered cars and sport utility vehicles lined up for public test drives in Phoenix as part of an unprecedented cross-country Hydrogen Road Tour to promote the fuel of the future.

The two week road trip, which started in Maine and ends this weekend in Southern California, toured more than 30 cities in the United states as part of a joint venture by nine auto manufacturers and the U.S. Department of Transportation to demonstrate to the public that Hydrogen powered vehicles are nearly ready for showrooms.

The hand built demonstration vehicles on the tour are all based on existing cars and small sport-utilities and were put into the hands of regular drivers so they could experience how pollution free driving is visualized for the future. The automakers involved include BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai-Kia, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Volkswagen.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/08/23/20080823hydrogen23.html

Going Postal Over Hydrogen

General Motors (GM) has delivered a Hydrogen powered Chevrolet Equinox to an Irvine, CA post office that will be one of two locations nationwide to test the vehicle. The Hydrogen vehicle will be used to deliver mail to Irvine residences and businesses, putting the fuel cell technology through tough, daily workouts. The goal is to help GM refine the technology and, hopefully, make petroleum powered cars a thing of the past.

Fuel cell vehicles have been in use by the U.S. Postal Service since 2004. The GM HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle was tested in Northern Virginia starting in 2004 and in Irvine starting in 2006 with both test drive programs ending in 2007. The programs helped GM refine the technology of its fourth generation fuel cell vehicle.

Although GM is on track to develop and finalize the vehicle's propulsion system by 2010 it won't start selling the cars until a Hydrogen fueling infrastructure is in place nationwide, making the gas widely available.

There are about 70 hydrogen fueling stations nationwide with California leading the way with 25 of them. Although just two of them are available to the public, including one at UC Irvine, operated by the National Fuel Cell Research Center, and the other in west Los Angeles. A third is however set to open at LAX this fall.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fuel-cell-vehicle-2103142-technology-irvine?slideshow=1

Honda FCX Clarity Available In July

Honda has started production of the FCX Clarity, a new zero-emission four seater car that runs on Hydrogen and electricity.

According to Honda, the new car offers three times better fuel efficiency than a normal car. Honda is planning to produce 200 of the FCX Clarity cars, which for now will only be available on a three year lease for around $600 a month.

The first cars will be available for lease in July in California with a follow up launch in Japan later in the year. Actress Jamie Lee Curtis will be one of the first to have one of the new Honda vehicles.

http://www.enjoyfrance.com/content/view/1512/31/

Ronn Motors Introduces Its Scorpion Exotic Sports Car

Texas startup Ronn Motors has unveiled its new Scorpion exotic sports car that is powered by a Hydrogen/gasoline fuel blend. According to the manufacturer, the Scorpion will run on a Hydrogen/gasoline fuel blend with 30-40% of the mix consisting of Hydrogen.

The automobile is unique in that drivers will not have to reply on Hydrogen stations but can just use water to fuel the car. Ronn Motors states that the Scorpion can produce Hydrogen on demand by fracturing water molecules drawn from a small on board water tank. As a result, the car will not need a high pressure, on board Hydrogen storage tank. The manufacturer claims that the car will hit about 40 mpg.

The 289 hp engine in the Scorpion is based on the motor used to power the 2008 Acura TL-S sedan. Ronn Motors will also offer a 450 hp twin-turbo option. The 2100 lb car is expected to accelerate from 0-60 mph in the 3.2 - 3.5 second range run the quarter mile time in the mid 10 second range at 130 mph. The car will initially be available with a 6-speed manual and later with a 6-speed automatic in 2009. The car will have a limited production run and will be priced at $150,000.

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/37792/113/

Hydrogen Station Set To Open In Britain

Britain’s first Hydrogen fuel station is set to open at Birmingham University this week with plans to open at least twelve stations across the country by 2010. The Hydrogen station will be a part of trials being conducted with a fleet of five fuel-cell vehicles. Three Hydrogen stations are planned for London with the first opening next year at a bus garage in East London.

Air Products, the company installing the fuel station, is working with Transport for London (TfL) to build fuel stations for a fleet of 70 Hydrogen-powered vehicles that are being introduced next year. TfL vehicles will contain a mixture of buses, vans, cars and motorcycles and will be used by TfL staff, the police and the fire brigade. The five-year trial of both fuel cells and Hydrogen combustion engines will cost around $43 million (£22 million).

A fuel cell combines Hydrogen from a tank with oxygen from the air to produce electricity, which powers an electric motor. The only byproduct is water and the whole process produces no carbon dioxide emissions

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/article3753961.ece