Fuel Cell Vehicles
Fuel Cells in Transportation
Sustainable Mobility Renewable Energies for Fuel Cell Vehicles
Automotive manufacturers are competing to be the first to bring a fuel cell vehicle to the consumer marketplace. In an unprecedented historic shift automakers themselves have become steadily more interested in breaking their own dependence on petroleum. It's been estimated that automakers had already spent nearly $5 billion on fuel-cell research by the end of 2003. Various approaches are being taken, some are touting pure hydrogen, while others such as BMW feel the internal combustion engine can be revamped. Eight major automakers are currently commercializing fuel cell vehicles . All face the key issue of how to provide hydrogen to the fuel cells.
They have options for providing hydrogen to the fuel cells vehicles.
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Produce the hydrogen on the ground and then store it onboard the vehicle (the direct hydrogen option)
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Produce the hydrogen on the vehicle by means of a tiny onboard hydrogen plant (the onboard fuel processor option).
The energy efficiency of fuel cells makes them a very attractive alternative .
Improvements in vehicle design and materials to reduce weight and improve aerodynamics will benefit FCVs as well as conventional vehicles. For this reason the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) anticipate that a fuel cell vehicle comparable to today's Ford Taurus or Chevrolet Lumina will achieve the equivalent of nearly 80 miles per gasoline gallon.
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Several studies have modeled the potential energy efficiency of fuel cell vehicles . The Argonne National Laboratory estimates that methanol fuel cell vehicles (MFCVs) can achieve a fuel economy 2.1 to 2.6 times greater than an internal combustion engine . The Pembina Institute for Appropriate Technology assumes that MFCVs will achieve efficiencies of 1.76 times that of a gasoline vehicle. Mass-market fuel-cell vehicles aren't expected to reach market until 2010 or later , however some experimental FCVs, such as the DaimlerChrysler transit buses are already in operation. DaimlerChrysler expects to have a fuel-cell passenger car ready by 2004. Ford Motor Co. also plans to build a limited number of experimental fuel-cell vehicles by 2004. One early niche is in bus fleets in modern urban areas . Pilot tests of fuel cell buses running on liquid or compressed hydrogen have been or are being conducted in
Hydrogen fuelling stations have popped up in places like Sacramento, Las Vegas, and the Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan; in Hamburg, where the plan is to use renewable hydrogen from Iceland; and at Munich airport in Germany. Other stations are in the works in Milan, Italy, and Osaka and Takamatsu, Japan. See Hydrogen Infrastructure
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Whistler, Inc. successfully demonstrated the hydrogen-fueled
Carbon-X fuel cell powered golf car. The fuel cell golf car features
a 48-volt proton exchange membrane fuel cell developed by Anuvu
Incorporated.
Whistler has basically disappeared from the radar screens in recent months, there is no volume to speak of on their stock, and their website has been down for some time.
Stock Quote Pink Sheets.com.
UTC Fuel Cells a subsidiary of
United Technologies
Corp. and Hyundai have
collaborated to produce several hydrogen-powered vehicles UTC
is working with Toshiba to develop a prototype fuel cell system that
extracts hydrogen from gasoline and has a partnership with the
United States Department of Energy to develop a gasoline-powered
fuel cell system powerful enough to operate an automobile. -
Argonne
Completes Evaluation of DOE Fuel Cell System
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De Nora Fuel Cells
De Nora Fuel Cells of Italy develops PEM fuel cells for
transportation applications. They are a subsidiary of De Nora S.p.A..
The company has collaborations with Renault and Peugot/Citroen on
several projects. De Nora supplied the fuel cell engine demonstrated
in the Coval truck.
De Nora S.p.A.. holds a 46% interest in Nuvera Fuel Cells of Massachusetts -See Fuel Cell Companies, and have interests in numerous energy and advanced technology companies Internationally.
Fiat
Fiat produced the
Panda Hydrogen vehicle
{Seicento Elettra H2 Fuel
Cell} a two-seater with the support of Italy's Ministry of the
Environment .
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PSA Citroen has collaborations with Renault and Denora Fuel Cells
with a proposed target date of 2010 for the development of a
commercially viable fuel cell car by 2010.
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French Auto-Maker Renault SA and
Nissan Motor Co. are developing vehicles powered by a fuel cell
that runs on gasoline. They anticipate spending over $700 million on
this project with a projected market/target date of 2005. They are
also working with PSA Citroen on another project for the
development of a commercially viable fuel cell vehicle by 2010. The
LAGUNA - FEVER is a Renault station wagon powered by a PEM fuel
cell engine fueled by stored liquid hydrogen.
Website
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Korean Auto
maker Hyundai has collaborated with
UTC Fuel Cells to
develop a fuel-cell power plant capable of operating under
sub-zero condition. They plan to develop a freeze-capable
fuel-cell power plant and integrate it into Hyundai vehicles.
In 2004 Hyundai plans to begin testing the performance of fuel-cell
vehicles in fleet applications.
Hyundai expects to make fuel-cell vehicles available to American
fleet operators next year with limited public availability by 2010.
Website
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Made in Korea: Chung Ju Yung and the Rise of Hyundai
Mazda Motor Corp. anticipates test-runs of its vehicle powered by a
combination of a methanol-reformer fuel cell system and an electric
motor in Japan. The "Premacy
FC-EV" which Mazda hopes to start marketing circa-2005.
Mazda unveiled a fuel cell concept car, based on its Demio compact,
fueled by hydrogen.
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Mitsubishi Motors and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are currently
working together to develop a fuel cell system , while also
cooperating with Mitsubishi Electric on the electric motor and
control systems. The system they are developing utilizes a fuel cell
developed by Mitsubishi as well as a "packaging technology" to
allows the compact system enough
to be fitted under the vehicles cabin floor.
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Suzuki unveiled a fuel cell-powered vehicle at the 2001 Tokyo Motor
Show. The vehicle features a
GM
fuel cell stack, and uses natural gas as the fuel.
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