Honda Begins Operation of New Solar Hydrogen Station

Honda today began operation of a next generation solar hydrogen station prototype at the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D Americas, Inc., intended for ultimate use as a home refueling appliance capable of an overnight refill of fuel cell electric vehicles.

Designed as a single, integrated unit to fit in the user's garage, Honda's next generation Solar Hydrogen Station has a reduced size, while producing enough hydrogen (0.5kg) via an 8-hour overnight fill for daily commuting for a fuel cell electric vehicle.

The previous solar hydrogen station system required both an electrolyser and a separate compressor unit to create high pressure hydrogen. The compressor was the largest and most expensive component and reduced system efficiency. By creating a new high differential pressure electrolyser, Honda engineers were able to eliminate the compressor entirely - a world first for a home use system. This innovation also allows the size of other key components to be reduced, making the new station the world's most compact system, while improving efficiency by more than 25% (value calculated based on simulations) compared to the solar hydrogen station system it replaces.

Compatible with a "Smart Grid" energy system, the Honda Solar Hydrogen Station would enable users to refill their vehicle overnight without the requirement of hydrogen storage, which would lower CO2 emissions by using less expensive off-peak electrical power. During daytime peak power times, the Solar Hydrogen Station can export renewable electricity to the grid, providing a cost benefit to the customer, while remaining energy neutral.

Designed for simple, user-friendly operation, the intuitive system layout enables the user to easily lift and remove the fuel hose, with no hose coiling when the hose is returned to the dispenser unit.


Engineered for an 8-hour, slow fill for overnight refilling of a fuel cell electric vehicle, the home-use Solar Hydrogen Station would replenish enough hydrogen for typical daily driving distance, meeting the commuting requirements of many drivers. As with the previous generation system, the hydrogen purity from the new station meets the highest SAE (J2719) and ISO (14687) specifications.

Installed at the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D Americas, the new Solar Hydrogen Station will employ the same 48-panel, 6.0kW solar array that powered the previous system. The array utilises thin film solar cells composed of copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS) produced by Honda Soltec Co., Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honda that was established for the mass production and sales of solar cells capable of efficient renewable electricity generation. Honda's unique solar cells reduce the amount of CO2 generated during production as compared to conventional solar cells.

Designed to support the needs of the future owners of fuel cell electric vehicles, the Honda Solar Hydrogen Station was also designed to complement a public network of fast fill hydrogen stations. The Honda FCX Clarity fuel cell electric vehicle is capable of fast fill and offers driving range of 460 kilometres based on the European Driving Cycle. With fast fill public stations providing 5-minute fueling time for longer trips, and the opportunity of convenient nighttime slow filling at home using a solar station with a Smart Grid connection, the Honda FCX Clarity can cover a wide range of driving demands from the daily commute to weekend trips.

A key strategy in creating a solar hydrogen station for home-use was to create a new lifestyle with convenient, clean, energy-efficient and sustainable home refueling, by addressing the need for refueling infrastructure that can advance the wider use of fuel cell electric vehicles by consumers.

The combination of a fuel cell electric vehicle and the solar hydrogen station could help lead to the establishment of a hydrogen society based on renewable energy, resulting in a major reduction of CO2 emissions and greater energy sustainability.


Honda began operation of its first Solar Hydrogen Station at the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D Americas in 2001:

2001	3-unit system with hydrogen storage begins operation.
2003	New 2-unit system with an original Honda electrolyser and a new solar array utilizing prototype Honda CIGS solar cells offers improved system efficiency.
2008	Solar array fitted with mass production CIGS cells from Honda Soltec Co., reducing the size of the array by 20% and further improving photo voltaic (PV) energy efficiency.
2010	New single-unit station begins operation, improving to world’s best system efficiency – increasing the efficiency by more than 25% (value calculated based on simulations) compared to the previous solar hydrogen station system, for a world’s highest system efficiency.

via:world car fans

Mercedes-Benz Launches New Fuel Cell Car: Mercedes-BenzB Class F-CELL

Mercedes-Benz B Class F-CELL - New fuel cell car from Mercedes-Benz: 100 percent driving pleasure, zero emissions

Mercedes-Benz is launching its first series-produced fuel cell car on the road: the new B?Class F-CELL. The environmentally friendly electric car has better a performance similar to than a 2,0-litre petrol car and is fully suited for everyday driving. The zero-emission drive system consumes the equivalent of 3.3 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres in the NEDC (New European Driving Cicle). Production of the B?Class F-CELL will commence in late 2009 with a small lot. The first of around 200 vehicles will be delivered to customers in Europe and the USA at the beginning of next year.

The new fuel cell vehicle offers everything that people expect from a Mercedes-Benz: High comfort and safety as well as no reduction in interior space and boot capacity. Customers will not have to sacrifice any driving pleasure either, because the electric motor has a peak performance of 100 kW/136 hp and a maximum torque of 290 Nm, which is available from the first rotation. It ensures that the B?Class F-CELL, whose impressive dynamic handling properties are in some cases far better than those of a two-litre petrol car, gets off to an excellent start. Despite these qualities, the zero-emission fuel cell drive consumes the equivalent of only 3.3 litres of diesel fuel per 100 kilometres (NEDC). Thanks to its great range of about 400 kilometres and short refuelling times of around three minutes, the B?Class F-CELL ensures local zero-emission mobility even for long stretches.


"2009 is the year in which we are establishing further milestones where sustainable mobility is concerned. The B-Class F-CELL is taking on a pioneering role as the world's first fuel cell powered automobile to be produced under series production conditions", says Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research and Development for Mercedes-Benz Cars.

The vehicle's technological heart is the new generation of the compact, high-performance fuel cell system, in which gaseous hydrogen reacts with atmospheric oxygen at 700 bar to generate a current for the electric motor. The fuel cell system of the B?Class F-CELL has a very good cold-start capability even at temperatures as low as minus 25 degrees Celsius. The drive system was completely newly developed versus the F-CELL A-Class presented in 2004, with Mercedes-Benz engineers achieving considerable improvements in output, torque, operating range, reliability, starting characteristics and comfort. The B-Class F-CELL now offers driving pleasure and day-to-day suitability at Mercedes level - without local emissions.

As in hybrids with combustion engines, the fuel-cell car uses a lithium-ion battery with an output of 35 kW and a capacity of 1.4 kWh to boost power and recover braking energy. Lithium-ion technology offers several advantages over conventional batteries, including compact dimensions, high performance, great recharge efficiency and a long service life.

The B?Class F-CELL employs the unique sandwich floor architecture that is well-known from the A- and B-Class. The advantage of this design is that the drive components are located in the sandwich floor, where they are protected and don't take up much space so that the vehicle's interior remains fully usable and a boot capacity of 416 litres is available.

The B-Class F-CELL does not need to fear comparison where equipment is concerned either. Eye-catching features include a bonamite silver paint finish and exclusive light-alloy wheels in a 10-spoke design. In the interior, leather upholstery, seat heating, automatic climate control and the COMAND-system, as well as other features, continue to ensure a high level of comfort.


Same level of safety as in other Mercedes cars

No matter what the conditions, the operational reliability of the B?Class F-CELL is of the same high level as in Mercedes vehicles with conventional combustion engines. The B?Class F-CELL's integrated safety concept takes the specific characteristics of the innovative drive system into account. The concept incorporates the expertise from the many years of experience Mercedes-Benz has had with fuel cell drives and high-voltage applications. Mercedes engineers have tested and optimised the drive-specific components' safety in more than 30 additional crash tests.

Network of filling stations required for car's widespread use

With more than 100 test vehicles and a combined total of over 4.5 million kilometres of trial testing, Daimler and Mercedes-Benz have the most extensive experience with fuel cell vehicles of any manufacturer worldwide. The B?Class F-CELL is further testimony of this technology's high level of development for automotive use. However, a comprehensive network of hydrogen filling stations still has to be set up before locally zero-emission driving can become a widespread reality. To make this possible, Daimler is cooperating with government authorities, energy utilities and oil companies in joint projects in places such as Hamburg, Stuttgart and California.

Mercedes-Benz views the development of electric cars with battery and fuel cell drives for local zero-emission driving as a means of supplementing vehicles with high-tech internal combustion engines. Advanced diesel and petrol engines will remain important for automotive applications for a long time to come - not only for individual mobility in passenger cars - especially over long distances - but, more importantly, for freight transport in trucks. Electric vehicles, on the other hand, will increasingly be used in urban transport.

Mercedes-Benz B?Class F-Cell technical data

Drive	Electric motor with fuel cell
Rated output (kW/hp)	100/136
Rated torque (Nm)	290
Maximum speed (km/h)	170
Consumption (NEDC) (l of diesel equivalent/100 km)	3.3
Total CO2 (g/km min.–max.)	0.0
Range (km) NEDC	385
Capacity of lithium-ion battery (kWh/kW)	1.4/35
Cold-start capability:	to -25 °C

via:fuelcellsworks

Mercedes F-CELL Roadster on the historic route of Bertha Benz

Feminists, especially those who responded angrily to our posting of the Worst Female Drivers video, should take comfort in the fact that Bertha Benz, wife of automobile inventor Karl Benz, was the first to take a car on the road for a long distance. With her two kids in tow, Bertha Benz became the first soccer mom in history. Wanting to prove to Karl that his invention was worthwhile, she drove over a hundred kilometers in the Benz Motorwagen back in 1888, leaving Mannheim, Germany, early in the morning, and reaching her mother's house in Pforzheim that evening.


The car's pilot steered with a drive-by-wire system controlled by a joystick. An "emission-free" fuel cell is installed at the back. Also running on conventional electric, the hybrid generates only 1.2 kW of power, capable of pushing the car to a 25 km/h top speed. The alleged operating range is 350 km, but after this excursion we're calling, "Shenanigans!"


No doubt, Karl stayed behind because he was frustrated that his wife drive's so slow.

All kidding aside, Bertha was one tough chick. It is said that on that noteworthy drive, Bertha had to clean a fuel pipe with her hair pin, rip up her garter to insulate a wire, and find available petrol wherever possible.



Turns out, Mercedes-Benz took the car on a route that was not even half as long as the route undertaken by Bertha Benz. They setup a "finish line," if you can call it that, outside an old chemist's shop in Wiesloch, where Bertha had refueled, not where she had ended her trip. Color us disappointed. We stopped to wonder why Mercedes would try to trick us, by saying that the F-Cell Roadster was "Retracing the first long-distance journey in automobile history," when they barely covered fifty km - if that.


"But just as Bertha Benz refused to be discouraged by inconveniences in her day," said Daimler exec Dr. Thomas Weber, "we are just as determined to help ensure that these technologies achieve their breakthrough." Hopefully, this determination will carry through to the next PR stunt undertaken by the F-Cell team.


So, when we got the press release saying that Mercedes-Benz drove their F-Cell Roadster along that very same route, we thought, "Cool. Way to make a point about the future sustainability hydrogen and electric vehicles." Then, we actually read the release.
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High-speed Detroit-Lansing rail line envisioned

LANSING -- Are we ready for a high-speed, hydrogen-powered, magnetically-driven rail line from Detroit to Lansing?


A new proposal to help alleviate the problem of heavy traffic in the state of Michigan is under way. A company called Worldwide Hydrogen Super Highways says it has designed a magnetic-levitation (maglev) rail line to run near existing highways between Detroit, Lansing and Ann Arbor. Interstate Traveler Co. LLC, the company that is pitching this project is made up of 200 international investors.


The magnetic rail cars would carry passengers, vehicles (like a ferry) and freight. Sutton said the rail line could be used by many private operators that own the cars, similar to railroads that are shared by railroad companies.
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Governor Schwarzenegger Test Drives Hydrogen Assisted Ronn Motors Scorpion Supercar

Governor Schwarzenegger Test Drives Hydrogen Assisted Ronn Motors Scorpion Supercar

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - March 11, 2009) - On Tuesday, March 10, 2009, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger test drove Ronn Motor Company's (PINKSHEETS: RNNM) acclaimed Scorpion™, a hydrogen assisted eco-exotic sports car capable of hitting 40 miles per gallon and 200 miles per hour.

The test drive with Ronn Motor's founder and CEO Ronn Maxwell in the passenger seat, came after Schwarzenegger read a recent article in Men's Journal which proclaimed the Scorpion™ as "God's Own Supercar."
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