Hydrogen Discoveries company blog

(Note #1: This is Hydrogen Fact #1 from “Twelve Hydrogen Facts” which is part of the Hydrogen Manhattan Project.)

(Note #2: I am personally outraged with the lack of leadership and focus on solving the energy crisis despite all of the problems that are a result of our reliance on oil such as high fuel prices, wars, global warming, air pollution, etc.

My feeling is that it is time to stop expecting politicians and corporations to lead.  Instead, we should all become leaders and start a revolution of our own to solve this problem.  YOU must be a catalyst for positive change.

The Hydrogen Manhattan Project is “A movement led by individual Americans to support corporations and elected officials that work towards the goal of having every car on the road in the U.S. powered by hydrogen produced from clean sources of energy by the end of 2020.”  The first step to achieving this goal is to get the government to help build the initial hydrogen fueling stations that the car companies have been pleading for.

The problem is that very few people are even aware of all that is happening with hydrogen cars and how hydrogen can solve the problems we are now facing.  Therefore, I have started a grassroots campaign to spread the word about hydrogen.  If you would like to be added to the e-mail distribution list for the Hydrogen Manhattan Project grassroots campaign, please e-mail me at gblencoe@hydrogendiscoveries.com.)

Hydrogen Fact #1

When will hydrogen fuel cell cars be ready?  This question gets asked a lot.  The short answer is that hydrogen cars are just about ready to be commercialized, but the hydrogen fueling infrastructure needs to be built.

The following quote from Bob Carter, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager, in a recent press release about the Toyota FCHV (a mid-size SUV powered by a hydrogen fuel cell) sums up the situation with hydrogen cars:

“The development of Toyota’s hydrogen fuel-cell powertrains continue to move forward and mature at an impressive pace, far in advance of an infrastructure that will be necessary to support them.”

Here are just a few examples that show how far along hydrogen fuel cell cars are:

Last fall, Toyota released the newest version of the FCHV which is a mid-size SUV powered by a hydrogen fuel cell that gets 80 miles per kilogram of hydrogen and has a driving range of 480 miles.

GM has recently launched a program called Project Driveway where 100 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are driven by members of the general public in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.

GM announced in June 2007 that “it is moving more than 500 fuel cell engineers and experts from advanced development laboratories to engineering functions aimed at preparing the fuel cell for commercial sale.”

Honda will begin leasing the FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to anywhere from a few dozen to 100 customers in Southern California beginning this summer.

Honda and GM have even produced hydrogen fuel cell commercials that have been playing on TV over the last five or six months.

Although the car companies have made tremendous progress with hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, the hydrogen fueling infrastructure desperately needs to be built.

To illustrate how important this is, just look at all of the people that have called for hydrogen fueling stations to be built in the last couple of months:

Larry Burns, General Motors (April 2008):

“General Motors today called on the energy industry and governments to step up and help automakers make volume production of fuel cell-electric vehicles a reality by opening more hydrogen fueling stations.

“That message was delivered by Larry Burns, General Motors vice president, research & development and strategic planning.  Burns delivered a keynote address at the National Hydrogen Association’s annual conference in Sacramento, CA.

“‘The automobile industry has reached a critical juncture in our journey to realize the full potential of hydrogen fuel cell-electric vehicles,’ said Burns.  ‘While we have made impressive progress, we have now reached a point where the energy industry and governments must pick up their pace so we can continue to advance in a timely manner’…

“Burns said addressing the infrastructure challenge is essential because the potential benefits of hydrogen fuel cell technology are clear and compelling.  ‘This technology promises to deliver family-sized vehicles that are fun to drive, safe, look great, refuel fast, go far between fill-ups, and are emissions-free and petroleum-free.  It also holds promise to do all of this while keeping automobiles affordable to own and operate.  And just like electricity, it can be made from a broad range of renewable and sustainable energy pathways.  No other technology offers this exciting potential,’ he said…

“‘Clearly, the automotive industry has stepped forward with fuel cell-electric vehicles, and we are doing everything possible to aggressively develop this critically important technology,’ Burns said.  ‘However, we have reached a stage where we cannot continue to make significant progress on our own.  Our customers must have safe and convenient access to affordable hydrogen.  This means the energy industry and governments must join the auto industry in our journey to produce and sell fuel cell-electric vehicles in volume numbers.’”

Currently on the Honda website:

“Honda has brought the fuel cell vehicle from the lab to the fleet and finally to the public.  The major barrier now is building up the hydrogen supply infrastructure.”

Katsuhiko Hirose, Toyota (April 2008):

“Citing ‘Who Killed the Electric Car?,’ a documentary film that explores reasons why electric vehicles never became popular, Hirose explained five miracles needed to diffuse fuel cell cars.

Specifically, the five miracles needed for diffusion of fuel cell cars are (1) cost reduction, (2) comfortable interior space, (3) reasonable fuel prices, (4) efficient diffusion of hydrogen stations and (5) no evolution of rival technologies.  He caused a stir in the audience, stating the industry can overcome all these challenges except for the efficient diffusion of hydrogen stations.

Automobile manufacturers can solve problems by working hard if only the challenges are related to fuel cell cars, whereas the diffusion of hydrogen stations cannot be realized only by automobile manufacturers, he stressed.  To make the miracle come true, he called for cooperation of energy companies and the government toward the diffusion of hydrogen stations.

He also said that it is important to establish more infrastructure before commercializing fuel cell cars and that increasing fuel cell cars as quickly as possible will lower costs for cars and infrastructure maintenance while meeting consumer benefits.”

Richard Branson, Virgin (March 2008):

During an announcement last month of a partnership with GM to use three Chevrolet Equinox hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for their complimentary airport shuttle service for their passengers at Los Angeles International Airport, Virgin Chairman Richard Branson spoke out about the need for governments to help build hydrogen fueling stations:

“We are calling upon governments world wide, not just the UK and the US, to assist our businesses by building hydrogen filling stations in key cities so that drivers can fill up their cars more easily.”

Jeff Dorchen, The Huffington Post (January 2008):

“Lazy, that’s what it is.  Bush and what’s left of his advisory posse of the ideologically deformed just don’t feel like bothering to think of anything effective to do.  Did they consider, Hey, let’s spark some industry development, encourage investment in something American ingenuity and work ethic and entrepreneurship can really sink their teeth into.  Like maybe get in on the ground floor of this whole hydrogen economy thing.  Whoever positions themselves to profit from that will be riding the crest as the economic powerhouse of the future.  Think of all the money that would change hands as researchers came up with better ways of generating and storing hydrogen, think of all of the contractors and laborers and tradesman and engineers busy as beavers converting gas stations to hydrogen stations, and the auto industry and the advertising — good lord, a few billion judiciously channeled and matching-funded and dangled like carrots in front of the right noses, and the economy would be blazing on all cylinders — to use a one-day-to-be-outmoded mechanical metaphor.  How about we redirect our resources and young men and women out of destroying the Middle East and channel them toward poising the U.S. economy to be the dominant force behind the hydrogen revolution that will end petroleum’s reign of terror forever?”

Paul Brubaker, Department of Transportation (March 2008):

“The reality is, we cannot wait.  We have to figure out what to do to reach critical mass and create the infrastructure to get these cars on the road sooner than later.”