Hydrogen Fueling Station in L.A.!

Honda recently opened the first hydrogen production and fueling station in the Los Angeles area that will support the company’s fuel cell vehicle development program. It will be used for hydrogen production, storage and fueling.

The station uses solar power to extract hydrogen from water, and also has backup electrical power to increase the hydrogen production capacity. A compressor pressurizes the extracted hydrogen and it is stored in tanks at the station, ENS reported.

Available solar power can produce enough hydrogen to drive a single fuel cell vehicle for a year.

“Fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen fuel have tremendous potential to contribute to the goals of sustainable transportation systems and the use of renewable energy,” Ben Knight, Honda R&D Americas, Inc. vice president, told ENS. “The development of a hydrogen fuel infrastructure is as important as the development of the vehicles themselves.”

Knight said the station is the first of its kind in the world.

“This is the first hydrogen station established by an automaker to use solar energy to extract hydrogen from water and it will help verify more efficient hydrogen production methods as well as help us solve the challenges involved with hydrogen production and fueling stations for the future,” he said.

--Andy Summa

General Motors Helps Make
Fuel Cells a Reality...

Another major automaker has taken another baby step in making fuel cell vehicles a reality on American highways.

General Motors Corp. said it signed a 25-year agreement to help speed the development of a refueling infrastructure to support fuel cell vehicles. Terms of GM's deal with privately held General Hydrogen Corp. were not disclosed, but the deal follows similar deals by Daimler-Chrysler and Ford Motor Company.

Vehicle range is a key issue in introducing fuel cells to the marketplace. One hurdle to extending the range of a fuel cell vehicle is the ability to efficiently store compressed hydrogen at high pressure.

“Significant work still needs to be done to build a hydrogen infrastructure,” said Byron McCormick, co-executive director of GM's Global Alternative Propulsion Center. “This relationship clearly has the potential to fundamentally change the way energy is delivered in the future, while providing significant benefits both to consumers and the environment.”

Fuel cells create less pollution than combustion engines, and are expected to play a prominent role in the fight against global warming.

--Andy Summa
 

ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION LINKS:

SPONSORED LINKS:

GENERAL INFORMATION:

• Greener Cars
• Clean Cities
• Alternative Fuels Data Center
• Florida Solar Energy Center

• Hevs
• Office of Transportation Technologies
• Toyota Prius
• Honda Insight

• California Fuel Cell Partnership
• Fuel Cell Energy
• XCellSis

• EV World
• The Electric Auto Association
• Electric Vehicle Association of America

• General Motors EV
• Honda EV+
• Solectria

• Major Power
• Battery M.D.
• Electro Automotive

SOLAR VEHICLES:

• UC Berkeley CalSol
• MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team

• Clean Car Maps
• Alternative Fuels Data Center
• Alternative Fuel Refueling Locator

 MISCELLANEOUS:

• Vehicle Program
• National Station Car Association
• Virgina Wesleyan College
• Fleet Buyers Reference
• Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium

Car Sharing with Zipcar!

"He who owns little, is little owned." - Sun Tzu

More than 150,000 people in 450 European cities participate in car sharing. Zipcar, a new Boston metropolitan area company, thinks that Americans will enjoy the benefits as well, and have launched Zipcar using Boston as a test city. The results have already well surpassed expectations. Zipcars are found throughout the city, drivers unlock the car using a special card, and drive away. Using a Zipcar for 15 hours a month will cost about $1,300 a year, less than most Bostonians pay per year for car insurance. This is an ideal service for those who only need a car occasionally, and the rates are reasonable.

Zipcar Rates:
The basic Zipcar membership--which includes gas, maintenance, insurance, and parking--has five components:

• $25 non-refundable application fee

• $300 fully refundable insurance security deposit

• $75 annual fee

• $0.40 a mile

• Hourly rates range between $4.50 for a Beetle to $6.50 for a Passat wagon

There are green benefits to driving Zipcars too. European studies note that each car share vehicle replaces four to eight privately held cars, and that once people join the service, they sell their old car or avoid buying new cars. Less cars and less driving means less emissions in the atmosphere. For more information check out www.Zipcar.com.