This is Hydrogen Future Shell Oil is Betting On

Shell Oil seems to have acknowledged that the car of tomorrow will be powered by an electric motor, but the source of the electrons that power those motors is still a question mark. Shell thinks that the public’s familiarity with “filling up”, coupled to the “range anxiety” being expressed by the hundreds of thousands of car-buyers who chose a Nissan Versa over a Nissan Leaf over the past few years, will make hydrogen fuel cells an easier sell than a pure EV.

To welcome all those car of tomorrow driving- er- futurists, Shell and BMW have partnered up to design the slick-looking gas station you see here.

Shell Hydrogen Fuel Cell Fueling Station

---

It’s hard to say whether or not hydrogen fuel cells will be as big as BMW and Shell are hoping they’ll be- but there are other big players involved who are thinking along the same lines. Players like Honda, Toyota, General Motors, and even some of the major players in the convenience store space are betting big on hydrogen and biofuel.

What do you guys think? Are you ready for the big H, or do you find yourself agreeing with the Cleantechnica consensus that hydrogen could create more problems than it solved? Think it through, then let us know what you think in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Source | Images: Shell, via Motorpasion.

Is The Toyota Mirai The Next Edsel?

The Toyota Mirai is supposed to be the future of alternative fuels, and the automaker is hoping to replicate the success of the Prius with its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Yet with a high price, polarizing looks, and perhaps a little too much hype, the Toyota Mirai looking more like the next Edsel.

In the late 1950s, Ford launched the Edsel brand with a car famously described as looking like “am Oldsmobile sucking a lemon” in a bid to make it stand out. Customers flocked to showrooms to see the unveiling, but left without placing an order, underwhelmed by what many considered to be just another, kinda-funky Ford. Just a couple of years after its launch, the Edsel brand was dead and forever ruined, due in parts to its looks but also because the marketing hype didn’t meet consumer expectations.

Prior to the launch of the Edsel, Ford ran a nationwide ad campaign hyping up the car as something new and exciting, a real game changer. Despite offering a lot of cool techie features though, consumers weren’t exactly wowed by the high-price and complicated technology. The polarizing horse-collar grille also created a love-it-or-hate-it sentiment among consumers.
If all of this sounds familiar to you, it’s because Toyota is pursuing a similarly aggressive hype campaign for a vehicle that really only offers an incremental improvement over conventional cars or electric vehicles. Toyota claims nobody wants to buy EVs, yet Tesla Model S sales are taking a big bite out of sales of established luxury automakers.

Then there’s the look of the Mirai, which can best be described as a swing and a miss. While the front and rear fascia were designed to look futuristic, the entire middle section of the car is as plain as a four-door sedan could be Then there’s those awful, awful side vents, which Toyota claims drive air to the extra radiators required for the fuel cell stack. What they’ve actually done though is create a polarizing but mostly-awful feature that distracts people from seeing anything else. If anybody thinks the Mirai is a good looking car, please leave a comment below, because so far I haven’t heard one positive review of its looks.

That alone is enough to turn a lot of people off to Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, but in fairness the original Prius wasn’t much of a looker either. Today the Prius dominates the hybrid car market and has even become synonymous with the world. But the Prius also had virtually no competition, and by the time it did it was already the go-to hybrid for a lot of car buyers. It also doesn’t cost all that much more than a comparable conventional car, whereas the Mirai costs almost twice the average new car cost in America.

There’s also the fact that the Prius can fill-up anywhere and was rolled out nationwide; meanwhile the Mirai will only be sold in limited numbers in a handful of locations around the world. Just 700 are expected to be sold by the end of 2015, centered around the few dozen operational hydrogen fueling stations, which makes the 10% range advantage the Mirai offers over the Model S seem kinda pointless.

With a paltry 134 horsepower, the Mirai isn’t likely to wow many speed enthusiasts either, leaving just true believers to take the plunge. Once you start really digging into the technical aspects of hydrogen, and realize just how much energy (often sourced from fracking) it takes to create said hydrogen, and one can understand why Elon Musk would call fuel cell vehicles “bullshi*.”

The barriers to the success of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are far more than those facing electric vehicles. Toyota may be trying to play the long game, but I think it’ll take a much better car than the Mirai to convince people that this is truly the path forward.

Source: Gas2

Honda Delays Production Hydrogen Fuel Cell Sedan Until 2016

This week Honda was slated to unveil the production version of its long-touted hydrogen fuel cell sedan. Instead, it will be showing off an updated version of its FCEV concept, delaying the production model until March of 2016. That’s bad news for fans of hydrogen fuel and Honda, which lacks a zero-emissions placeholder for 2015.

With the Honda Fit EV out of production, and the Honda hydrogen fuel cell vehicle delayed another year, the automaker won’t be able to meet CARB’s zero emissions vehicle mandate. It also means competitors will be making further inroads with customers seeking an alternative to petrol. Who knows how many potential customers Honda could be losing by delaying their long-awaited hydrogen sedan?

The Honda FCX Clarity was one of the first hydrogen-fueled vehicles you could get your hands on, debuting in 2008 as a lease-only, limited-sale vehicle in SoCal. A recent partnership with SolarCity could bring hydrogen fuel production to your home garage, though that doesn’t do much good if there’s nothing to fuel up. While estimates placed the cost of the Clarity as high as $1 million in 2005 when it first debuted, some analysts say production costs are down to as little as $120,000. That’s still about four-times the cost of the average car in the U.S., and while Honda isn’t saying exactly why it’s delaying production for another year, it’s easy to narrow down the reasons why.

At the top of the list is cost; perhaps Honda isn’t ready to take a huge hit on the sale of each hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. By some estimates, every Toyota Mirai FCV sold could cost the company $100,000 or more. There are other factors as well that could be hindering production as well, like the lack of infrastructure anywhere outside of California. Honda might also be waiting for additional government incentives or funding for fueling station expansion. Honda says that the production version of its fuel sedan, rumored to be called the ACX and looking something like this, still makes in excess of 100 kW/134 horsepower, with a driving range of 300 miles and a refilling time of less than five minutes at one of the growing number of quick-fuel stations.

Regardless of the reason for the delay, instead of a production hydrogen fuel cell vehicle Honda has given us an updated concept. It’s hard to spin that as good news.

Toyota Mirai Hydrogen FCV Gets Official Introduction By CEO

Ahead of its official launch at the Los Angeles Auto Show, CEO Akio Toyoda has officially introducedthe Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle as the car that will change the way we think about transportation. Toyota has bet big on hydrogen over electric vehicles; is the Mirai the car that can change the way we think about green transportation?

With 300 miles of driving range on a full tank of hydrogen fuel, the Toyota Mirai will purportedly offer all the advantages of electric cars, like instant torque and quiet driving, without the limited range or long recharge times. Just how green turning natural gas or other fossil fuels into compressed hydrogen remains a subject of debate, but in an ideal world hydrogen could be produced en masse from a wide variety of renewable sources, whether that be solar power or decaying garbage.

In Japanese, Mirai means “future”, which is what Toyota thinks hydrogen fuel represents. This is every bit as big as a gambit as Nissan’s focus on electric vehicles. The Toyota Mirai will wear rally colors in a bid to prove its reliable and fun to drive, and Toyota is planning to fund a new hydrogen highway in the Northeast to facilitate sales outside of SoCal. Toyota will work with Air Liqude to build the first stations in five Northeast states, forming the basis for a network that it hopes will stretch up and down the East Coast.

The first Toyota Mirai FCVs are slated to go into production next month, though the Hyundai Tuscon Fuel Cell has been available for lease since late summer. On the other hand, the Honda FCV has been delayed until 2016 for unspecified reasons. While that might seem to give Toyota the upper hand, Toyota is facing what some analysts call the “first-mover disadvantage” due to the lack of supporting infrastructure and the high cost of their cars.

Is the world ready for Toyota’s vision of a zero-emissions future? Is hydrogen ready for the world? We’ll find out in 2015.

The Toyota FCV Will Cost $69,000 And Refills In 3 Minutes

The production version of the Toyota FCV has been revealed, and to Toyota’s credit, it has retained much of the concept’s edgy look. While no interior photos have yet been revealed, the Toyota FCV will cost around $69,000 here in the U.S.

Production is set to begin in December, with initial sales limited to the California area, the only place in the country to have anything resembling a hydrogen fueling infrastructure. Toyota is claiming a range of 300 miles between fill-ups, which can take as little as 3 minutes, and 0 to 60 MPH will be in the ten second range.

The $69,000 price means it will still have to compete against the Tesla Model S, though its admittedly less than I thought it would cost. Can Toyota make a case for hydrogen fuel cells over battery electric cars at a time when Tesla is dominating the news cycle? The sole benefit of hydrogen seems to be the fast refueling time, something electric cars have improved by leaps and bounds in the past four years.

Is faster refilling enough to justify the switch to an entirely new and energy-intensive source of fuel? Does Toyota really think the FCV is setting the next 100 years of automotive innovation into motion?

DOE Spending $20 Million For $4 A Gallon Hydrogen, But Why?

The Department of Energy has announced a round of grants totaling $20 million with the goal of bringing hydrogen fuel costs down below $4 a gallon equivalent. That’s frankly a stupid idea, because consumers will end up paying the same (or more!) for hydrogen as they do for gasoline. So like, what is the incentive to “go green” if you can’t even pretend like it’s saving you money?

The first round of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are just starting to roll out, with the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell leading the way. And if you thought EVs were expensive, wait until you get a load of fuel cell vehicles.  The Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell leases for $599 a month, and the Toyota FCV will be somewhere in the $75,000 range when it goes on sale next year. While the Hyundai will come with free fuel (at least at first), Toyota hasn’t mentioned a similar scheme for its hydrogen vehicles.

While it’ll all depend on specific fuel economy, if hydrogen fuel goes mainstream, consumers will end up with the same monthly fueling costs as before. Meanwhile, drivers of pure electric vehicles can save, literally, hundreds of dollars every month by filling up on cheap electricity. The Nissan Leaf is rated at 73 miles, and costs between $2 and $4 to fully charge. Split the difference at $3, and you’re still cheaper than a gallon of gasoline.

You can also plug in at home with EVs, or even better, get your power from roof-mounted solar panels, essentially refilling your car for free. The difference is even more pronounced on a long range EV like the Tesla Model S, which if charge during off-peak hours, can be fully recharged for between $4 and $10. A comparable car would need between $60 and $80 of gasoline.

I know Obama is suddenly hot for hydrogen, but it’s a dead-end technology that doesn’t benefit the customers except for one way, and that’s faster refilling, and that gap is closing thanks to the Tesla Superchargers. Oh, the government is throwing cash at that experiment too. At best, hydrogen fuel cells maintain a cost status quo for consumers, and where it comes down to dollars and cents, EVs have a major advantage. Too bad the DOE can’t figure that out.

Source: Gas 2.

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

Honda Installs Fast-Refilling Hydrogen Fueling Station

Honda isn’t looking back when it comes to hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, and the automaker has opened an advanced, fast-filling hydrogen fueling station at its California campus. This is in anticipation of the 2015 Honda FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle), which will roll out in the next year or so.

The next-generation fueling system cuts refilling time of the hydrogen fuel bladder by some 45%, turning refueling into a three minute pit stop for some 300 miles of driving range. The MC Fill system, as Honda is calling it, monitors the temperature output at the dispenser, allowing it to maximize flow and refill the 10,000 psi fuel tank in as little as three minutes. Not even the Tesla Superchargers can match that kind of refill rate, and Honda is going to make a big push in hydrogen fuel technology in the coming years.

Honda is already consolidating its efforts, ending Honda Fit EV production early and killing the Honda Insight hybrid as it shores up its resources to focus on the 2015 FCEV. Honda was leasing the FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell for a few years now, and seems ready to put hydrogen fuel cel vehicles on dealership lots…at least in California. The lack of refueling infrastructure means hydrogen cars are going to be limited to a select few areas during their initial launch, much like many electric vehicles.

I’m also expecting/hoping the size of the MC Fill station shrinks considerably, as that’s quite the impressive footprint for a single filling station. As another part of Honda’s increasingly-diverse green portfolio though, this new fueling station should help make the transition from oil to hydrogen a whole lot easier.

Source: Honda