We received some very impassioned comments back in May when the Obama Administrations cut hydrogen fuel cell funding for research and development. Several readers felt that a huge opportunity for a long-term eco-friendly vehicle solution had been missed.
Well, those same readers will be pleased to know that Senator Byron Dorgan (D) and the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, which he heads, has overturned the DOE’s initial slashing of the hydrogen fuel cell research budget.
The subcommittee has finished altering the DOE’s 2010 budget to now include $190 million for hydrogen research and development.
So tell us what you think? Waste of money or is hydrogen fuel research that might benefit the proliferation of hydrogen vehicles like the Honda FCX Clarity (pictured above) a good investment for the future?
The U.S. may have cut funding for hydrogen fuel cell research, but that doesn’t mean that hydrogen powered vehicles are done.
Norway recently finished building its first hydrogen highway. The HyNor project is a 580 stretch from east coast to west starting in Oslo and ending in Stavanger with 12 hydrogen filling stations along the way.
HyNor is apparently the world’s first integrated network of hydrogen pumps and is owned and operated by StatoilHydro. Plans have already been prepared that would see the hydrogen highway extended further into the rest of Scandinavia and, if all goes according to plan, all the way into Germany.
The Norwegian government recently imported the Mazda Hydrogen RX-8 RE (pictured above). Thirty of them actually to be specific. They will be available for lease in Norway this summer.
While the Obama Administration is definitely behind green initiatives and reducing vehicular carbon emissions, they have officially started cutting ties with hydrogen fuel-cell technology in favor of plug-in electric vehicles.
The DOE secretary Steven Chu stated yesterday that hydrogen vehicles are still 10 to 20 years from being practical and consequently the federal government will be dropping millions of dollars of hydrogen fuel cell funding from next year’s budget.
This announcement was in stark contrast to what Chu stated several weeks ago when he announced that $41.9 million for hydrogen projects.
Obviously the latest announcement has ruffled some feathers. The National Hydrogen Association immediately fired off a statement that decries the cuts as stifling to hydrogen fuel cell technology development, which they claim is showing “exceptional promise and beginning to gain market traction.”
A sentiment reflected in the fact that this year’s New York Auto Show named the hydrogen fuel cell powered Honda FCX Clarity (pictured above) was named the World Green Car of the Year.
What do you think? Is hydrogen technology worth investing in or is the Obama Administration right to just focus on electric cars?
Take a look at the new face of awesome. The Mercedes-Benz F-CELL Roadster brings us back to our horse and buggy roots, minus the smelly horses. With a joystick control, fiberglass body and nifty hydrogen-electric fuel-cell power, we can’t help but salivate over how freakin’ cool this thing looks.
The buggy has rid itself of conventional inventions like the steering wheel and instead, uses a joystick. But if you look past the giant, spoked wheels, the buggy contains all of Mercedes top-of-the-line technologies and boasts a carbon fiber and fiberglass body structure, a compact 1.2 kW fuel cell for power generation and – holy schmoly – a top speed of 16 mph. Whoa there, Tiger.
“This project impressively demonstrates that the topic of sustainable mobility has become an integral part of our vocational training,” said Human Resources Board member and Labor Relations Manager Günther Fleig. “I am delighted to see how much initiative and creativity the young people have put into this project.”
Toyota has announced today that it intends to have limited commercialization of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles by no later than 2015.
While it’s great to hear that hydrogen vehicles are on their way from Toyota, the long wait for production is likely due to the fact that hydrogen vehicles require hydrogen filling stations, and lots of them since the range of a hydrogen vehicle is shorter than a standard combustion engine.
Toyota currently holds the title for being the automaker selling the most gas-electric hybrids and is planning on leasing plug-in Prius hybrids this year, which are capable of going 10 miles on electricity alone. They also have a line of purely electric vehicles that will hit dealer lots by 2012.
The guys over at Do It Yourself HHO have plenty of tips on how to augment your vehicle with hydrogen. This video shows an example of how to build your own Hybrid Hydrogen Oxygen (HHO) fuel cell. These sorts of fuel cells assist in combustion, improving your vehicles mileage performance. We thought you might enjoy seeing the fundamental principles of how hybrid hydrogen vehicles work.
