Gizmodo: gas crisis

Genepax Unveils a Car That Runs on Water and Air

Sean Fallon — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:10:00 EDT

Running a car on water has been the holy grail for car manufacturers for some time now, but it appears that a Japanese company named Genepax may have pulled ahead of the competition with a prototype vehicle that runs entirely on water and air. Their new "Water Energy System (WES)," generates power by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes using a proprietary technology called the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA). The secret behind MEA is a special material that is capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction.

Not surprisingly, Genenpax has kept the exact details of their technology under wraps, but they did say that their new process, while based on existing technology, is expected to produce hydrogen from water for longer time than any method currently available. Furthermore, WES does not require a hydrogen reformer, a high-pressure hydrogen tank, or any special catalysts to get the job done.

During a recent conference, Genepax unveiled a fuel cell stack with a rated output of 120W and a fuel cell system with a rated output of 300W—and there are plans for a 1kw-class generation system for use in both electric vehicles and houses sometime in the future. At this point, the cost of production on the water-powered vehicle engine itself is around about ¥2,000,000 (US$18,522), but they hope to drop the price to ¥500,000 (US$4600) or less if they succeed in bringing it into mass production. [Tech On]

Origo Develops Recycling System that Turns Car Emissions Into Fuel

Sean Fallon — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:00:00 EDT

The concept has been around for a while, but Origo Industries is planning on being the first company to release a CO2 recycling system that turns your car emissions into fuel. The unit captures CO2 from your car exhaust and stores it until it can be recycled in a home unit that uses algae to produce bio-oil. According to the company, the system could produce as much as 660 gallons of free fuel per year—which sounds too good to be true. We shall find out soon enough as Origo is scheduled to unveil the technology for the first time at this year's Green-Car-Guide Live! in the UK starting on June 12th. [Tradingcharts and Gizmag]

Shell Station in LA to Offer Hydrogen Later This Month

Sean Fallon — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:20:00 EDT

A Shell station on Santa Monica Boulevard will begin dispensing hydrogen fuel later this month as part of a research program run by the US Department of Energy in conjunction with GM. The station will be followed in the next few months by other stations in the LA area in an effort to build the mini networks necessary to jump-start the production and adoption of hydrogen-powered vehicles. Shell's hydrogen is created on-site with an electrolyzer, but all parties agree that this is only a short-term solution.

In order to service a heavy load of vehicles down the line, it will be necessary to produce hydrogen at petrochemical plants until it becomes possible to manufacture it from cleaner sources like carbon capture and storage, bio-feedstocks and municipal solid waste. There are numerous hydrogen stations located throughout the world, and it isn't the first of its kind in California, but the fact that it is backed by a major company could be the spark needed to generate real progress. [Ecogeek via CNET]