Posts tagged Fuel cell at Switched

Posts with tag fuel cell

Honda Debuts Futuristic FC Sport Fuel-Cell Hybrid Concept

by Thomas Ricker, posted Nov 22nd 2008 at 10:57AM

If the Tesla Roadster has proven anything other than the disruptive effects of a hyper-inflated ego, it's that well designed eco-vehicles will sell... at any price. Yet the general design theme amongst hybrid builders appears to be your grandfather's loafer. Honda too, just look at the FCX Clarity. So we're pretty stoked to see Honda roll out its FC Sport concept three-seater (driver front-and-center) at the LA Auto Show using the same V-Flow fuel cell stack and electric drivetrain found in the FCX Clarity. Only thing is, it's a non-functional concept with little hope of hitting the market anytime soon if history serves. Good news for GM but bad news for consumers. As a wise man of consumer electronics once said:

"You know how you see a show car, and it's really cool, and then four years later you see the production car, and it sucks? And you go, What happened? They had it! They had it in the palm of their hands! They grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory! What happened was, the designers came up with this really great idea. Then they take it to the engineers, and the engineers go, 'Nah, we can't do that. That's impossible.' And so it gets a lot worse. Then they take it to the manufacturing people, and they go, 'We can't build that!' And it gets a lot worse."

Or to paraphrase: It's like asking for a Big Mac and getting a fish sandwich.

Read -- Parable of the Concept Car
Read -- FC Sport

Toshiba Powers Cell Phone With Methanol Fuel Cell

by Engadget Staff, posted Oct 5th 2008 at 1:02PM

Toshiba continues to tease us with its prototype liquid fuel cell-powered gadgets: last year it was a Gigabeat media player, and at this year's CEATEC you can check out a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) that's been crammed inside a cell phone, lending it a robust six hours of talk time (compared to the paltry three or four hours of a traditional battery). Toshiba won't reveal the capacity of the DMFC, but they have said that a 50ml cartridge is good for about 15 refills. No release date yet, but the phone "might" be available "as early as next year." In the meantime, enjoy this picture of a woman holding a flip phone with "DMFC" clearly visible on the display.

MIT Makes 'Revolutionary' Solar Power Storage Breakthrough

by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 10th 2008 at 11:37AM

MIT is in a twisted, propeller-capped knot this morning heralding a new discovery it says will unleash a solar revolution. However, the "revolutionary leap" inspired by photosynthesis is not on the glamorous front-end of energy collection, rather, it's related to a simple, highly efficient and inexpensive way to store that energy when the sun doesn't shine. "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," says Daniel Nocera, MIT neomaxizoomdweebie who with Matthew Kanan developed the unprecedented approach to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases using the sun's energy. The gases can then be recombined later inside a fuel cell. The key components to the process are a pair of catalysts (one consists of cobalt metal, phosphate, and an electrode; the other, platinum) which produce the O and H gases at room temperature and in neutral pH water (i.e., tap water). While similar solutions exist for industrial use (primarily), these are very expensive and require specialized environments.

"This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind," said James Barber, a leader in the study of photosynthesis at Imperial College in London. "The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem." Nocera concedes that further engineering is required to commercialize the approach but hopes to see it implemented in household fuel cell systems within the next 10 years. Click through for the video breakdown. [Source: MIT News]

Continue reading MIT Makes 'Revolutionary' Solar Power Storage Breakthrough

Honda's Hydrogen-Powered FCX Clarity Coming to the US, and It's a Celeb-Magnet

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Jun 16th 2008 at 12:34PM

If you're in the market for a fuel efficient car, but you've been holding out for something a little more advanced than the Prius, then your dreams may have just been answered.

Honda announced today that it would begin producing limited quantities of its FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles for sale in the US and Japan over the next few years. According to the automaker, it plans to offer around 200 of the zero-emission cars in the next three years, with a few dozen models expected on the road this year leased at around $600 a month.

Of course, you'll have to be on some mighty exclusive list to get one of these babies, a list that's populated by -- naturally -- celebs including Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest, Linda Harris ('24'). When it comes to green motoring, hydrogen-powered vehicles are the new black in Hollywood -- according to USA Today, Magic Johnson and Ugly Betty's America Ferrera drive GM's hydrogen-powered Equinox, while Edward Norton, Cameron Diaz, and Brad Pitt drive a limited production, gas-hydrogen hybrid by BMW.

Said John Mendel, a senior vice president at Honda, "It's an especially significant day for American Honda as we plant firm footsteps toward the mainstreaming of fuel cell cars." Now all they have to do is get more than 3 fueling stations out there and we'll be all set. [Sources: CNN, AOL News/AP, Physorg.com]

Read - Honda rolls out fuel cell car
Read - Honda starts producing next-generation fuel cell car

Gallery: HydrogenCar-Lovin'-Celebs

Boeing's Hydrogen-Powered Airplane Completes Test Flights

by Will Safer, posted Apr 4th 2008 at 3:11PM

Boeing's European outpost has achieved a technical feat that, while not expected to revolutionize air travel, at least shows progress in the effort to lower the overall reliance on very pricey (and, you know, scarce) jet fuel.

Boeing Research & Technology Europe, which operates out of Madrid, has been working on the "Fuel Cell Demonstrator Airplane" since 2001. The goal has been to "demonstrate for the first time that a manned airplane can maintain a straight level flight with fuel cells as the only power source."

What does this mean on a practical level for regular folks like us? Not a whole heck of a lot, with most applications likely being for extending the fly time of unmanned aircraft -- although the technology could be applied to regular jets to help power the electrical systems.

Of course, like many scientific endeavors, the ultimate practical use may not yet be realized by the engineers involved. (Wasn't the active ingredient in Viagra originally intended to help people with hypertension? Researchers, of course, quickly realized an interesting side effect there. The same could always happen with fuel cells, no?)

Boeing sent a the piloted, fuel cell-powered aircraft into the air three times during February and March. The two-seat Diamond Aircraft Dimona motor-glider, with a 16.3m (53.5ft) wingspan, was modified with a proton exchange membrane fuel cell, lithium-ion battery hybrid system. Launched from Ocaña air field, near Madrid, Spain, the plane flew straight and level at 3,300 feet on fuel cell power alone for 20 minutes at 60 miles per hour.

From The Register.

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Honda Testing Clean Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Nov 19th 2007 at 9:01AM

Honda just unveiled the production model of its first hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicle, the FCX Clarity. The Clarity is being given a test run in selected areas of North Carolina that are near one of nine refueling stations built for the cars by Honda. It will then be released more widely in California in 2008, where apparently the Hollywood types are already lining up for some serious enviro-chic driving.

The cars have a range of 290 miles, roughly the equivalent of 68 miles per gallon on gasoline. The Clarity also uses regenerative braking, like a Prius, to charge a battery that also feeds the engine, increasing the efficiency of the car.

Hydrogen fuel cell tech is a zero-emissions fuel, releasing only water into the atmosphere as a waste product. Just a few short years ago, hydrogen fuel cells seemed like a pipe dream. And while this small scale production run doesn't mean that you'll be driving one of these environmentally friendly automobiles anytime soon, it is a huge step in realizing the dream of a pollution-free vehicle.

From DailyTech

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Inventors Create Water-Powered Cell Phones

by Tim Stevens, posted Oct 12th 2007 at 4:35PM

If you thought the bacteria-powered cell phones we reported on earlier this week might be a little too stinky for you, you might find a new power source from Samsung to be right up your alley.

The maker of the popular Blackjack and Blast handsets has developed a new micro fuel cell that runs on just water. Inside the power pack, water reacts with some mystery metal to produce hydrogen gas. Hydrogen gas is then pumped into the fuel cell to generate power, supposedly enough to drive the device for 10 hours.

Now, as we all know, a wet cell phone is not a good thing, but honestly, it sounds pretty tame to a potential mini-Hindenberg in your back pocket. Of course, traditional cell phone batteries have already proven their lethality, so maybe it is time for a change. Unfortunately, Samsung doesn't plan to have these ready until 2010, so we aren't safe from the exploding battery just yet.

From textually.org

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Mini Fuel Cells Boost Cell Phone Talk Time

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Sep 28th 2007 at 3:04PM

Oh fuel cells, we hear so much about you. You're supposed to power everything from our cars to our laptops, and yet there aren't a lot of consumer fuel cell products out there. And those that do exist aren't really practical. We want to love you, we really do.

Medis Technologies is trying to break that mold with the 24-7 Power Pack, a fuel cell charger for cell phones and other portable electronic devices. The Power Pack claims to add up to 30 hours of talk time to your average cell phone and 80 hours of playback to an iPod.

Keep in mind that fuel cells aren't like your standard batteries. They don't recharge in an outlet, and you don't throw them out when you're done with them. Instead, you add new cartridges to them when they burn out. These ones claim a lifespan of about three months. The Power Pack costs $25, and $20 gets you a refill cartridge.

From UberGizmo

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Gallery: HydrogenCar-Lovin'-Celebs

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