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In a recent study, fuel cell expert Ulf Bossel explains that a hydrogen economy is a wasteful economy. The large amount of energy required to isolate hydrogen from natural compounds (water, natural gas, biomass), package the light gas by compression or liquefaction, transfer the energy carrier to the user, plus the energy lost when it is converted to useful electricity with fuel cells, leaves around 25% for practical use — an unacceptable value to run an economy in a sustainable future. Only niche applications like submarines and spacecraft might use hydrogen. “More energy is needed to isolate hydrogen from natural...

Attaching titanium atoms (blue) to the ends of an ethylene molecule (yellow-green) will result in a capsule-shaped complex that absorbs 10 hydrogen molecules (red). Results of modeling studies by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Turkey’s Bilkent University indicate that attaching titanium atoms to the ends of an ethylene molecule will result in a capsule-shaped complex that absorbs 10 hydrogen molecules. The results open a new avenue in the pursuit of materials that will enable efficient solid-state storage of hydrogen. Ethylene is the inexpensive building block of the most common plastic. The team’s calculations show that...

The Alaska Energy Technology Development Laboratory at the University of Alaska Fairbanks recently announced a successful field test of a prototype propane fuel cell. The cell, manufactured by Massachusetts-based Acumentrics and installed at the Kenai Fjords National Park’s Exit Glacier Nature Center near Seward, ran for more than 1,100 hours straight and did so with no measurable degradation in its efficiency. “From a technical point of view, it is an important milestone we have achieved here,” said Dennis Witmer, director of AETDL. “It is one step closer to these kinds of fuel cells becoming devices that can be useful in...

HAGA-GUN, Japan (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co. (7267.T) said on Monday it has developed a new and simple diesel powertrain that is as clean as gasoline-fuelled cars, unveiling plans to mount it on a car for the U.S. market by 2009. Diesel engines, which now power half of Europe's new cars, are slowly gaining traction with fuel-conscious consumers around the world since they typically get 30 percent better mileage than gasoline cars. Their weakness has been the higher exhaust levels of nitrogen oxide (NOx), a greenhouse gas, and carmakers are racing to come up with ways to clear the world's...

UTC Power to Design Fuel Cell for Spanish Submarine Wednesday July 19, 8:49 am ET SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn., July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- UTC Power, a United Technologies (NYSE: UTX - News) company, today announced that its UTC Fuel Cells unit will design and develop a 300 kW proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power module for the Spanish shipbuilder NAVANTIA, S.A. for use in the Spanish Navy's S-80 submarine. The 300 kW PEM fuel cell will be designed to operate on reformed ethanol and pure oxygen. The Spanish Navy will install the new fuel cell power modules on its S-80...

The discovery that a wide variety of bacteria can be persuaded to produce wire-like appendages that conduct electricity could prove vital to the development of more efficient biological fuel cells. Bacteria that use sugars and sewage as fuel are being investigated as a pollution-free source of electricity. They feed by plucking electrons from atoms in their fuel and dumping them onto the oxygen or metal atoms in the mixture. The transfer of the electrons creates a current, and connecting the bacteria to an electrode in a microbial fuel cell will generate electricity, although not necessarily very efficiently. A species of...

Three hydrogen-powered buses appeared in streets of Beijing on Tuesday, bringing emission-free public transport to China for the first time. "This marks the first public operation of fuel-cell buses in Beijing, it is the first ever in China, and one of the first in a developing country," said Renaud Meyer, Deputy Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in China. "The hydrogen refueling station will be fully operational this summer." The buses will run 18.2 kilometers from the North Gate of the Summer Palace to the university district at Wudaokou. Thirty-three fuel-cell buses have been released onto the streets...

Sulfur causes costly problems for high-temperature fuel cells. Tufts U. researchers may have found an answer. High-temperature fuel cells promise clean, efficient energy in quantities large enough to power cities. But, so far, they've been too expensive for widespread use. One major problem is the sulfur in fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, which contaminates the hydrogen gas that runs the cells. The sulfur attacks and degrades a part of the fuel cell called the anode, reducing power production -- and eventually shutting down the cell. Now chemical engineers at Tufts University in Medford MA, led by...

Excerpt: Although its future looks bright—the only by-product of a hydrogen fuel cell is water, and experts believe they can one day be used to create electricity to fuel cars—the cost and energy required to create hydrogen has taken it out of the running as a near-term energy alternative to oil. That may be about to change. Researchers at GE’s Global Research lab in Niskayuna, NY, have developed a system that produces hydrogen at a fraction of the cost and could be available commercially in just a few years... (full text at Popular Mechanics url)

One of Germany's crack new fuel-cell-powered submarines has set a world record with a two-week-long dive, the German Navy said Wednesday. The trip by the U212A-class sub with a crew of 27 from Eckernfoerde in Germany to Rota in Spain involved the longest period that any non-nuclear vessel had ever spent under water. The navy did not say what the previous record had been. US and Russian nuclear submarines can stay under water for longer. Germany, which has no nuclear weapons and no nuclear-powered ships, developed the high-tech hybrid-powered submarines to replace diesel-electric vessels that need to surface more often...

ST. HELENA, Calif. -- Unable to drive down high oil prices, President Bush is spending Earth Day promoting futuristic hydrogen fuel technology as a way to wean Americans from gas-guzzling vehicles. After a bike ride near his Napa Valley resort Saturday morning, Bush planned to visit the California Fuel Cell Partnership in West Sacramento for a tour and speech on his energy plan. The plan does not include any measures that would reduce gas prices in the short term, the White House acknowledges. But with Republicans worried that the increasing cost to drive could hurt them in the voting booth...

UltraCell demonstrated its UltraCell XX25 micro fuel cell system at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco today. Powered by a reformed methanol fuel cell technology, the UltraCell XX25 is a pre-production unit designed for the military. Beta testing of the XX25 will begin mid-year, and a commercial version, the UltraCell UC25 could be available by the end of this year. The UltraCell UC25 will run a laptop computer for up to two working days on a single methanol fuel cell cartridge and as these lightweight cartridges are also hot-swappable, the UltraCell systems can run indefinitely without any need for...

Bush: U.S. on Verge of Energy Breakthrough Feb 20, 4:44 PM (ET) By DEB RIECHMANN MILWAUKEE (AP) - Saying the nation is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that would "startle" most Americans, President Bush on Monday outlined his energy proposals to help wean the country off foreign oil. Less than half the crude oil used by refineries is produced in the United States, while 60 percent comes from foreign nations, Bush said during the first stop on a two-day trip to talk about energy. Some of these foreign suppliers have "unstable" governments that have fundamental differences with America, he...

Americans who want to be free from their oil dependency may be closer to having affordable alternative fuel choices thanks to some University researchers. Though the technology for cleaner fuels exists, the high cost of materials and production prevents their widespread and affordable commercial availability. A group of scientists at the University may have solved the problem by using cheaper metals as catalysts in converting chemical energy into electric energy of a fuel cell. The current cost of fuel cell technology is prohibitive to commercial application, said Arumugam Manthiram, a mechanical engineering professor who is heading the experiment along with...

  Published on 10/24/2005 Green Cars Color Tokyo Motor Show By Ron Cogan ForbesAutos.com TOKYO — Traversing the halls of the 39th Tokyo Motor Show is no small thing. Making your way from one end to another in the expansive Makuhari Messe convention center almost requires the use of a grid pattern. It’s just that packed with cars, technologies, and journalists poised to drop in on any hapless PR person who could further elaborate on the displays shown within. Volvo’s near-zero-emission gasoline 2006 V70 wagon with its smog-eating catalytic radiator was a high-profile example of a conventionally powered “green”...

Arcticle cannot be excerpted http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/tokyo21e_20051021.htm

Mercedes-Benz showcased DaimlerChrysler’s latest technology in the F600 Hygenius, a futuristic four-seater that uses fuel cell propulsion and electric drive to return a claimed average 97 mpg. Revealed at the Tokyo motor show, the research vehicle’s theoretical range of 250 miles per tank of hydrogen represents a 16 percent improvement over the German automaker’s previous fuel cell vehicles. Mercedes research and development boss Thomas Weber says the F600 Hygenius advancements are “a big step toward the future production potential of fuel cells” that will appear on future cars.

GM plans fuel-cell propulsion vehicles 06 October 2005 Author: Randolph Heaster Provider: The Kansas City Star, Mo. Oct. 6--KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A future in which cars operate without using petroleum-based fuels, run hundreds of miles before refueling and emit only water is closer than you might think. That was the message presented to about 150 people Tuesday by Larry Burns of General Motors Corp., who spoke at Midwest Research Institute. Burns, GM's vice president of research and development and strategic planning, discussed the automaker's progress toward producing a hydrogen-powered vehicle. Burns said that GM stands by its previously stated...

Toshiba is gearing up to release a fuel cell cartridge powered by methanol that could keep an iPod running for an additional two and a half days without a recharge. The Tokyo-based company said it is testing prototypes of what it calls a direct methanol fuel cell, or DMFC. The cartridge contains a passive supply of the alternative fuel in highly concentrated form, which produces electricity by causing a chemical reaction. Credit: Toshiba After three years of delays, Toshiba said commercial products based on the technology are expected to appear on store shelves in 2007. Fuel cells usually use alcohol...

A new mini-grid, incorporating a 250 kW fuel cell CHP unit, is to supply power to a school, a hospital, apartment buildings and city hall in a renewable energy community on the western coast of Japan planned by Kyoto Eco-Energy. The fuel cell, sold by Marubeni Corporation, the Asian distributor for US-based FuelCell Energy, will convert waste from a food-processing plant into high-quality electricity. Heat energy produced by the plant will also warm water flowing into the digestion process, increasing overall system efficiency. Kyotango City DFC power plant is part of an 850 kW minigrid consisting of the fuel cell...