First production hydrogen car - 2015

[daemonoid]

Well, hyundai have gone and done it. The hydrogen tech that always seems to be a few years off is gonna hit the streets in 2015:

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/150202-first-production-hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-hit-the-market-from-hyundai

Limited to the northern european fleets for the first run, but it's a start...
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[James83]

I don't think people realise quite how big of a step this is. I genuinley believe that this is the start of the future of motoring.

I think everyone agrees that electric motor is the future. But, over the coming years, there will be an increasing battle between the various ways of powering electric cars (Hybrid, hydrogen, Battery power, gas turbine and so on). I believe utterly that this car is one of the very first models of the line that will ultimately win this battle. In 20 years’ time, we will look back and laugh that we had battery powered electric cars.

Why do I think this? Because I don’t look at hydrogen and the rest as a power source, I look at them as a power transfer. The purpose of all of these systems is to take energy from a power source, weather that’s a fossil fuel power station, a solar plant or something else, and make that energy available to the motor in the car. So what are the considerations?
Speed
Efficiency

That’s it. Assuming roughly equal efficiency between the different options, speed is the only factor. And as it stands, hydrogen is the fastest way to get energy into a car.

One day we will be piping in hydrogen from the desert (Where solar arrays will be endlessly pumping in sea water and processing into hydrogen) in much the same way as we pump in natural gas today.

*Subject to the future panning out according to my design. If mankind decide to ignore my advice, that’s their fault, not mine

[supZ]

unfortunately it still requires a large amount of power to produce the hydrogen in the first place. the output is often larger than just driving a normal car.

this'll be the key to these cars. if the cost of production can be reduced then it'll be a winner.

i'm all for this version of 0 carbon car.. a lot more than the electrically powered pointless cars that can only do 70 miles and then take 8 hours to recharge, but the costs at both ends of the production need to be considered.

still, as said above.. a step in the right direction and hopefully it'll spur some more research and investment into a better production method for the hydrogen itself
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[daemonoid]

You're quite right James, hydrogen is just another 'battery'/energy storage tech.

I posted about the new graphene super capacitors a little while ago too, they have a possibility of usurping hydrogen:

https://io9.com/5987086/meet-the-scientific-accident-that-could-change-the-world

Exciting times, the future of vehicles for the next century or so will be decided in the next decade...
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[James83]

[Rogerborg]

Producing hydrogen is one of the less idiotic uses of wind and photovoltaic, so that's a qualified thumbs up.
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[angryjonny]

[yaigi]

[Bubbs]

John Spartan, you are fined five credits for repeated violations of the verbal morality statute.
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[Robby]

This is good news. Not just because I like the idea of hydrogen cars, but also because some viable hydrogen cars puts the pressure on electric cars to get more competitive. It puts more pressure on commercial applications of cutting-edge battery tech, rather than allowing research to happen at academia pace (too slow).

The other interesting thing for me is that this will drive a new school of car chassis design. A conventional car is set up to have a heavy engine and gearbox up front, and not much weight in the rest of the car. The early versions of electric cars have used similar bodyshells, which are not optimised for this purpose. A bit of competition pushes a better body design for electric or hydrogen cars, and they can follow similar principles - you need a fairly big rectangular space somewhere for the batteries or fuel cell - preferably low down, in the middle. You need a box about the size of a gearbox on an axle, or individual wheel motors.

Looking forward to the new lot of capacitors being made cheaply and safely.

[metalangel]

Yesterday I saw this:

https://cdn.bikechatforums.com/files/45298_10152747524790182_387555577_n.jpg

https://cdn.bikechatforums.com/files/17306_10152747524485182_331341916_n.jpg

Tesla Model S. You choose which battery pack you want and that determines your range. Sensible, I guess.
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[Im-a-Ridah]

https://www.viewzone.com/hbomb.mk41.jpg

[G]

I think for the moment batteries still hold their place - it's going to be relatively cheaper to charge up batteries over night than to use the national grid to create hydrogen for a fuel cell then transport it, I expect.

I could see there batteries being used for shorter in-town trips and keeping the fuel cell for longer journeys. If you've got a system to charge at home/work, then it makes it pretty convenient as it should be little hassle to keep it topped up.

[kawashima]

Honda FCX (new one) is lease only and the cost is estimated to be between $120,000 and $140,000.
You can't drive to the areas which don't have hydrogen stations.
Petrol stations won't deal with hydrogen if it won't sell well.

Inside my work there are electric small vans which are transporting something all day only in the work(not that huge site). I see the merit of using electric vehicle for these purpose. They don't have to go to petrol station. They are being charged in the site.

Electric cars should be used like this (small distance, limited area).

We don't want to use electric cars on the road worrying about the battery.

I once posed about the idea of induction charging (from road to tyre etc) but I recall the idea. It's too unrealistic.
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[Benno]

IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A TUMOUR ON WHEELS

Thank god they made it look like a normal car rather than the monsrosities companies usually make to try and look futuristic...
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[Skudd]

Why do I get the feeling that we will end up with a large rubberband that we twist and let go to power vehicles of the future?
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[James83]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Where are you meant to fill it up?
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[supZ]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[Lord Percy]

[Jayy]

[kramdra]

374 mile range? Lets assume they cheated a bit and its more like 250 miles on hydrogen, plus a bit for the battery, and in perfectly ideal situations 374 is the maximum possible.

[Lord Percy]

Yeah but money is just an imaginary value label.

It's about supply and demand.

The resources to make a hydrogen car will be pretty much the same as the resources to make a hydrocarbon car.

The prices are only so far apart because of the level of production of each.

[Sload]