Hydrogen

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.

Fuel cells are highly interesting bits of tech. Literally moon shot technology brought to earth, they’ve been the darling of some green energy types and certain car companies for awhile now. Mercedes-Benz for instance, arguably the people who invented the automobile, has been making great strides putting fuel cell technology into street cars.

As world leaders, dignitaries and policymakers head to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this week, some of them will find themselves ferried to the proceedings in a Volvo station wagon.

Along with BMW, Honda and Daimler, Volvo is one of four automotive sponsors of the conference. As such they’re providing 60 diesel and E85 S80 sedans and V70 wagons for use by heads of state and “other prominent visitors.” Also traveling beneath solar-powered streetlamps are BMWs, Benz buses and hydrogen Hondas — not to mention a brand-new Chinese electric car.

Nissan’s making a big bet on electric vehicles like the Leaf, but it’s still pushing hydrogen as one fuel of the future. The Japanese automaker is leasing one — yes, one — fuel cell vehicle to Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

The move is part R&D exercise for Nissan and part marketing ploy for Coca-Cola, which will use the zero-emissions vehicle to promote Coke Zero. So clever. Teasing aside, it makes sense because the California Fuel Cell Partnership is based in Sacramento, so the Coca-Cola crew can keep the X-Trail FCV going.

The irony in greener transportation has always been designs that emphasize the cool-factor over practicality. To often companies create a product for the haves instead of the have-nots and completely overshoot the everyday environmentalist. That’s how we end up with things like $109,000 electric sports cars and $69,000 electric motorcycles.

Honda has offered a sneak preview of the CR-Z hybrid, which is debuting amongst a slew of alt-fuel concepts at the 41st annual Tokyo Motor Show.

Back in April, Mercedes-Benz announced its plans to begin small-scale series production of a new hydrogen fuel cell-powered automobile called the F-Cell. According to the German automaker, the car is nearly ready to launch, with 200 vehicles slated to be leased throughout the United States and Europe early next year.