Hydrogen

Hydrogen faces a number of challenges when it comes to supplanting gasoline as the world's transportation fuel of choice, one of the largest of which was underscored by two small explosions at a Rochester, New York refueling station yesterday. According to reports, two people were injured when a spark ignited the fuel during a tank exchange. Praxair driver Robert Scruggs was transported to Strong Hospital with second-degree burns to his hands and face as a result of the incident, and a female Burger King employee was treated for ear pain in connection with the explosions.

The United States Army is experimenting with a hydrogen fuel cell unit that could be installed in the M1 Abrams tank to provide electricity for computers and other equipment.

The auxiliary power unit would produce hydrogen from JP8 diesel fuel, then use the hydrogen in a fuel cell, Steven Eick, a chemical engineer in the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, said in a posting at the Army website. The goal is to generate enough power to increase the computing power and communications capabilities of the Abrams and other battlefield vehicles.

A rollerskate-shaped hydrogen car is getting a little love in Leicester.

The British city has signed a memorandum of understanding to bring the Riversimple hydrogen city car to town. Automotively disadvantaged residents of the East Midland city can take heart: your Reliant Robin just got a lot better looking by comparison.

Toyota says it has cut the cost of building fuel cell vehicles by 90 percent and could sell its first hydrogen vehicle for $50,000 by 2015.

That’s still a big chunk of change, but a bargain compared to the six- or seven-figure price tags the cars are generally thought to cost now. The exorbitant cost has been among the technology’s greatest hurdles and one reason Honda, General Motors and others lease or loan, not sell, the few hydrogen fuel cell cars they have on the road.

BMW is working on a small hydrogen hybrid that’s been spotted testing in Europe.

The test mule is based on the 1 Series hatchback. It sports a drivetrain that mates a 5 kilowatt fuel cell and 82 kilowatt (109 horsepower) electric motor with a conventional internal combustion engine. It’s a significant departure for BMW, which until now has used hydrogen primarily in internal combustion engines like the one in the 7 Series Hydrogen (shown above).

When product designers at Seymourpowell sought to design a new luxury aircraft, they didn’t have a need for speed in mind. In fact, the Aircruise concept takes design cues from a high-end hotel, inviting guests to stay awhile.

It’s hard to believe less than a decade ago, travelers routinely crossed the Atlantic in under three hours on supersonic airliners. Instead of even faster crossings, Aircruise is one of a whole new breed of concept airships looking to reinvent air travel with day-and-a-half crossings from New York to London, where the vacation begins the moment passengers board the ship, and where leisure travelers arrive well-rested.

Mercedes-Benz, like everyone else on the planet, is experimenting with plug-in hybrids. But it’s still betting heavily on hydrogen. Now it’s combined the two in a head-turning high-end “multi-drive” concept car that can run on batteries or a fuel cell.

One of the big issues facing hydrogen is just where we’re supposed to fill the cars that might run on the stuff. A Connecticut company is answering that question on the East Coast with plans for a “hydrogen highway” that will extend from Portland, Maine to southern Florida.

Capacity of Texas, Inc. has teamed up with L.A.-based Vision Industries to create a hydrogen fuel cell-powered terminal tractor that can haul cargo around busy ports with zero emissions.

Named ZETT and based on the company’s earlier partial hybrid terminal tractor, the new tractor will be able to carry containers for two full eight-hour shifts without refueling. Capacity president Phillip Ford says that refueling only will take 15 minutes, a distinct advantage over battery-powered trucks.