The team says its new cathode, made of a conductive plastic called PEDOT, could be manufactured for just several hundred dollars. Even better, PEDOT is much more stable than platinum and doesn't have platinum's pesky clumping problems or aversion to carbon monoxide.

The researchers are now planning on building fuel cells with the cathode in 3D, to maximize the surface area available to generate a current. With this new breakthrough and the solar-charged process engineered by MIT scientists a few days ago, it's been kind of an awesome week for fuel cell science. [ABC via Treehugger]

That was in 1978, and he's talking about creating hydrogen with solar power and not polluting. Screw Al Gore and get me Jack. This guy was telling it exactly how it is, but 30 years ago. Seriously, the people in America and the oil companies and the whole world can't handle the truth! [Treehugger]

While lugging around laptop fuel doesn't sound all that much better than batteries, this methanol system would shave 65% of the weight from what our soldiers carry now (which is a hefty 27 pounds of batteries per 72-hour mission). And if we were soldiers, we'd gladly spend that weight savings on guns and diapers. [cleantech via cnet]

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]

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]

This vehicle from University of Waterloo in Canada uses a 400kg fuel cell to turn on-board hydrogen and airborne oxygen into energy that powers two 67-kW electric motors. If the SUV demands more power, it has a backup battery that is charged in part by a regenerative brake, like on today's hybrids.

They actually let me drive the thing. Here's what I thought: The ride is extremely smooth. Since the SUV doesn't have an engine, it's relatively quiet, especially when accelerating. Most of the noise comes from the oxygen intake system, but it only comes in quick bursts. The brakes are sensitive, but part of the reason for that is to use the kinetic energy harvested by braking for recharging the battery. A touchscreen computer in the center displays all the diagnostics, and shows where the vehicle is getting its power.

The truck holds about 4kg of hydrogen packed at 5000psi, which gives it the equivalent of ~25mpg. It is extremely clean, as the only emission given off by the vehicle is a bit of water, a byproduct of the fuel cell process. It tops out around 65mph, but that can be improved in the future. The main problem with the fuel cell SUV is the lack of places to fill up the tank. Hydrogen fueling stations are a long way from the mainstream, and the team said there are only two locations where they can reload on the way to Washington, DC, their final destination on this tour. Hopefully this will change soon, because a clean, abundantly available fuel source seems like a pretty good option to me. [Challenge X]

Jesús Díaz: How much time has Boeing invested in this project?
Francisco Escartí: We have been working in this project for approximately five years.

JD: What's the advantage of this system against traditional engines?
FE: First, this technology only has one byproduct: water. There's no CO2 contamination of any kind. The energy efficiency of these hydrogen cells is double the efficiency of combustion engines.

JD: How does this advantage translate into commercial aviation?
FE: It's difficult to project the energy savings in big aircrafts, but in small airplanes the fuel savings will be important.

The airplane cruised for 20 minutes at 62mph using only hydrogen cells. The bad news, however, is that this technology may never reach large passenger airplanes. At least, not as a main source of power:

According to Boeing researchers, PEM fuel cell technology potentially could power small manned and unmanned air vehicles. Over the longer term, solid oxide fuel cells could be applied to secondary power-generating systems, such as auxiliary power units for large commercial airplanes.

The good news is that Boeing Research & Technology Europe in Madrid—part of Boeing Phantom Works advanced R&D unit—will keep researching to see how much these cells can be pushed for commercial aviation. A sign that aircraft companies are working to make their planes more efficient because airlines are fighting in prices and, therefore, they need cheaper flights. The objective of Boeing and other companies is to get more efficient planes that use cheaper energy sources.

Meanwhile, while we wait for the hydrogen fuel cells to arrive, we can only hope that International Air Transport Association makes Spanish wine and Iberian ham a requirement for all classes in all airlines worldwide.

Boeing Successfully Flies Fuel Cell-Powered Airplane

MADRID, Spain, April 03, 2008 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] announced today that it has, for the first time in aviation history, flown a manned airplane powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

The recent milestone is the work of an engineering team at Boeing Research & Technology Europe (BR&TE) in Madrid, with assistance from industry partners in Austria, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

"Boeing is actively working to develop new technologies for environmentally progressive aerospace products," said Francisco Escarti, BR&TE's managing director. "We are proud of our pioneering work during the past five years on the Fuel Cell Demonstrator Airplane project. It is a tangible example of how we are exploring future leaps in environmental performance, as well as a credit to the talents and innovative spirit of our team."

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts hydrogen directly into electricity and heat with none of the products of combustion such as carbon dioxide. Other than heat, water is its only exhaust.
A two-seat Dimona motor-glider with a 16.3 meter (53.5 foot) wingspan was used as the airframe. Built by Diamond Aircraft Industries of Austria, it was modified by BR&TE to include a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell/lithium-ion battery hybrid system to power an electric motor coupled to a conventional propeller.

Three test flights took place in February and March at the airfield in Ocaña, south of Madrid, operated by the Spanish company SENASA.

During the flights, the pilot of the experimental airplane climbed to an altitude of 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) above sea level using a combination of battery power and power generated by hydrogen fuel cells. Then, after reaching the cruise altitude and disconnecting the batteries, the pilot flew straight and level at a cruising speed of 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) for approximately 20 minutes on power solely generated by the fuel cells.

According to Boeing researchers, PEM fuel cell technology potentially could power small manned and unmanned air vehicles. Over the longer term, solid oxide fuel cells could be applied to secondary power-generating systems, such as auxiliary power units for large commercial airplanes. Boeing does not envision that fuel cells will ever provide primary power for large passenger airplanes, but the company will continue to investigate their potential, as well as other sustainable alternative fuel and energy sources that improve environmental performance.

BR&TE, part of the Boeing Phantom Works advanced R&D unit, has worked closely with Boeing Commercial Airplanes and a network of partners since 2003 to design, assemble and fly the experimental craft.

The group of companies, universities and institutions participating in this project includes:
Austria — Diamond Aircraft Industries
France — SAFT France
Germany — Gore and MT Propeller
Spain — Adventia, Aerlyper, Air Liquide Spain, Indra, Ingeniería de Instrumentación y Control (IIC), Inventia, SENASA, Swagelok, Técnicas Aeronauticas de Madrid (TAM), Tecnobit, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and the Regional Government of Madrid
United Kingdom — Intelligent Energy
United States — UQM Technologies.

The device itself weighs less than one pound and it can "convert (or reform) a continuous stream of hydrogen from fuels like gasoline, diesel, vegetable oil, biodiesel, propane, natural gas, even the glycerol byproduct from biodiesel manufacturing" using an "array of microchannels containing patented catalytic sites." There are still major obstacles to overcome (the fact that there is no renewable source of energy to produce hydrogen being chief among them), but InnovaTek still plans on using the $500,000 they secured from a deal with Chevron to aid them in their plans to commercially license the microreactors by 2009. [Gas 2.0]

Morgan is putting together the LifeCar to demonstrate that eco-friendly vehicles can still be fun to drive and desirable. To this end, that sleek art-deco chassis is designed to be ultra light, with sound eco-credentials without sacrificing performance. It even incorporates features like regenerative braking to claw back wasted energy, which helps shrink down the engine and fuel system and still retain a 200-mile range. Combine the performance and eco-friendliness with luxury details like hand-stitched leather and a wooden-rimmed steering wheel, and suddenly going green doesn't sound so Prius-y. Let's just hope we can save enough for the presumably enormous price. [Jalopnik]

Noticeable Differences Between Volt Hydrogen and Volt:

1. Volt Hydrogen features two hydrogen tanks near the rear of the vehicle.
2. Hydrogen still features a battery stack (we were told for electric-only option), but it's about 20% smaller than what you see in the Volt classic. (Specs say that it can go 40 miles on electric alone.)

Noticeable Similarities Between Volt Hydrogen and Volt:

1. That chassis looked identical—it's truly the Volt in hydrogen form.
2. It's called a Volt.

When can we expect to see it on the market? There's no official timeline out there, as GM is waiting for the hydrogen refueling infrastructure problems to be solved before launching a hydrogen car. In addition, GM isn't finalizing the design until they see how the Volt performs for the masses.

And as for that infrastructure problem, "we're working on a solution," a GM spokesperson said.

So when is Honda planning to mass produce their awesome fuel cell technology? Not for 10 years according to Honda President Takeo Fukui. Why? Or should we say, WHY???????????

It doesn't seem like they're waiting on the cars themselves. Instead, it's a lack of hydrogen refuel stations that is making the job difficult, along with a lack of a feasible home solution for consumers. So Honda is working on the home solution part. And while it sounds like a nice idea, I don't mind stopping at the gas station every once in a while...and we'll certainly have plenty of open corners once hydrogen technology destroys fossil fuels. But apparently Honda plans to build their own infrastructure within the home to force private business to follow. [jcnnetwork]

At one point we even found ourselves behind a Ford Escape Hybrid with a license plate that read, "NO HUMMR." I was reminded of Star Trek IV...

...when Kirk and the boyz warp back to the year 1986 and Bones finds a woman hooked up to a kidney dialysis machine. He feeds her some pills made from super futuristic technology, unhooks her from the apparatus and declares the then contemporary state of medicine, "Barbaric." All around us people were driving vehicles that in their minds are atop the environmental food chain. Yet they're still emitting loads of dirty old carbon dioxide (and whatever else) into the atmosphere derived from a tank full of Middle Eastern crude. Meanwhile we're zooming past all of 'em, dripping only water while nestled comfortably behind the wheel of the future.

Here's Honda's latest commercial that just makes us love the car more.
[jalopnik]

Mix up some of the included citric acid and water in the launchpad, apply a bit of current from the batteries in the base, and before you know you've separated the hydrogen from the oxygen. Sure, it's not the liquid hydrogen that propelled the Saturn V, but close enough. Push a button and the canned countdown begins, and then up it goes with a sound similar to a cork popping out of a bottle. Looks like $39.95 worth of fun, mayhem not included. [Discovery]

Jump!

Monday saw the first announcement, of the Chevrolet Sequel — an entirely hydrogen-powered and petroleum-free vehicle (except for, and we're only guessing here, but there's probably motor oil in it). The Sequel, originally introduced in 2005 at the Detroit Auto Show, was the first concept car to integrate a hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system and match it up to a bunch of cool gadgety goodness — like steer-and brake-by-wire controls, wheel hub motors, lithium-ion batteries and a lightweight aluminum structure. The Sequel's also got a crossover SUV form factor (the "CUV" appears to be the new hotness of form factors) with a range of 300 miles between fill-ups as it pulls fuel from three carbon composite high-pressure tanks for hydrogen which it's got mounted and sandwiched into the chassis in order to protect it from damage in case of a crash.

The BMW, announced on Tuesday, is a "hybrid" in that it uses both a gasoline-and hydrogen-powered drive. The BMW Hydrogen 7 is based on the BMW 7 Series (duh!), and is powered by a 260 hp twelve-cylinder engine and features a dual-mode power unit — controlled at the touch of a button — that can switch from the 17.6 lb. hydrogen fuel tank (125 miles worth) to the 16.3 lb. conventional premium gasoline tank (300 miles worth). The premium gas gives it some fuel economy issues, the Hydrogen 7 gets 15 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway — but by providing both drive units, it's able to get a range of more than 400 miles. It also makes certain the car will still drive even if it isn't in range of a hydrogen fuel station. For some strange reason, finding one seems to be a problem for anyone but the Jetsons. The Hydro-7's got the same creature comforts as the regular 7 Series, with electric seats (now with lumbar support!), ISOFIX child seat fastenings (you know, for kids!) and interior mirrors with something called "automatic anti-dazzle" (we've no friggin' idea!). BMW's producing 100 of them to test as a concept, with around 30 of them coming stateside — and no, you'll probably not be able to drive one or buy one anytime soon. Neither car seems to have any performance issues requiring Levitra, with both getting 0-60 times of sub-ten seconds and top speeds of around 140 mph.

But what's funny about hydrogen power is yet again GM's finding itself actually ahead of the curve with a vehicle ahead of its time — like the electric car some accuse it of killing — and competitors nipping at its heels, coming out with half-steps hybrids. We'll have to see if GM's gonna have the balls to push the Sequel to, and keep it at, market — or will they let BMW become the hydrogen version of Honda or Toyota as GM goes on to star in a documentary sequel called "Who Killed The Hydrogen Car." We guess only time will tell.–Ray Wert

A Whole Different Kind of Fuelie: GM's Sequel to Be a Chevrolet [Jalopnik]
Burning the Midnight Liquid Fuel: BMW Reveals Hydrogen 7 [Jalopnik]

The car is a working model, but the site doesn't tell us how you control the thing. Perhaps it just takes off and then you go running down the street, chasing it until the fuel runs out. Now all they have to do is just bring this baby up to full size and add a steering wheel. Yeah, that oughta happen in about 200 years or so. But this tiny version will be available next month for around $80 at specialty stores.

Product page [Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, via Jalopnik]

Angstrom A2 Flashlight [Angstrom Power]

Called the Home Energy Station, it gins up hydrogen right there in your garage, converting it from readily-available natural gas. Not only would you be able to use that hydrogen for the vehicle, you could also use it in fuel cells that would provide electricity for your house as well. Tanks positioned under the car s trunk will hold enough hydrogen to keep its fuel cells humming for 350 miles. Honda says this system can save 50% on not only vehicle fuel bills, but household electricity, too.

By the way, also inside the Honda FCX concept car at the Detroit Auto Show was a 3D-rendering navigation system, whose point of view hovers at street level when you're turning, but returns to a bird s-eye view for long cruises. If the production vehicle is anywhere near as spectacular as this concept car, this I gotta see. No pricing available yet.

Hydrogen-Powered Honda FCX to go Into Production [Automotive News]

Is that hydrogen in your pocket? [MobileMag]