Hydrogen cars face technological hurdles: experts

NF Reporter · 03-21-2007, 12:30 PM

Reuters - Hydrogen is being touted as an environmentally friendly fuel of the future, but the road to hydrogen-powered vehicles will not be easy, industry experts said on Tuesday.

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waltky · 12-21-2007, 09:52 PM

Ford Motor Co. gets serious about hydrogen storage for cars...

Hydrogen storage for cars?
December 21, 2007 - Hydrogen is the fuel of the future. Unfortunately, one problem remains: Hydrogen is a gas and cannot easily be pumped into a tank like gasoline.

Quote:

Storage in the form of solid hydrides, chemical compounds of hydrogen and a metal or semimetal, are good storage materials in principle, but have not been well suited to automotive applications. An American research team at the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn and the University of California, Los Angeles, has now developed a novel hydride that could be a useful starting point for the development of future automotive hydrogen-storage materials.

As Jun Yang and his team report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, an “autocatalytic” reaction mechanism causes the composite made of three different hydrides to rapidly release hydrogen at lower temperatures and without dangerous by-products. Certain hydrogen compounds, such as lithium borohydride (LiBH4 ) and magnesium hydride (MgH2), can release hydrogen and then take it up again. However, for automotive applications, they require temperatures that are too high to release hydrogen, the hydrogen release and uptake are far too slow, and decomposition reactions release undesirable by-products such as ammonia. In addition, these compounds can only be “recharged” under very high pressure and temperature conditions.

The combination of two different hydrides (binary hydride) has previously been shown to improve things, as these compounds partly release hydrogen at lower temperatures than either of the individual components. The researchers led by Yang went a step further and combined three hydrogen-containing compounds—lithium amide (LiNH2), lithium borohydride, and magnesium hydride—in a 2:1:1 ratio to form a ternary hydride. This trio has substantially better properties than previous binary materials.

The reason for this improvement is a complex sequence of reactions between the various components. The first reactions begin as soon as the starting components are ground together. Heating starts off more reactions, releasing the hydrogen. The mixture is “autocatalytic”, which means that one of the reactions produces the product cores for the following reaction, which speeds up the entire reaction sequence. The result is a lower desorption temperature; the release of hydrogen begins at 150 °C. In addition the hydrogen is very pure because neither ammonia nor any other volatile decomposition products are formed. Recharging the ternary hydride with hydrogen can be accomplished under moderate conditions.

Hydrogen storage for cars? | Science Codex

waltky · 01-22-2008, 01:20 AM

Granny says figure on gas goin' up another $1 a gallon to pay for this...

Abu Dhabi plots hydrogen future
Monday, 21 January 2008, The government of Abu Dhabi has announced a $15bn (£7.5bn) initiative to develop clean energy technologies.

Quote:

The Gulf state describes the five-year initiative as "the most ambitious sustainability project ever launched by a government". Components will include the world's largest hydrogen power plant. The government has also announced plans for a "sustainable city", housing about 50,000 people, that will produce no greenhouse gases and contain no cars.

The $15bn fund, which the state hopes will lead to international joint ventures involving much more money, is being channelled through the Masdar Initiative, a company established to develop and commercialise clean energy technologies. "It shows that you can generate hydrogen without carbon release from fossil fuels" - Professor Keith Guy

Powering up for hydrogen

"As global demand for energy continues to expand, and as climate change becomes a real and growing concern, the time has come to look to the future," said Masdar CEO Dr Sultan Al Jaber. "Our ability to adapt and respond to these realities will ensure that Abu Dhabi's global energy leadership as well as our own growth and development continues."

Technology bridge

hellmet · 02-29-2008, 02:46 PM

Well, judging at the rate petroleum is being consumed in this age, the search for alternatives is turning out to be very urgently needed. If we sleep till the end of petrol, we're gonna be in huge trouble. Btw, I've heard that hydrogen is not really feasible for cars due to the nature of the gas?

Icorigin · 02-29-2008, 02:56 PM

I am in no position to second-guess President George Bush
and his knowledgeable advisors within his administration
who see things I do not see, but it seems to me that the
immediate answer to becoming undependent upon foreign
oil is the direct and substantial promotion of both corn and
cellulose-based ethanol - being that the present mass of
internal-combustion engines throughout the nation are already
set up for ethanol use (whether or not they are designated
Flexible-Fuel Vehicles, or FFV compliant).
The next step is not so much to construct new oil refineries
while drilling for oil in environmentally sensitive areas (because
of the pollution factor of hydrocarbon emissions and global-
warming consequences associated therewith), but instead
money and executive-order incentive poured into development
and mass-production of advanced battery, all-battery electric
vehicles for adults, plus the highway-restriction allocation suited
for such.

- FANTASYLESSONS

bizwiz · 02-29-2008, 07:19 PM

I would really like a realistic and cheaper alternative to fossil fuel. Gas prices these days are through the roof!

waltky · 04-04-2008, 05:33 PM

Hydrogen from algae...

Algae could be a major hydrogen fuel source in future
Washington, April 2,`08 : Scientists at U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory are working to chemically manipulate algae for production of the next generation of renewable fuels - hydrogen gas.

Quote:

Some varieties of algae, a kind of unicellular plant, contain an enzyme called hydrogenase that can create small amounts of hydrogen gas. According to senior chemist David Tiede, many believe this enzyme is used by nature as a way to get rid of excess reducing equivalents that are produced under high light conditions, but are of little benefit to the plant. Tiede and his group are trying to find a way to take the part of the enzyme that creates the gas and introduce it into the photosynthesis process. The result would be a large amount of hydrogen gas, possibly on par with the amount of oxygen created.

"We believe there is a fundamental advantage in looking at the production of hydrogen by photosynthesis as a renewable fuel," said Tiede. "Right now, ethanol is being produced from corn, but generating ethanol from corn is a thermodynamically much more inefficient process," he added. According to Tiede, "What we would like to do is take that catalyst out of hydrogenase and put into the photosynthetic protein framework."

Algae has several benefits over corn in fuel production. It can be grown in a closed system almost anywhere including deserts or even rooftops, and there is no competition for food or fertile soil. Algae is also easier to harvest because it has no roots or fruit and grows dispersed in water. "If you have terrestrial plants like corn, you are restricted to where you could grow them. Also, there is a problem now with biofuel crops competing with food crops because they are both using the same space," said Tiede. "Algae provides an alternative, which can be grown in a closed photobioreactor analogous to a microbial fermentor that you could move any place," he added.

Algae could be a major hydrogen fuel source in future

bizwiz · 04-04-2008, 07:28 PM

That's nice if we can harvest algae as fuel. We got a lot of those around here

sunken · 04-05-2008, 02:54 PM

It would make much more sense to harvest algae if that is possible for fuel than it would be for ethanol. When corn has to be shared for fuel, the money that is saved perhaps in the gas, will be made up by food. It's interesting to see the type of vehicles coming to light. I do think the movement towards oil independance will come from the demand and not be able to be silenced as it has in the past.

waltky · 06-16-2008, 09:59 PM

But try finding hydrogen to put in the tank...

Honda Makes First Hydrogen Cars
Monday, 16 June 2008 - Honda claims the FCX Clarity will help cut pollution and fuel wastage

Quote:

Japanese car manufacturer Honda has begun the first commercial production of a zero-emission, hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicle. The four-seater, called FCX Clarity, runs on electricity produced by combining hydrogen with oxygen, and emits water vapour.

Honda claims the vehicle offers three times better fuel efficiency than a traditional, petrol-powered car. Honda plans to produce 200 of the cars over the next three years. One of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of wider adoption of fuel-cell vehicles is the lack of hydrogen fuelling stations.

Critics also point out that hydrogen is costly to produce and the most common way to produce hydrogen is still from fossil fuels. Analysis of the environmental impact of different fuel technologies has shown that the overall carbon dioxide emissions from hydrogen powered cars can be higher than that from petrol or diesel-powered vehicles.

'Monumental step'

waltky · 07-21-2008, 06:04 AM

Not in the immediate future...

So far, hydrogen-powered cars are fuel for future thoughts
20 July `08 : Taken your hydrogen-powered FreedomCAR out for a spin lately? Nope? Well, there is plenty of time to sign up for one, suggests a National Research Council report that pegs 2020 for the arrival of the mass-market fuel cell vehicle.

Quote:

That's the best case scenario, of course, assuming technology, government, industry and the public all cooperate on bringing hydrogen cars to the nation's highways. "The use of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can achieve large and sustained reductions in U.S. oil consumption and CO2 emissions, but several decades will be needed to realize these potential long-term benefits," says the NRC report.

Fuel cells combine hydrogen with a chemical catalyst to make electricity and water exhaust. In contrast, the nation's 235 million cars and light trucks burn about 44% of the country's oil and release about 20% of its industrial carbon dioxide emissions. All told, transportation represents about 5% of the U.S. contribution to global warming, but spikes in the price of gas have sharpened interest in alternatives to gasoline, such as biofuels and hydrogen.

In 2002, then-Energy Department chief Spencer Abraham unveiled the $1.2 billion FreedomCAR effort, which partnered DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors and others in a research push for fuel cell cars. The CAR in FreedomCAR stands for "Cooperative Automotive Research" and the Freedom meant freedom from oil imports, greenhouse gas emissions and "Freedom for Americans to choose the kind of vehicle they want to drive, and to drive where they want, when they want," according to the Energy Department.

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Icorigin · 07-21-2008, 07:07 PM

Because of the difficulty in obtaining and storing
hydrogen for use as a fuel for road vehicles, the
attempt to promote hydrogen-fueled cars is
impractical, wasteful, and futile.

As McCain recently stated, a new high-efficiency
type of battery is needed for transport vehicles.

Meanwhile, cheaper-than-gasoline ethanol
as a fuel is presently quite available as a
half-gasoline/half-85%-ethanol fuel option I personally
have been using in my NON-flexfuel vehicle for almost two
years now with slight INCREASE in gas mileage, SLIGHTLY-less
power on uphill climbs, and NO detectable damage to any of my
car's engine parts.

As soon as I can acquire $13,000, I will purchase an all-batteries
all-electric Zap car.

- ZAPCARS
- ZENNELECTRICARS

waltky · 08-21-2008, 05:39 PM

Hydrogen from ethanol...

Scientists find new ways to convert ethanol into hydrogen
Thursday 21st August, 2008 - Scientists have found a way to convert ethanol and other biofuels into hydrogen very efficiently, by using a new catalyst that makes hydrogen from ethanol with 90 percent yield, at a workable temperature, and using inexpensive ingredients.

Quote:

According to Umit Ozkan, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Ohio State University in the US, the new catalyst is much less expensive than others being developed around the world, because it does not contain precious metals, such as platinum or rhodium. 'Rhodium is used most often for this kind of catalyst, and it costs around 9,000 dollars an ounce,' said Ozkan. 'Our catalyst costs around 9 dollars a kilogram,' she added. The Ohio State catalyst could help make the use of hydrogen-powered cars more practical in the future, said Ozkan.

'There are many practical issues that need to be resolved before we can use hydrogen as fuel -- how to make it, how to transport it, how to create the infrastructure for people to fill their cars with it,' she explained. 'Our research lends itself to what's called a 'distributed production' strategy. Instead of making hydrogen from biofuel at a centralized facility and transporting it to gas stations, we could use our catalyst inside reactors that are actually located at the gas stations,' said Ozkan. 'So we wouldn't have to transport or store the hydrogen - we could store the biofuel, and make hydrogen on the spot,' she added.

The catalyst is inexpensive to make and to use compared to others under investigation worldwide. Those others are often made from precious metals, or only work at very high temperatures. Precious metals have high catalytic activity and - in most cases - high stability, but they're also very expensive. 'So our goal from the outset was to come up with a precious-metal-free catalyst, one that was based on metals that are readily available and inexpensive, but still highly active and stable. So that sets us apart from most of the other groups in the world,' said Ozkan.

The new dark gray powder is made from tiny granules of cerium oxide - a common ingredient in ceramics - and calcium, covered with even smaller particles of cobalt. It produces hydrogen with 90 percent efficiency at 660 degrees Fahrenheit (around 350 degrees Celsius) - a low temperature by industrial standards. According to Ozkan, whenever a process works at a lower temperature, that brings energy savings and cost savings. 'Also, if the catalyst is highly active and can achieve high hydrogen yields, we don't need as much of it. That will bring down the size of the reactor, and its cost,' he said.

Scientists find new ways to convert ethanol into hydrogen