Bucking trend, Hyundai bets on hydrogen fuel cell for new car

Yahoo – AFP, January 9, 2018

Hyundai vice chairman Eui Sun Chung (R) and Aurora Innovation founder Chris
Urmson present the Nexo, a hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicle, at the International
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (AFP Photo/Rob Lever)

Hyundai unveiled Monday a hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicle aimed at showcasing its newest technologies, bucking the all-electric trend of most rival automakers.

The South Korean manufacturer used the 201 Consumer Electronics Show to debut its Nexo, a sport utility vehicle that uses voice commands, artificial intelligence and can be transformed into an autonomous car.

"We call this the next future utility vehicles," said Hyundai vice president Ki-Sang Lee.

Hyundai said it plans to sell the Nexo in California later this year, in a bet on hydrogen even as many rivals turn to battery power.

The company said it resolved a number of issues in developing the Nexo, including starts in extreme cold weather and extending the range to nearly 600 kilometers (375 miles).

While a handful of companies have showcased fuel cell technology, obstacles include the lack of hydrogen stations and a low ratio of energy efficiency in producing fuel.

"We all understand that technological challenges and innovations are a never-ending process that will continue until we realize a mobile society of maximum convenience, zero accidents and no emissions," vice chairman Woong-chul Yang.

To promote its efforts in self-driving technology, Hyundai has formed a partnership with Silicon Valley startup Aurora Innovation, headed by former Google car executive Chris Urmson, who appeared at the media event.

First hydrogen-powered train set for northern Netherlands in 2018

DutchNews, October 12, 2017 

The Coradia iLint train. Photo: Alstom

The northern provinces of Friesland and Groningen and rail operator ProRail are hoping to test run a train powered by hydrogen next year, the Volkskrant said on Thursday.

The parties involved want to determine whether a hydrogen-powered train will prove to be a cheap and sustainable alternative for the diesel trains now operating from the provincial capitals of Leeuwarden and Groningen. 

Most trains in the Netherlands run on electricity but there are no electric overhead lines on the rail network in Friesland and Groningen where the trains are powered by diesel. To switch to electric trains would cost hundreds of millions of euros, hence the potential move to hydrogen. 

The hydrogen-powered train is a realistic alternative for tracks without overhead power supplies, said Wouter Wiersema of engineering consultancy Arcadis which is conducting a feasibility study of the new train. 

But major changes are needed if the diesel engines are to be retired. Storage facilities for hydrogen – a  very light, flammable fuel – will have to be created on trains and in stations. Strong safety measures are vital, said Wiersema. 

The French train manufacturer Alstom is experimenting with a hydrogen-powered train in northern Germany. Once this train, called the Coradia iLint, has been given full safety clearance, it will also be able to travel on the Dutch rail network and the trials can take place, the Volkskrant said.

Dutch scientists develop first bus to run on formic acid

DutchNews, July 6, 2017

A hybrid bus in Eindhoven. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

There could be a sting in the tail on the way for bus passengers – Dutch scientists have unveiled the first electric passenger vehicle to run on formic acid. 

A team at Eindhoven University of Technology have built the prototype bus, which uses formic acid to generate hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Formic acid is the poison carried in the stings of ants, wasps and nettles. 

Max Aerts, head of the development team, said formic acid was a cost-effective way to create hydrogen as fuel. ‘The big advantage of formic acid is that you can put it in the fuel tank’, he said. ‘The cost of rebuilding a petrol station is relatively low.’ 

Formic acid is easy to synthesise and cheaper and easier to store than pure hydrogen, which has to be kept in pressurised containers, Aerts explained. 

Aerts told Omroep Brabant he expected the first buses adapted for formic acid to be running on the roads within one to four years. 

Sweden wants EU to switch to emission-free cars by 2030

Yahoo – AFP, October 22, 2016

Sweden's environment minister urged the European Union to ban petrol and
diesel-powered vehicles from 2030 (AFP Photo/Fred Tanneau)

Stockholm (AFP) - Sweden's environment minister on Saturday urged the European Union to ban petrol and diesel-powered vehicles from 2030.

Speaking to the Aftonbladet daily, Isabella Lovin of the Green Party hailed a non-binding resolution adopted by Germany's upper house of parliament to switch to emission-free cars by 2030.

"It's a really interesting proposition ... In order to achieve it, we will need to implement an EU-wide ban along the same lines," she said.

"As the environment minister, I do not see any other way than to relegate vehicles powered by fossil fuels to the dustbin of history."

The Swedish government aims to produce all of its power from renewable energy sources by 2040.

Miracle motorbike that goes 500km… on a liter of water! (VIDEO)

RT.com, 25 Jul, 2015

A Brazilian man, Ricardo Azevedo from Sao Paulo, has shown off his wonder bike to the world. The magic machine can travel up to 500 kilometers on a liter of water.

The so-called “T Power H20” vehicle is powered by water and an external car battery to produce electricity and split the hydrogen from the water molecules.

As a result, combustion is created giving the motorbike the impetus to move.

READ MORE: World has 10 years to combat climate change, prevent health catastrophe – scientists  

In the video, Azevedo first drinks from the bottle, proving that it’s indeed water and not some kind of other fuel. Then he fills the canister and rides off. 

Azevedo also demonstrates how the bike works. The inventor shows that even polluted waters from the Tiete River can be used to fuel the vehicle.

READ MORE: Bioengineers invent engine powered by water vapor, artificial muscles 

The Brazilian is promoting his creation as an environment-friendly machine. 

“The advantage of this motorcycle, which works with the hydrogen that comes from the water, is that the result that comes out of the exhaust is water vapor. This is different from gasoline, which [produces] carbon monoxide," he told RT.

Related Article:

Toyota to give away fuel-cell patents to boost industry

Dutch students win electric car competition in the UK

24 Oranges, Orangemaster, 16 July 2015 

Engineering students from the Delft University of Technology have done it again, winning this year’s Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Formula Student competition for the second time in a row.

The Formula Student competition requires engineering students to design, build and race a single seat racing car in just one year. Cars are assess on their acceleration, endurance, fuel economy, design and business cases.

Thousands of the world’s best young engineers were at Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England on 8-12 July. There were 135 teams in total, with 49 from the UK and teams from as far as Australia, Turkey and Ukraine. Team Delft claimed the prize at Silverstone this weekend with a total score of 909.3 out of a total score of 1,000 points. Germany’s UAS Zwickau claimed second place with 792.5 points, University of Stuttgart came third with 750.8 and the University of Bath was the top UK team, coming fourth with 748.4 points.

(Link: phys.org, Photo of the unrelated Forze IV hydrogen-based formula race car by Richard van het Hof)

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Toyota to give away fuel-cell patents to boost industry

Yahoo – AFP, 6 Jan 2015

A man refuels Toyota Motor's fuel cell vehicle "Mirai" at a hydrogen station

in Tokyo on November 17, 2014 (AFP Photo/Yoshikazu Tsuno)

Tokyo (AFP) - Toyota will give away thousands of patents for its fuel-cell cars, it said Tuesday, in an effort to encourage other automakers into the new industry.

The world's largest vehicle maker said it will allow royalty-free use of about 5,680 patent licences, including 1,970 related to fuel-cell stacks and 3,350 concerning fuel-cell system control technology.

The firm also said the free patent licences will include about 290 items related to high-pressure hydrogen tanks.

Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor's fuel

 cell vehicle "Mirai" is displayed in Tokyo

on November 18, 2014 (AFP Photo/

Yoshikazu Tsuno)

The cost-free licences will be allowed "through the initial market introduction period" of fuel cell vehicles (FCV), which the company expects to last until about 2020.

Toyota will also open about 70 patent licences related to hydrogen stations -- the equivalent of gas stands for internal combustion vehicles, and a vital link in the chain for drivers -- indefinitely for manufacturers and operators.

"By allowing royalty-free use of FCV-related patent licences, Toyota is going one step further as it aims to promote the widespread use of FCVs and actively contribute to the realisation of a hydrogen-based society," the automaker said in a statement.

The announcement came after Toyota last month rolled out the world's first mass market fuel-cell car -- the four-door Mirai sedan -- in Japan.

The car -- whose name means "future" in Japanese -- will hit the US and some European countries, including Britain, Germany and Denmark, in 2015, Toyota has said.

It hopes to sell more than 3,000 units of the car by the end of 2017 in the United States, and up to 100 annually in Europe.

Fuel-cell cars are seen as the Holy Grail of green cars as they are powered by a chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen, which produces nothing more harmful than water at the point of use.

But a limited driving range and lack of refuelling stations have hampered development of fuel-cell and their cousin, all-electric cars, which environmentalists say could play a vital role in cutting greenhouse gas emissions and slowing global warming.

The Mirai can travel about 650 kilometres (400 miles) without refuelling, some three times further than an electric car, and its tank can be filled in a few minutes like gasoline engine vehicles, according to Toyota.

Related Articles:

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Tesla gives up patents to 'open source movement'

Super material has chink in its armour

Yahoo – AFP, 26 Nov 2014

Subatomic proton particles, as produced by this "Synergium" machine, can
penetrate super material graphene, it has been discovered (AFP File)

Scientists said Wednesday they had found a chink in the impermeable armour of graphene, the world's thinnest material, and one of the strongest.

The team said they were surprised to see the super material known to repel all gases and liquids, let through sub-atomic particles called protons.

And they hailed the unexpected finding as a potential breakthrough for fuel cells -- a non-polluting version of a traditional battery.

"The discovery could revolutionise fuel cells and other hydrogen-based technologies as they require a barrier that only allow protons -- hydrogen atoms stripped of their electrons -- to pass through," said a statement from Manchester University, whose researchers took part in the work.

Protons, along with neutrons, make up the nuclei of atoms, the building blocks of matter.

At just one atom thick -- many times thinner than a human hair, graphene is stronger than steel and acts as a barrier to even the smallest of atoms, hydrogen -- making it a perfect ingredient for impermeable coatings and packaging materials.

Led by physicist Andre Geim, awarded the Nobel in 2010 for his work on graphene, a research team set out to test whether protons, like atoms and molecules, would also be repelled by graphene.

They "fully expected that protons would be blocked, as existing theory predicted as little proton permeation as for hydrogen," said the statement of the findings published in the journal Nature.

"Despite the pessimistic prognosis, the researchers found that protons pass through the ultra-thin crystals surprisingly easily, especially at elevated temperatures..."

This made graphene an excellent candidate for proton-conducting membranes key to efficient fuel cell technology, said the statement.

Fuel cells, a kind of battery used in some electric cars and backup power generators, for example, use oxygen and hydrogen as a fuel and convert chemical energy into electricity.

They require membranes that allow protons to pass through, but not other particles.

"It looks extremely simple and equally promising. Because graphene can be produced these days in square metre sheets, we hope that it will find its way to commercial fuel cells sooner rather than later," said study co-author Sheng Hu.

Graphene was aired as a theoretical substance in 1947. But for decades, physicists thought it would be impossible to isolate, as such thin crystalline sheets were bound to be unstable.

The problem was resolved in 2004 by Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, who used ordinary sticky tape to lift a layer from a piece of graphite.

That layer was itself pulled apart using more tape, and the process repeated until just the thinnest of layers remained -- a graphene sheet.

Baguio tests ‘water car’ in fight to erase most polluted tag

Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 21st, 2014

IRKED that Baguio was “mistagged” as the most polluted in the country
in May, Mayor Mauricio Domogan allowed a Baguio-based inventor and
 businessman to test a “water reactor” on one of the city government’s vehicles.
Vincent Cabreza/Inquirer North Luzon

BAGUIO CITY—Angry that the summer capital’s air quality had been mislabeled as the poorest among cities in the country, officials of Baguio City are gambling on untested technology that supposedly breaks down water into fuel.

On Monday, Mayor Mauricio Domogan, the city council and the police watched businessman Mario de Quinqua operate a government vehicle which he configured to run using 70 percent gasoline, and 30 percent water that is broken down into combustible hydrogen and oxygen gas by a device that he invented.

The system helps a vehicle burn all of its fuel, so it does not expel carbon monoxide, “which would improve the city’s air quality,” De Quinqua told the officials.

“De Quinqua” is a pseudonym which the inventor, a garments manufacturer, uses to protect himself from “big economic interests.”

He asked the Inquirer to conceal his real surname.

A month since reports named Baguio as the most polluted city, citing the World Health Organization’s 2014 Global Air Quality Report, Domogan said the undeserved tag continues to haunt the city.

He said reporters had assumed that a high level of air pollution detected on lower Session Road represented air quality in the entire city.

Bonifacio Magtibay, WHO country director in the Philippines, had disowned TV, radio and newspaper reports in a May 13 letter, saying they did not conclude that Baguio was the most polluted city in the Philippines.

Domogan said he wants to accelerate programs that would clean Baguio air and its reputation.

Addressing Senior Supt. Rolando Miranda, Baguio police director, Domogan said he wants to test the technology on a police vehicle to make it the first water-hybrid police car in the country.

De Quinqua said he donated his technology to the city government and has piloted his “water reactor” using a vehicle of the city general services office and driven by its chief, Romeo Concio.

De Quinqua had promised to design and manufacture another device for the Baguio police.

If it is successful, Concio said the city government may outfit the fleet of Baguio vehicles with the device that would cost about P30,000 each.

But De Quinqua provided little details about his work, except to stress that he has been working on this invention since the 1960s.

“I did consider developing an electronic car, but I figured it would only make the public reliant on companies that produce electricity. I wanted to give the public more freedom,” he said.

“For communities near water, all drivers need to do is fetch water from a creek or collected water from the rain and their cars will run efficiently and environmentally friendly. How can they tax rain?” he said.

A group promoting sustainable transport, however, is arranging for a test drive in Baguio of an electronic jeepney, as another way of reducing air pollution.

Water Powered Car Unveiled: Yes It’s Real

Collective Evolution, Arjun Walia, July 28, 2013

Everyday the world becomes aware of technologies that have the potential to halt the unnecessary damage we continue to create using fossil fuels. We’ve been talking about it for years, transitioning our way of  life to be more harmonious with the planet and its natural systems. I’m not talking about solar or wind power (although great), I’m talking about clean and green technology that  render fossil fuel burning technologies inferior and obsolete.

One of these “new” technologies is a water fuelled car, and it has been unveiled on a number of occasions. It’s an automobile that derives its energy directly from water, and water alone. It is not hard to see why it’s not available to the masses. An engine powered by water would wipe out a large chunk of the fossil fuel industry and change the way these companies do business all together. The oil and gas corporations combine to bring in trillions of dollars every year. Inventions like these are a direct threat to the industry.

JAPANESE COMPANY UNVEILS WATER POWERED CAR

A Japanese company called Genepax unveiled their water powered car in 2008 in Osaka, Japan (1). It doesn’t matter if it’s tap, bottled, or lake water, any type of water can make this car run. An energy generator splits the water molecules to produce hydrogen and this is used to power the car. They use a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) to split the Hydrogen from the Oxygen through a chemical reaction. The cell needs only water and air, eliminating the need for a hydrogen reformer and high pressure hydrogen tank.

This isn’t a conspiracy! The reality of this device has been verified by patent offices all over the world. To search a Japanese patent, you have to go through the Industrial Property Digital Library (IPDL). This organization makes patents available to the intellectual property department of the Japan Patent Office. The IDPL provides over 60 million documents and their relevant information as published since the end of the 19th century. The fact that these are even published for patent pending says a lot.

Click HERE to view the water energy system patent. You can also visit  the Industrial Property Digital Library itself, do a “PAJ” search. Type in the publication number **2006-244714**. Documents are also on file with the European Patent Office, you can view them HERE. Reuters also did a brief report on the vehicle as you can see in the video below.

So what happened to Genepax? Approximately a year after revealing their device, the company shut down. They stopped displaying their device as well as promoting it. The only explanation given was a lack of monetary funds.

STANLEY MEYER’S WATER FUEL CELL

Genepax isn’t the only group to have come forward demonstrating that we can turn water into hydrogen fuel and use it to power cars. Stanely Allen Meyer is another one who invented a water powered car and it received very little attention when it came to making the news available to the masses. Today, it’s a fairly well known story due to the mass awareness that has been created around the story. Stan’s invention was picked up very briefly by a local news station in Ohio. You can view his patent HERE, it also describes the whole process. You can view the entire collective of his documents here

Here is another brief clip of Stan as he demonstrates his technology. Water contains a lot of hydrogen, as we know, which is a very efficient type of fuel. Converting water into hydrogen is 100 percent clean!

So what happened to Stanley Meyer? He was sued by potential investors, it was determined that his device was nothing revolutionary and simply uses the process of electrolyses. His claims were determined fraudulent, and  his technology was under investigation by a number of investors, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Defense. It was patent pending, all of a sudden Stan Meyer died suddenly in 1998 after dining at a restaurant. Many close to him, including his twin brother, believe Stan was intentionally poisoned. Stan claimed,, just before he died in  he restaurant parking lot, that he was poisoned.

USING WATER AS FUEL

Water makes the perfect fuel source. It’s comprised of two hydrogen atoms and one atom of oxygen. When the water molecule is separated into its two component atoms and oxidized as fuel, the result is equivalent to an energy output that is two and one half times more powerful than gasoline. The byproduct of the combustion is water vapour, totally pollution free, returning water back into the atmosphere. The process used is known as electrolysis, which is a method of separating elements by pushing an electric current through a compound. Various techniques for water splitting have been issued in water splitting patents all over the world. You can click here to look at a few from the United States.

Not to long ago, researchers at Virginia Tech extracted hydrogen energy from water. They discovered that the energy stored in xylose splits water molecules as-well, yielding high purity hydrogen. You can read more about that here. There are multiple examples of creating hydrogen by splitting the water molecule (2).

Another existing technology that can replace that entire industry is the Free Energy Device. Implementation of these two technologies alone would create one of the biggest technological changes in human history. The same group of people that own the big oil companies also own the mainstream media, so it’s not surprising that we don’t hear about these technologies. Scientists have been murdered, labs have been burnt down, and prototypes have been taken.

Alternative technologies are great, and obviously have tremendous implications. We must remember that the human race cannot create from the same level of consciousness that created this system in the first place. A change for planet Earth coincides with the change of heart more people are experiencing everyday. The key to move forward and enter into a new paradigm is simple, it’s love. With love, we’d already have these technologies implemented Because of greed, hate, fear and ego, they remain suppressed, but only for now.

Hopefully this article inspires more to further their research on water powered cars. There are multiple stories with very similar endings for the parties who came forward with this ground breaking technology. Why do we continue to speak about change when we already have the technologies to implement change? One reason is because a large majority of people have yet to become aware of these alternative technologies. They are not marketed, publicized or given much attention. It can be hard to accept that there are people on the planet actually engaged in the suppression of such information, but unfortunately it’s a reality. We are living in the age of transparency, many of us are waking up to thoughts and ideas we never thought we would ponder. In some cases revealing these technologies can cost you your life, that’s how much opposition exists against it -for now. When a new technology becomes so evidently clear,  the implications are far reaching and can threaten multiple corporate interests.

Sources

(1)http://www.reuters.com/video/2008/06/13/water-fuel-car-unveiled-in-japan?videoId=84561

http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=JP&NR=2006244714&KC=&FT=E

http://www19.ipdl.inpit.go.jp/PA1/cgi-bin/PA1DETAIL

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130403104104.htm

(2)http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=0&p=1&f=S&l=50&Query=ttl%2F%22water+splitting%22&d=PTXT

http://www.waterfuelcell.org/

Hyundai’s fuel cell ‘flop’ is big leap forward

Car and Van News, July 16, 2013

Hyundai plans to have around 15 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles operating in London by the end of this year, and 40 or more by the close of 2014.

Through initiatives not only in the capital but across the country, the UK is emerging as a champion of these long-range all-electric cars.

Hyundai recently became the first manufacturer in the world to put a fuel cell car into full production, with plans to build 1,000 hydrogen ix35s by 2015 and another 10,000 cars beyond.

“These are not hand-built prototypes; they are proper series production models,” Hyundai UK CEO Tony Whitehorn tells Headline Auto.

“We have broken the chicken-and-egg cycle as to which should come first – the cars or the infrastructure to support them.”

Fuel cell vehicles (FCEV) are all-electric vehicles making their own electricity on the move through chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in a metal box known as a fuel stack. They have roughly the same range on a tank of fuel as a conventional petrol/diesel vehicle, but the only waste product is water vapour.

Whitehorn likens the arrival of FCEVs to the introduction of the Fosbury Flop in high jumping. “At the Mexico City Olympics in 1968 Dick Fosbury arrived at the bar head first and backwards – and incidentally won the event,” he says. “Now everybody does the Fosbury Flop. This is our Dick Fosbury moment.”

The take-up of FCEVs in the UK is being encouraged by organisations such as the UK and Scottish Hydrogen Fuel Cell Associations, UK H2 Mobility, the London Hydrogen Partnership and London H2 Network Expansion.

“To establish hydrogen fuel cells you need collaboration between the vehicle manufacturers, the infrastructure companies and government,” says Whitehorn. “That is happening in the UK.”

The aim is to have 300 hydrogen refuelling stations across the UK by 2025 and 1,150 only five years later. The Sainsbury and Morrison supermarket chains recently joined UK H2 Mobility, prompting hopes that they may start to roll out refuelling pumps at their sites.

Forecasters think there could be 10,000 FCEVs in the UK by the end of this decade, with sales increasing by 300,000 a year to a total of 1.6 million by 2030.

The establishment of a refuelling infrastructure is only one obstacle to the widespread take-up of FCEVs, however. The other is cost, which is why Hyundai will lease its initial batch of cars. Currently an FCEV would be priced at the same level as a supercar because the fuel stack is expensive to make, but with economies of scale this would tumble.

“Over the next 18 months we need to look at the cost element and bring down the percentage difference between a fuel cell vehicle and one with an internal combustion engine,” says Whitehorn. “The important thing is that fuel cells are within the reach of private buyers now.”

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