May 23, 2007 10:35 AM PDT
The hydrogen-powered Mercedes
One often-cited alternative to gasoline-powered cars is hydrogen. Editors Michael Kanellos and Brian Cooley took a look at one example of a hydrogen-powered test car, a small Mercedes. To keep Kanellos from endangering himself and said vehicle, they set the top speed on this hydro-chariot at only 85 miles per hour. Take a look.
- Topics:
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Cars,
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Green tech
- Tags:
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car tech,
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green tech,
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Kanellos,
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Berkeley,
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hydrogen,
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alternative energy,
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transport,
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Mercedes
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H2 is an extremely bulky fuel, all methods of automotive storage (compression, liquification, metal hydrides, etc.) consume a lot of energy, are expensive, heavy, and still take up a lot of room to get even a modest driving range.
There are several methods of making H2, all of them expensive and inefficient. Currently, the cheapest is by reacting fossil fuels with steam at high temperatures to get CO2 and H2. H2 fuel costs more per mile, and "electric fuel" costs much less per mile, when compared to gasoline.
Water electrolysis is only 60% efficient, PEM fuel cells 50%, subtract energy needed to store the H2 and overall efficiency is less than 24%. Compare that with 85% efficiency for charger and battery, and it's obvious - battery electric cars are far more efficient, and "electric fuel" will always cost much less than H2.
H2 fuel cell cars have been promised "real soon" for over 30 years, but the've already been rendered obsolete. The future is electric.