Why fuel cell cars don't work
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Why fuel cell cars don't work
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Re: Why fuel cell cars don't work
#2Another problem is fundamentally the game you're playing is mass and capex providing a way to turn air and H2 into power. Author is correct that fuel cells suck, but whats even worse is a little hybrid H2 turbine would be lighter, cheaper, higher powered, and in a real world situation, higher natgas well to wheel efficiency. In fact, rather than turning natgas from a well into H2, you'd be better off just burning the natgas in the turbine.
Turbines do have some deployment issues such as outputing enough nitrogen oxides to generate a cloud, etc. But in a hybrid system, they're pretty cool.
Basically you're taking an electric car and a very small electric company natgas peaking plant and putting it in the trunk with a charger.
Re: Why fuel cell cars don't work
#3On solution to the long distance car storage is simply not to.
There are less than 50,000 miles of interstate highways in the US. If we added a 3rd rail or similar system for powering cars as they traveled range and efficiency quickly become a non issue.
Granted, the interstate highway system would just be the start eventually you would want to cover just about every road. Not to mention safety concerns etc, but it's a real option.
Re: Why fuel cell cars don't work
#4Title should be "why Hydrogen fuel cell cars don't work"
Re: Why fuel cell cars don't work
#5The article deftly steps around the real issue: Fuel Cells are entirely an petroleum industry promotion.
The goal is to provide a seemingly credible (but in reality completely unworkable) clean alternative so politicians, car companies and oil companies together can work "towards a clean future" while deep down knowing that it's a stalling tactic to keep the petroleum infrastructure in place.
Any fuel cell funding sucks the oxygen from the real threats to the industry: Industrial/Consumer solar and BEV (battery electric vehicles).
It's analogous to "clean coal": http://www.coal-is-dirty.com/top-5-clean-coal-myths
Re: Why fuel cell cars don't work
#6On solution to the long distance car storage is simply not to. There are less than 50,000 miles of interstate highways in the US. If we added a 3rd rail or similar system for powering cars as they traveled range and efficiency quickly become a non issue. Granted, the interstate highway system would just be the start eventually you would want to cover just about every road. Not to mention safety concerns etc, but it's…
This is an extraordinary claim and I'd like to see some evidence that it's anything like possible.
Re: Why fuel cell cars don't work
#7The best source of hydrogen comes from the ground. You pump this stuff out - it's long molecules consisting of a carbon backbone covered in hydrogen. You run it through something called a "reformer" to strip the hydrogen off. The reformer could be put on a car, but it'd be more efficient to do it on an industrial scale.
Actually wait, if you just use a combustion process you can get energy from both the hydrogen and the carbon!
AFAIK there are no other great sources of hydrogen.
Re: Why fuel cell cars don't work
#8The best source of hydrogen comes from the ground. You pump this stuff out - it's long molecules consisting of a carbon backbone covered in hydrogen. You run it through something called a "reformer" to strip the hydrogen off. The reformer could be put on a car, but it'd be more efficient to do it on an industrial scale. Actually wait, if you just use a combustion process you can get energy from both the hydrogen and…
Excess wind and solar power can be used to generate hydrogen from water.
Re: Why fuel cell cars don't work
#9The article deftly steps around the real issue: Fuel Cells are entirely an petroleum industry promotion. The goal is to provide a seemingly credible (but in reality completely unworkable) clean alternative so politicians, car companies and oil companies together can work "towards a clean future" while deep down knowing that it's a stalling tactic to keep the petroleum infrastructure in place. Any fuel cell funding su…
I really don't understand the whole cars are in league with big oil. What on earth do the car companies have to get out of it?
The big name in the 90s, Ballard, had buy in from a couple of car companies and no oil companies.
Re: Why fuel cell cars don't work
#10The best source of hydrogen comes from the ground. You pump this stuff out - it's long molecules consisting of a carbon backbone covered in hydrogen. You run it through something called a "reformer" to strip the hydrogen off. The reformer could be put on a car, but it'd be more efficient to do it on an industrial scale. Actually wait, if you just use a combustion process you can get energy from both the hydrogen and…
Excess wind and solar power can be used to generate hydrogen from water.
and Hydro as well.