To my mind, the whole "hydrogen fuel cell" approach is a bit of a wrong
turn. They have been talking about this as the future of the automobile for
decades, yet it is still "10 to 15 years away". In fact, it may never
happen, because it contains no resolution for the "chicken or egg" question:
which do you build first -- the hydrogen-refueling infrastructure, or the
fleet of fuel-cell-powered vehicles? One isn't viable without the other. I
rather suspect that this long-drawn-out R&D process has functioned as a
smoke screen to distract regulators while the auto and oil industries
continue business as usual.
What I think is a more promising approach (at least for the near future) is
the hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine. BMW has demonstrated a
7-series sedan that is "dual fuel" -- it runs on pump gas, but can be
switched at any time to running on hydrogen from a separate tank, but
powering the same V8 engine. This approach would not only provide comparable
performance to today's vehicles now (not decades in the future), it solves
the chicken/egg dilemma. If you put these cars on sale today, people could
buy them (probably fleet buyers at first), creating an incentive for the
growth of a refueling infrastructure. As the infrastructure slowly becomes
established, you can still take your vehicle on long trips, confident that
you won't be "stuck in Lodi" for the want of a hydrogen station.
This lack of infrastructure is one of the main reasons the GM and Honda
electric cars failed to catch on, and the same would hold true for hydrogen
fuel cell vehicles -- even more so since you don't have hydrogen
conveniently plumbed into your garage, as you do 120vAC.
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the primer red one with chrome wires
on 6/22/05 1:14 PM, Tom Buchanan at toms_MG@tombuchanan.net wrote:
> Just watched a "Modern Marvels" on The History Channel. It was on
> future automobiles. In one part, it discussed the powering of cars of all
> kinds with fuel cells. There was even a Cobra body that was donated by
> Carroll Shelby that had been fitted to run by electric motor powered by a
> fuel cell. The implication was that the performance was comparable to a
> gasoline powered Cobra.
> Has anyone thought of what it would take to power one of our MGs with
> this method? It seems that an MG would be a good candidate. Yes, I know it
> wouldn't sound as good!
>
>
> Tom Buchanan
> toms_MG@tombuchanan.net
> http://www.tombuchanan.net/mg.html
> 1974 MGB-GT
> Piney Flats, TN
|