Hybrid Living

Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have revealed that they have driven a car 650 miles on one tank of liquid hydrogen. In a recent test, the team installed a super-insulated hydrogen gas tank in a standard Prius hybrid that was able to keep a full load of the liquid without evaporating for six days, setting a new world record.

The 300-pound tank removes a lot of obstacles to the development of hydrogen-powered cars. Current versions, such as the fleet of hydrogen-electric Toyota Prius’s used by various city governments across Southern California, run on compressed hydrogen gas, and have a limited range of around 80 miles between fill-ups. Even a fairly modest three-gallon tank fills the entire trunk of a Prius, but still only allows a range of around 200 miles, not really enough to compete with gasoline-only vehicles. One way to overcome this limitation is by using liquid hydrogen, which takes up around a third of the volume of compressed gas. However, it is much more difficult to handle, mainly because it must be kept at very low temperatures (around -420oF) and extremely high pressure to prevent it from evaporating as the engine heats up.

Speaking about the breakthrough, Livermore Lab engineer Salvador Alceves said, “We think if you have the cars, and the technology for the cars, the infrastructure will follow. The cars are the hard part.”

The tank can also hold less expensive compressed hydrogen, enabling users to use it for shorter journeys with the option of switching to liquid to triple their range for longer drives. It can also withstand crashes and fires without exploding. The team apparently even shot one tank with a gun without blowing it up – that must have been an exciting day at the office!

Livermore Lab estimates that we could see prototype cars in 2012. Lead technician Tim Ross said, “We will get there, I truly believe I will see this in my lifetime.”

See the full press release and video

Via Mercury News

Texas-based Ronn Motor Company has unveiled a hybrid-powered sports car that runs on a mix of hydrogen and gasoline, leading to reduced emissions and efficiency figures of 40 mpg. The Scorpion supercar also boasts a high performance V-6 engine, capable of delivering 289 hp, with an additional option for a 450 hp model.

Unlike other cars using hydrogen, the Scorpion does not contain fuel cells. Instead, it employs an alternative approach by reconfiguring a standard internal combustion engine to run on a combination of gasoline and hydrogen. According to Ronn, this technology enables a 30-50% boost in fuel efficiency over comparable gas-only power trains.

The in-built hydrogen on-demand system, developed by Hydrorunner, uses dual-computer processor controls to produce hydrogen on-board and induct it through the air-intake manifold as required. This means that there is no need for an integrated high-pressure hydrogen storage tank or hydrogen fuelling stations. Instead, the scorpion uses a small on-board water tank.

Speaking at the launch, CEO Ronn Maxwell said, “What we are unveiling today is an innovation in the automotive industry and demonstrates American ingenuity at a time of real need.” Although the price hasn’t been announced yet, it would come as no surprise to EcoGeek if the Scorpion proves prohibitively expensive for most buyers. In the long-run, it still remains to be seen whether this “ingenuity” can also be applied to more affordable models for the average man in the street.

The car is currently in pre-production and due for release by the end of the year. Ronn are currently accepting advance-orders for an initial limited run, with price and production numbers due to be announced “early summer 2008.”

Via Gizmag and Ronn Motors

German firm Q-Cells has announced plans to invest 5 billion Ringgit ($1.6 billion) in a new photovoltaic solar-cell factory in Malaysia. The company, the world’s largest manufacturer of solar-cells, will build the complex on a 150-hectare site in Selangor Science Park II in Bukit Raja, Dengkil.

Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony on Monday, Chief Executive Anton Milner said, “What we have foreseen up to now is an investment budget of $5 billion Ringgit and we hope to employ 800 to 900 people in the first phase.”

It is expected that construction work at the facility will be finished early next year, with production beginning in the second quarter. A further 1,600 to 1,800 people will be recruited in two further expansion phases, with total production capacity expected to peak at around 300 megawatts (Mw) per year.

The site, given the green light on the back of rising interest from Q-Cell subsidiary companies, will mainly supply European and emerging markets in “sunny countries,” including those in South East Asia, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, where energy prices are high.

Via Reuters and Bernama

Two research teams have independently developed methods to produce nanowires that could lead to a dramatic improvement in solar photovoltaic cell efficiency. In both cases, the basic concept is the same, to use nanowires for more efficient conduction of electrons from the collection surface of a solar cell to an electrode.

The first technique, developed by researchers at UC San Diego, creates ‘hairy’ solar cells, only visible at a microscopic level. In fact, the hairs are nanowires, tiny metallic or silicon structures used to complete very small circuits. Researchers were able to grow nanowires directly onto a cheap conductive surface made of indium tin oxide. Nanowires were then coated with an organic polymer.

The second team, a consortium between three German universities (Jena, Gottingen and Bremen) and Harvard, has developed a technique to bond nanowires with spun glass. The approach is based on a kind of high-tech ‘sandwich,’ whereby nanowires are placed between a highly conductive bottom layer and a metallic top one, with spun-on glass forming a ‘spacer layer’ to prevent the circuit from shorting. This means that current can run smoothly along the nanowires and could lead to a completely new class of efficient integrated circuits.

There are still a few teething problems with the San Diego approach, the chief one being that the polymer layer currently degrades when exposed to air. However, if either approach can be made to work on a commercial scale, it could lead to smaller, cheaper and easier to install panels. Perhaps we’ve just moved one small step closer to a solar future.

Via Ecotechdaily and Sciencedaily

Audi, the luxury car unit of the Volkswagen Audi Group (VAG), has announced plans to make electric cars within the next ten years.

In a recent interview, Chairman Rupert Stadler said that he saw great opportunities for electric cars, and expects diesel and battery technology to dominate in the next five to ten years, saying, “By then we will offer cars without exhaust emissions.”

When challenged with the idea that Audi was lagging behind rival German car giants Mercedes and BMW in the development of Li-Ion battery technology, Stadler stated that their research capacities were larger than those of domestic rivals. Without elaborating, he also said, “electric cars offer great opportunities, which we have already seized on.”

This mention of a superior research budget may indicate that Audi intends to throw money at developing a more lightweight, longer range battery than is currently available. Perhaps the most likely showcase for an all-electric vehicle might be a variant of the Audi A1 Metroproject Quattro concept showcased at the Tokyo Motor Show last October. This gas-electric hybrid boasted acceleration of 0-60mph in 7.8 seconds and a top speed of 124mph.

It’s hard to know exactly what to make of Audi’s strategy. Perhaps they’re planning some big alternative power train project that they’re reluctant to talk about, or else the announcement was calculated to be deliberately vague in an effort to wrong foot competitors, or dupe the press (us) into talking about them without actually committing to anything. Either way, ten years is a long time in the auto industry, and it’s possible that the relentless rise in oil prices may force them to show their hand sooner than that.

Via Reuters

Do you want a hybrid Honda Fit? Or how about a hybrid Passat, or Yaris, or Cobalt, or….Yeah. Too bad. While the number of hybrids available is certainly increasing, there are just a lot of cars we can’t get as hybrids, and we’re just going to have to deal with that.

Or are we? A UK company has revealed a retro-fit hybrid conversion kit that has the potential to cut exhaust emissions in existing cars by nearly 40%, and improve fuel economy by 60%. The system, developed by the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA), features a removable battery pack, arranged into three portable 30kW cassettes, which upgrade existing "conventional" vehicles into hybrids.

The technology, currently being demonstrated on a Skoda Fabia, allows the car to run as a plug-in hybrid. In practice, it means the battery can be recharged via the gasoline engine, or by removing the battery pack and charging it through the mains. The rear wheels are driven by two 30 kW (50bhp) motors, while the petrol engine drives the front ones, effectively turning your car into a 4WD. Regenerative braking appears to be not included.

According to MIRA, the test model achieves an average of 64mpg (up from 39mpg), while top speed and acceleration remain similar to a standard Fabia. While this certainly isn’t as impressive as the Hymotion plug-in conversion kit for the Prius, it is cheaper (probably only $4,000) and can be installed in any front-wheel-drive car.

Speaking about the new project, Derek Charters, advanced power train manager at MIRA said, “You can obtain electricity from your domestic provider far cheaper and greener than from a car engine, so plug-in hybrids make sense.

“With this project, we’ve removed the main limitation of the plug-in hybrid by allowing the battery pack to come to the mains, rather than having to park right next to a socket, which is difficult if you live in a terraced house or flat.”

Unfortunately, MIRA hasn’t yet set a date for putting the technology into production. However, providing the new system is affordable and easy to install, there’s a compelling case for launching it in the market as soon as possible. Watch this space for more.

Following the opening of a new four-turbine wind farm last week, Rock Port in North West Missouri has become the first U.S. town to get all its electricity from wind power.

The $90 million Loess Hills Wind Farm, built on bluffs west of the town, generates five megawatts each day, more than enough for the settlement of 1,300 people. In fact, the farm generates enough electricity to power another similar-sized town. This has led Missouri Joint Municipal Utilities to buy excess power from the site. The farm is eventually expected to generate 16 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year.

The farm was built in a partnership between St. Louis-based Wind Capital Group and John Deere, who has been helping fund rural wind projects all over America. Speaking at the grand opening last Friday, project manager, Eric Chamberlain said, “Rock Port is making the burning of fossil fuels today’s alternative energy supply.”

It’ll be really interesting to see whether the success of this community-supported initiative will inspire similar projects elsewhere in the country.

Via Columbia Daily Tribune

Following the opening of a new four-turbine wind farm last week, Rock Port in North West Missouri has become the first U.S. town to get all its electricity from wind power.

The $90 million Loess Hills Wind Farm, built on bluffs west of the town, generates five megawatts each day, more than enough for the settlement of 1,300 people. In fact, the farm generates enough electricity to power another similar-sized town. This has led Missouri Joint Municipal Utilities to buy excess power from the site. The farm is eventually expected to generate 16 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year.

The farm was built in a partnership between St. Louis-based Wind Capital Group and John Deere, who has been helping fund rural wind projects all over America. Speaking at the grand opening last Friday, project manager, Eric Chamberlain said, “Rock Port is making the burning of fossil fuels today’s alternative energy supply.”

It’ll be really interesting to see whether the success of this community-supported initiative will inspire similar projects elsewhere in the country.

Via Columbia Daily Tribune

Norwegian company Think Global has announced plans to sell its Think City EV in the US from next year.

Speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Green Conference in Pasadena, CA on Monday, CEO Jan-Oluf Willums announced that cars will arrive in the US in limited numbers later this year. The first cars are destined for utilities like Pacific Gas and Electric and ‘influential companies’ such as Google, for test and evaluation purposes. Cars will go on sale to the general public in 2009.

The vehicle has a top speed of 65MPH and a range of 110 miles between charges. It is described as emissions free, 95% recyclable and compliant with all relevant US and European safety standards.

Cars will be brought to the US by Think North America, a joint-venture between Think Global and venture capitalist firms Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers and RockPort Capital Partners. The new set-up will be based in Menlo Park, CA.

The company expects the cars to cost in the region of $25,000, with anticipated annual sales of 50,000 units in two or three years. At that price, it looks as if Think is aiming to go head to head with Toyota for a slice of the market in affordable environmentally conscious cars.

Via Mercury News

Read the full Think Global press release here

Last week saw the opening of the first hydrogen fuelling station in England. The station is based at Birmingham University, where experiments are being carried out to test the viability of hydrogen in transport applications, as part of Birmingham’s ‘Science City’ hydrogen energy project.

Researchers will compare five hydrogen-powered vehicles with the university’s own fleet of petrol, diesel and electric vehicles to learn more about efficiency and performance. The main aim is to work out exactly how the vehicles might need to be adapted to enable the cost-effective use of hydrogen vehicles in the future.

The Series-100 station has been specially designed by Air-Products, a Pennsylvania-based hydrogen producer and supplier. The fueller is made up of an integrated compression, hydrogen storage and dispensing system, optimised to fuel up to six vehicles per day. Crucially, the system is portable, making it a perfect choice for start-up stations.

Looking ahead, the research team hope that the results of the project will encourage greater government support, particularly of the financial kind, and help kick-start the wider application of a hydrogen-fuelling infrastructure across the UK.

Via Autoindustry

See BBC video footage of the opening here