The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado released a document last year on the viability of fuel cells for various applications, including transportation. The National Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Learning Demonstration Final Report, “analyzed data from more than 500,000 individual vehicle trips covering 3.6 million miles traveled and more than 152,000 [kilograms] hydrogen produced or dispensed.” The agency tested 180 vehicles over a six-year period. With United States Department of Energy expectations that fuel cell powered vehicles could achieve: • 250-mile driving range • 2,000-hour fuel cell durability • $3/gallon gasoline equivalent (gge) hydrogen production cost (based on volume production) At least two fuel cell manufacturers report results exceeding these numbers, so the major impediment to wide-spread implementation of this clean technology seems to be lack of an effective distribution network. The NREL lists 54 existing H2 sites, with 15 projected for the near future, nowhere near the estimated 159,000 outlets (including convenience stores) that sell gasoline and other …
Pikes Peak Bikers Are No Pikers
100-percent paved for the first time in the 91 year history of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb last weekend, maybe the road’s lack of flying gravel contributed to the extremely quick times. Chip Yates, who had set a world record for his electric motorcycle assault on the course, did not race this year, probably involved with his Flight of the Century program. This year, Carlin Dunne performed the honor of riding the fastest on an electric motorcycle – a Lightning with an IPM liquid cooled, 125kw+, 10,000 rpm motor, as used, according to Lightning’s CEO, in the Chevrolet Tahoe. Telling Motorcycle.com, “If it can push a 6,000-plus pound truck, think of its performance in a 500-pound motorcycle.” CEO Hatfield says the motor units have been certified to last 900,000 miles. Maybe those specs made it the fastest of all motorcycles, even beating the Ducatis on which Dunne has set previous hill climb records This year, the fastest Ducati came …
FAA Awards for Commuter Liners of the Future
In a series of far-reaching competitions for university students, the FAA has opened the gates on innovation for new aircraft and airport infrastructure design. Announcing the winners of its Design Competition for Universities, the FAA awarded three prizes in the Electric/Hybrid Electric Aircraft Competition. In doing so, it acknowledged the pioneering work of the CAFE Foundation and NASA in promoting the original Green Flight Challenge, generously supported by sponsorship from Google. “Recently, the Green Flight Challenge and efforts of general aviation manufacturers and others have demonstrated flight using electric motors on general aviation aircraft. Under NASA’s Subsonic Fixed Wing Project, aircraft and engine manufacturers identified key technology capabilities required for electric and hybrid-electric propulsion of single aisle aircraft, expected by 2030.” To expand on the promise of the GFC, the FAA requested that competition entrants design, “…a regional size aircraft (25-50 seatclass) that uses electric or hybrid-electric propulsion with a cruise Mach of 0.72 – 0.8, 500 nm range and …
My Battery Won’t Blow Up. It’s Gellin’
We think of gel inserts as something to absorb energy in shoes, and their uses extend into saddle cushions and protective seat pads for racing drivers. Researchers in South Korea, however, are looking at ways to transfer ions through gelatins similar to those used in Japanese food. Konnyaku is a vegan gelatin often used to make stretchy noodles popular in Japanese cooking. A similar organic gel (organogel) can be used in electrolytes with “high ionic conductivity and cationic transference number,” according to a research team at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), South Korea. Professors Hyun-Kon Song and Noejung Park of UNIST and their fellow researchers have developed an organogel polymer electrolyte that looks like clear Jello® and which could solve problems presented by liquid electrolytes. Their electrolyte gels irreversibly despite surrounding temperatures, and passes lithium ions easily. Stability during thermal events might have prevented recent battery fires on the Boeing 787, according to Song and Park. The …
Soy Beans – Not Just for Tofu Anymore
Shilpa and twin sister Shweta Iyer have been working on splitting water to extract hydrogen for many years. In November, 2012 the Port Jefferson Station high school students won regional finalist honors in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, and netted $1,000 each. They were awarded the Grand Prize in the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair in March, and were sent to Phoenix, Arizona in May to compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, where they won fourth place and $500 each. Their winnings go into college funds which they will invest in the fall. What has won these young women international recognition? Perhaps it’s their work in creating a catalyst for the production of hydrogen – from literally dirt cheap material that advisor James Muckerman credits with being, “the best performing, non-noble-metal-containing hydrogen evolution catalyst yet known – and even better than bulk platinum metal.” The young women entered the U. S. Department of …
Audi Opens e-Gas Plant in Germany
Audi takes the environment seriously, and in a statement of corporate responsibility, shows that doing good for clean air can help the company do well in the competitive car market. “The Company is establishing a portfolio of sustainable sources of energy as part of its Audi e-gas project. Renewably generated electricity from wind or solar power, water and carbon dioxide are used to produce hydrogen and synthetic methane, the Audi e-gas. The plant that Audi has built in Werlte, Germany is now in the commissioning phase. It produces the fuel for the first CNG model from Audi, the new A3 Sportback g-tron, which will be launched before the end of the year.” Opening the Werlte e-gas plant will help Audi develop a chain of sustainable energy carriers, producing and distributing liquid fuels for which their cars will be specifically designed. According to Green Car Congress.com, the plant can convert six megawatts of input power, using renewable electricity for electrolysis to …
Thinner than Kleenex®, as Powerful as the Sun
David L. Chandler of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) News Office reports that an MIT research team headed by Jeffrey Grossman has found a way to make sheets that push “towards the ultimate power conversion from a material” for solar power. His team has managed to fabricate molecule-thick photovoltaic sheets which could pack hundreds of times more power per weight than conventional solar cells. Senior author of a new paper on the team’s study in Nano Letters, Grossman found that despite the interest in two-dimensional materials such as graphene – only an atom thick – few have studied their potential for solar applications. Grossman says, “They’re not only OK, but it’s amazing how well they do.” Stacking sheets of graphene and materials such as molybdenum disulfide would make solar cells with one to two percent efficiency in converting sunlight to electricity. That seems disappointingly low compared to the 15 to 20 percent efficiency of commercially available silicon solar cells. …
Lord Drayson’s American Friends
Bill Dube’ and Eva Hakansson, a husband and wife battery-building and electric motorcycle-racing team, have many world records of their own, but are always happy to help others win a few. According to their Facebook page, “The Drayson B12 69/EV electric car driven by Lord Drayson set a new FIA world speed record today for electric cars under 1,000 [kilograms] (2,200 pounds) of 204.2 mph (328.6 km/h). Bill and I are particularly happy for the Drayson team since we have been involved in the design of the 850 horsepower battery pack.” In fact, at last year’s CAFE Foundation Electric Aircraft Symposium, the couple discussed how they built the pack for the Drayson team, a meticulous and hazardous process that requires thorough grounding, both electrically and intellectually. As explained on their Facebook page, “The KillaCycle team designed and constructed the battery pack for this vehicle. Mavizen put us together with Drayson and worked all the logistics. Derek Barger pitched in to …
24 hours of Le Mans 2013: Previewing the Future
The 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans ended Sunday morning with hybrid racers taking the first five places. Audi’s R18 e-tron Quattro took first, third and fifth places, with Toyota’s TS030 taking second and a well-earned fourth place. The winner averaged over 149 mph for the 24 hours. According to Wikipedia, Audi’s R18 e-tron quattro is a hybrid version of the R18 ultra, with a Williams Hybrid Power-designed flywheel accumulator system for energy storage which delivers 500 kiloJoules (about 10.8 horsepower for one second) to the front wheels via an electric motor, giving the car four (quattro) wheel drive. The system, as per the regulations, is only available at speeds above 120 km/h (75 mph). The car is fitted with a smaller 58 liter (15.3 U. S. gallon) fuel tank, which might account for some of the 34 pit stops for the winning entry, despite lower fuel consumption promised by the hybrid system. The e-tron has six driver selectable automatic modes on the steering wheel, allowing short …
Swapping Rather Than Recharging
With Tesla now promising 90-second battery swaps, a “recharging” tactic first tried by Shai Agassi’s A Better Place, an Israeli company now in bankruptcy, the long recharging period for electric vehicles may be overcome. Car companies, though, are not the only entities looking for ways to get unplugged. Presented at the 20th Congress of the “Club des Villes et Territoires Cyclables” in Nice, the Alter Bike is a collaboration of three French companies: Cycleurope, a specialist in bicycles; Pragma Industries, a specialist in hydrogen; and Ventec, a specialist in battery management. They tout the advantages of this different approach to electrifying two-wheelers – an approach that seems to have applications even in electric flight. “No more charging time, no need to plug your bike into an electrical outlet! The Alter Bike uses hydrogen in a fuel cell: an existing technology in some cars, it can create electricity while emitting only H2O, in other words water.” “Refueling” looks like changing an oil filter …