CAVEAT: The purpose of Thinkquest is not to promote products or recommend companies. This
site in not an e-commerce site and does not recommend products for purchase. The products
mentioned on this site are not in production yet. The whole hydrogen industry is in
a demonstration and research phase as of 8/15/2000. The purpose of this page is purely
informational and educational. It is designed to provide the backdrop for an international
discussion forum in our guestbook on the issues and merits/demerits of changing from
fossil fuel to hydrogen.
Hydrogen cars
The California Hydrogen Business Council reported on their web page on June 25,2000 that
Sheikh Yamani (former oil minister - Saudi Arabia) reports that by 2010 gasoline demand
will drop by 100% due to hydrogen technology.
REF: Fagan, Mary; Sheikh Yamani predicts price crash as age of oil ends;
Sunday Telegraph; as archived in the California Hydrogen Business Council's site.
http://www.ch2bc.org/bulletin20000506.htm
This year while attending my cousin's graduation from Virginia Tech, we
ran into this hydrogen PEM (proton exchange membrane) car parked across
from the library next to a dormitory. This car is a Chevrolet Lumina sedan
named ANIMUL H2.
A company named Energy Partners, L.C., under funding from the US Department of Energy
provided two 20-kilowatt fuel cell stacks to Virginia Tech and Texas Tech Universities.
The car weighs 4,280 pounds. It will go 70 miles on a tank of hydrogen. You can rev
it up to 75 miles per hour on the open road.
New future careers
Fuel Cell Industry Report reports a story from the World Future Society in Bethesda, Maryland
where one of their 25 predictions for the next 20 years is a new career opportunity for
those wanting to be an "automotive fuel cell battery technician."
REF: Notable emerging careers in the next 20 years; Fuel Cell Industry
Report; July 2000; page 3.
The history of hydrogen cars
1966 - Union Carbide developed an alkaline (see fuel cell discussion previously)
Austin A40 sedan 6 kwatts. Used pure compressed hydrogen.
1990 - Georgetown University - three buses 50 kwatts - phosphoric acid - used
reformed methanol
1991 - Ballard Power Systems - 120 kwatt PEM bus
1993 - Energy Partners - 15 kwatt sports car PEM using Ballard fuel cell
1994 - Daimler-Benz van - 60 kwatt PEM Ballard cell
1996 - Toyota sports utility - 10 kwatt PEM - metal hydride
1997 - Renault station wagon - 190 kwatt Ballard PEM
1998 Daimler-Chrysler - Six 120 kwatt buses using PEM Ballard liquid hydrogen
1998 - Zevco - 5-kwatt alkaline
1998 - General Motors - Opel minivan 50-kwatt PEM
1999 - Daimler-Chrylser - NECAR 4, top speed 90 mph, 280 between refillings
1999 - Ford P2000 SUV
2000 - Daimler-Chrysler - Jeep Commander
2000 - Ford TH!NK FC5 family sedan, Ballard PEM
2000 - Volkswagen - Volvo and Capri - PEM Ballard
2004 - The year that major manufacturers say they will have production fuel cell
cars!! (GM, Daimler-Chrysler, Xcellsis (will produce 100,000 fuel cell engines a year starting
in 2000!), Toyota RAV4 sport utility vehicle, Honda (methanol reformer, 300 a year),
Hyundai ($9 million budget), and Mitsubishi (liquid hydrogen!!).
One solution to hydrogen storage is to use
hydrides. Hydride chemistry is so new
that it is not taught in high school and not taught in most college chemistry
classes.
Hydrogen storage in cars
Hydrides: these compounds give off hydrogen in water, like so:
CaH2 + 2 H20 ®
Ca(OH)2 + 2H2
The above uses calcium hydride. The equation for sodium hydride is as follows:
NaH + H2O ® NaOH + H
2
The reaction occurs vigorously. One solution by a company is to enclose the hydride in
ping-pong balls. The balls are punctured as hydrogen fuel is needed. The hydroxide and
water byproduct could be recycled, but it is messy. This is a relatively expensive
and liter producing approach.
REF: McConnell, V.P., Editor; Fuel Cell Industry Report; NY, NY; June 2000; page 10.
Hydrides available have the following characteristics:
H2 - liquid hydrogen is stored at 422°F
BeH2 - Beryllium hydride - very poisonous
B2H6 - diborane - poisonous
LiH - lithium hydride is very caustic
CH4 - liquid methane, stored at -281°F
NH4 - ammonia - poisonous
NaH - sodium hydride - caustic but inexpensive (see powerballs explanation above)
CaH2 - calcium hydride
AlH3 = aluminum hydride
SiH4 - poisonous
KH - potassium hydride - caustic
TiH2 - titanium hydride
N2H4 - hydrazine - poisonous
Westinghouse Savannah River Co. in their tests find that metal hydride particles 10
microns in size work best (powder). These are scattered in porous pellets.
REF: Fuel Cell Industry Report by Scientific American, NY, NY; May 2000, page 11.
The advantages of hydride storage
Can you order fuel for your car on-line? Well, probably not. Hydrides, being powder,
can be shipped to your house from a simple internet order. What is even more amazing
is that as of 8/15/2000 the following domain names were available:
HydrideFuel.com
eHydride.com
HydrideSupplyOnLine.com
HydrideCentral.com
And on, and on. Hydride domains are not saturated yet. The trouble with hydride
use is if the after-product is not properly disposed, serious environmental damage
ensues. For instance, if there were a machine that you could empty the waste into
for recharging, it could prove to be a recyclable fuel. If waste could be deposited
at "recycling stations" or at the green/glass/plastic disposal area to be industrially
recharged, this could also be environmentally a wonderful solution. However, many of
the hydrides being developed are toxic or caustic. Likewise, the waste product is
toxic.
One thing we have going for us is that we are used to charging batteries. Scientists,
such as Dr. Ovshinsky, believe that as small hydrogen fuel cells evolve, like batteries,
recharging units will evolve.
REF: Fuel Cell Industry Report by Scientific American, NY, NY; March 2000, page 7.
NREL's carbon nanotubes
The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed a lightweight and compact
system for hydrogen storage that is inexpensive. These store large quantities of hydrogen.
Japanese planning hydrogen filling station
The Japanese government is moving to "standardize" hydrogen technology so that the
process won't leave us with a whole lot of incompatible and mismatched parts.
The filling stations will be for both pressurized hydrogen gas and hydrides. These
will become available in the autumn of 2001.
France gets in on the act - filling stations
Gaz de France is moving to dominate the hydrogen vehicle market by providing hydrogen
filling stations.
Gas de France to distribute California hydrogen technology in Europe;
German Hydrogen Association; Gazette; 3rd quarter 2000; August 3, 2000.
http://www.hydrogen.org/News/gazette.html
Hydrogen filling stations are coming to America's Las Vegas
Las Vegas attracts many U.S. business and technical conferences. The clean city
has worked hard on a family image. Las Vegas Senator, Harry Reid, announced that
the Department of Energy will be partnering with Air Products and Chemicals to put
in a combination hydrogen and natural gas filling station enhancement to conventional
stations to accommodate alternative fuel vehicles. The goal is to demonstrate safety
and cost affordability. With many using rental cars when they visit the desert
resort, the new novelty should attract curiosity and encourage experimentation
of the new technology prior to making a capital investment decision.
The Canadians have a better idea
Stuart Energy makes a personal fuel appliance (PFA 2000) where any person can just
hook it up to water (like an ice maker) and plug it in
to 220-volt house current, which is the standard for clothes dryers. They claim that
it pumps a "slow stream of hydrogen to your vehicle overnight."
This is portable, lightweight, affordable, and safe. What more can you ask? No more
filling stations! It's like charging the cell phone. This should help every teenager's
allowance. If we can work with municipal power utilities like in
Sacramento,
to generate power from our solar cells,
we should be able to run our cars at no cost and cleanly! What great technology!
