DOE Backs Hydrogen Cars With Cash

The US Department of Energy announced this week it is awarding $7 million dollars to promote improvements in hydrogen storage and distribution systems. These improvements will help lower the cost of infrastructure needed for fuel cell powered vehicles. In a press release, the DOE said such investment is “critical to the widespread commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.” 

Hydrogen powered cars simply substitute a fuel cell for the battery found in electric cars. Extended range and rapid refueling time are two factors that strongly favor hydrogen powered cars. 

But wait. Aren’t electric cars the wave of the future?

Maybe not. Toyota announced last week that it is switching its focus from electric cars to fuel cells. Honda already sells a fuel cell car in California, where it will soon be joined by Hyundai. Mercedes Benz is aggressively pursuing fuel cells. And just last week the Japanese government announced it is putting its full weigh behind making Japan the world’s fuel cell technology leader.

Currently the future of the automobile looks to be a mix of hybrids, plug in hybrids, electrics and fuel cells. Asian automakers are betting heavily on fuel cells, going so far as to forsake their early EV programs. American companies are betting more heavily on electrics, especially plug-in hybrids, while European manufacturers are hedging their bets and dabbling in a little bit of everything. Which technology prevails will largely depend on infrastructure; right now America has over 121,000 places you can buy gasoline but only 11 public hydrogen refilling locations, 10 of them in California.

An optimist would say the market for fuel cells and hydrogen energy has a lot of room for growth!

Source: Green Autoblog

Record Setting 376 MPG Opel

 

In the early 1970s the world got its first taste of peak oil, as OPEC turned off the spigot and gas prices shot through the roof almost overnight. This prompted an initial wave of research aimed at producing more efficient vehicles, as well as alternatives to oil. Shell even got in on the act, creating what still stands as the world’s most fuel-efficient car, and it can be yours for just $425,000.

Using a 1959 Opel Olympia Rekord three-door station wagon as the basis and renaming it the P1, Shell stripped the car to, well, a shell of its former self, even going so far as to lower the roof and windshield by several inches. You’d think something as radical as lopping off a chunk of the roofline would be enough, but Shell went way, way further.

For example, the rear differential was eliminated entirely, with builders opting for a simple chain system instead. The two rear wheels were moved in very close to each other, and the wheel well was sealed off. Under the hood was a four-cylinder, 1.5 liter engine with a small lawnmower carburetor and no radiator. Instead, the engine was wrapped in insulation and the water was allowed to boil, which in the long run would probably be very bad for the motor.

With just a single spartan seat to sit in, the the Opel managed to go an incredible 376 miles on a single gallon of gas. That was over 40 years ago though, and though the seller claims the Opel still runs, time has not been kind to the exterior of this car. It makes the $425,000 asking price seem all the more ridiculous.

Perhaps, in pristine, restored condition, this could be a valuable car given the green car renaissance we’re experiencing.. But I don’t think this particular car has achieved the kind of collectible status that asking price seems to suggest.

Source: Green Car Reports