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Hydrogen
Riversimple hydrogen-powered urban car provides fuel for thought
00:16 June 19, 2009 PDT
The Riversimple Urban Car, a hydrogen-powered two-seater capable of speeds up to 50mph and of traveling more than 200 miles without refueling, was unveiled in London this week. While the prototype car is itself a welcome development in sustainable travel, the aim of the company behind it is even more ambitious: to completely eliminate the environmental impact of personal transport. Read More
Sony announces eco-friendly mercury-free batteries
By Mick Webb
05:49 June 16, 2009 PDT
It’s no secret that mercury is a dirty word in environmental circles, and more of the big guns of electronics are starting to take note. Apple's MacBook Pro now features a mercury-free backlight display, and Fuji has released its eco-friendly EnviroMax batteries. This week Sony has strengthened its enviro-credibility by announcing a line of mercury-free alkaline button batteries. Read More
Horizon releases drop-in fuel cell system for unmanned aircraft
03:37 June 9, 2009 PDT
Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies latest hydrogen fuel cell release is designed as a drop-in replacement for battery packs used in small electric Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). Weighing 4.4lbs (2kg) and storing 900Wh of usable electric energy, the Aeropak can to increase flight endurance by up to 300% over lithium batteries, meaning longer range missions and more energy to run on-board cameras and sensors. Read More
Mercedes-Benz F-CELL Roadster takes a trip back in time
07:06 April 28, 2009 PDT
When studio shots emerged of the Mercedes-Benz F-CELL Roadster design study last month, it wasn't something we were necessarily expecting to see out-and-about. The curious mixture of early automotive design elements and 21st Century technology stretched its legs (at a top speed of 25kmh) by covering a section of the historic route taken by Bertha Benz more than 120 years ago in a Benz Patent Motor Wagon. Read More
Mazda begins commercial leasing of Premacy RE hybrid rotary hydrogen vehicle
By Darren Quick
21:36 March 29, 2009 PDT
Mazda is providing another green option in Japan by commencing commercial leasing of their Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid, a hydrogen hybrid vehicle that combines Mazda’s hydrogen rotary engine with an electric motor. The Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid improves on the RX-8 Hydrogen RE – the first model to be commercialized - with the hydrogen fuel range of the doubled to 200 kilometers and the maximum output increased by approximately 40 percent to 110 kilowatts. Read More
Green bleach is good for hair
By Jamilah Le
21:21 March 29, 2009 PDT
March 30, 2009 It's not the first area that springs to mind when you think "green research", but a natural alternative to regular hair bleach may have been discovered. For everyone who consistently bleaches their hair with hydrogen peroxide, risking the healthy sheen of the hair is just part and parcel. However, Japanese scientists have come up with a possible alternative that could achieve the same result without the damage. Read More
New Holland's NH2 Hydrogen Fuel cell tractor
By Darren Quick
23:32 March 5, 2009 PST
Tractors may not be the sexiest of vehicles, and they probably aren’t the first ones that come to mind when thinking about environmental friendliness, but agricultural equipment manufacturer New Holland is looking to change that with the production of a prototype tractor that is powered by a hydrogen fuel-cell. Read More
World's smallest working fuel cell
By Darren Quick
20:44 January 25, 2009 PST
People are becoming more and more reliant on the portable gadgets they carry every day and at no time is that reliance more pronounced as when those gadgets’ batteries run out of juice. While we’ve seen some fuel cell technologies appear in recent years that offer the future prospect of powering portable devices, none are quite as small as this new working fuel cell created by US chemical engineers and featured recently in New Scientist that measures just 3 millimeters across. Read More
Mercedes Benz BlueZERO EV on show in Detroit
By Paul Evans
04:13 January 21, 2009 PST
We first encountered the Mercedes-Benz BlueZERO concept vehicle platform when it was announced in December and recently we had chance to take a closer look at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Read More
Mercedes-Benz launches triple-threat BlueZERO electric vehicle platform
By Loz Blain
18:50 December 16, 2008 PST
Mercedes-Benz has put its electric vehicle plans on the table with the announcement of its BlueZERO concept line. The BlueZERO platform is the first Mercedes designed from the ground up to take advantage of an electric drive system - rather than shoe-horning an electric engine into a chassis built around a combustion engine - and Mercedes is hedging its bets with three different energy storage options - the battery-electric E-CELL with a 120 mile range, the hydrogen fuel-cell F-CELL with a 248 mile range, and an extended-range bridging solution, the E-CELL PLUS, which is a battery-electric that uses a petrol generator to provide an extended range of up to 370 miles and easy refueling for longer trips. The lightweight 5-seater vehicle platform houses the drive and energy storage units in a sandwich-floor frame, which makes the cars exceptionally safe, frees up interior and storage room, and centralizes the mass down low for improved handling. Limited production of electric Mercs is set to start around 2010. Read More
GM HydroGen4 fuel cell vehicle to begin European testing
21:11 November 26, 2008 PST
GM’s HydroGen4 fuel-cell vehicles will hit the road in Berlin as part of the company's extensive global zero-emission test program. Having already completed over 400,000 miles of testing in the U.S. (where its known as the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell), the tests in Germany will be the first European outing for the hydrogen EV which is capable of 0-62mph in around 12 seconds, has a top speed of 100mph and a range of around 200 miles. Read More
Honda FC Sport Design Study demonstrates Hydrogen Fuel Cell performance potential
By Jack Martin
13:21 November 22, 2008 PST
November 23, 2008 Honda pulled the wraps off a Fuel Cell Sport design study model at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week, The hydrogen-powered, three-seat FC sports car concept emphasizes the design flexibility and potential of Honda's V Flow fuel cell technology - already deployed in the Honda FCX Clarity sedan - and reconfigures it into a lightweight sports car design with an ultra-low center of gravity, powerful electric motor performance and zero-emissions. The design study concept is claimed to offer supercar levels of performance through low weight and a high-performance, electrically driven fuel cell powertrain. Read More
Roush demonstrates hydrogen conversion system for petrol vehicles
By Darren Quick
18:50 November 3, 2008 PST
November 4, 2008 One of the hurdles of cleaning up vehicle emissions is the need for drivers to buy a completely new environmentally friendly vehicle - not exactly a feasible option for most people. Systems like the latest bi-fuel Internal Combustion Engine conversion from Roush Technologies could provide that vital stepping stone between petrol and hydrogen fueled vehicles. To demonstrate the technology, the company has modified the engine of a Ford Transit-based vehicle to operate using compressed hydrogen gas fuel – but it can also operate from its existing petrol fueled system without any adverse effects. Read More
Norway to trial Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE
18:25 October 15, 2008 PDT
Mazda has announced that its RX-8 Hydrogen RE (Rotary Engine) vehicle will undergo assessment in Norway, the first time the car has graced public roads outside Japan. The joint project between Mazda and the Hydrogen Road of Norway (HyNor) project will use a single vehicle to assess the RE’s driving performance as well as promoting the technology through appearances at public events. Read More
New material promises fuel-cell design breakthrough
By Darren Quick
20:25 October 12, 2008 PDT
A team of scientists from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) has designed a new "super-lattice" material with incredibly high ion conductivity properties that could lead to the development of more efficient fuel cells capable of operating at room temperature. Read More
HiPER nuclear fusion project underway
By Darren Quick
00:32 October 9, 2008 PDT
Nuclear fusion has long been the holy grail of energy production. It is the process going on inside the sun, it is clean, and it has the potential to provide practically limitless power. Up until now nuclear fusion reactions have only been replicated inside hydrogen bombs due to the huge amount of power needed to start the reaction and keep it running, but scientists in Britain are hoping to change all that. Britain’s Telegraph newspaper is reporting that British scientists believe they are on the verge of achieving controlled fusion in a laboratory for the first time and will begin work this week to create a nuclear fusion reactor. Read More
Artificial Photosynthesis provides clean, cheap Hydrogen
By Kyle Sherer
12:43 August 24, 2008 PDT
An international team of researchers led by Monash University has used manganese, a chemical involved in photosynthesis, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using only sunlight and an electrical potential of 1.2 volts. Scientists claim the process could provide a clean, cheap method of producing hydrogen for fuel cells and energy generation. Read More
Carbon Capture: a bridging technology too far?
By Kyle Sherer
06:56 August 7, 2008 PDT
Carbon capture and storage is a climate change mitigation technology characterized by sporadic and unreliable government support and plagued with accusations that it will worsen the environmental disaster it seeks to address. Yet, despite the negative stigma, CCS has been labeled by the IPCC and the Stern Report as an essential measure in reducing the impact of fossil fuels. Gizmag's Kyle Sherer takes a closer look. Read More
Pangaea - the world's largest, cleanest expeditionary sailing ship
By Kyle Sherer
15:46 July 6, 2008 PDT
The 35-meter two master PANGAEA is the largest and most flexible polar expedition sailboat ever built. It can navigate through tropics and rivers as easily as it can through polar regions, and will travel to five continents, including the North and South Pole. Read More
Hydrogen storage breakthrough
By Mike Hanlon
14:56 June 23, 2008 PDT
Hydrogen offers many benefits as a renewable and sustainable fuel of the future as its combustion emits only water. The main problem to now is that it must be stored as a gas, which is potentially dangerous for everyday use, and it can only be stored as a liquid under cryogenic conditions. Now there may be another alternative. Chemists in the US have developed a simple reaction to make ammonia borane (AB) – a powder more hydrogen-dense than even liquid hydrogen. AB is a stable white powder which releases hydrogen gas upon heating. Its use as a hydrogen storage material has been hampered by difficulties in making the powder in reasonable yield, but the new research further increases its promise. Read More
Hydrogen burning Scorpion sportscar unveiled
20:27 June 3, 2008 PDT
Texas based Ronn Motor Company has lifted the wraps on a new environmentally friendly hybrid vehicle that features an in-built hydrogen on demand system. Currently in pre-production and due for release before the end of the year, the sporty “Scorpion” runs on a 30-40 ratio blend of hydrogen and gasoline, promising reduced emissions and 40 mpg plus efficiency. Read More
London’s iconic black cabs to go green
By Darren Quick
20:54 May 22, 2008 PDT
May 23, 2008 While improvements in engine technology have led to a marked improvement in fuel efficiency and carbon emissions in vehicles running on internal combustion engines in recent years, even greater cuts in emissions need to be made to tackle the global environmental problems associated with them. We’ve seen commercial airlines turning to biofuels, trucks running on liquefied natural gas and buses using ethanol engines. One of the most promising solutions for the humble car of the future could is hydrogen fuel cell systems, with a number of car manufacturers investing heavily in development. Read More
Collaboration aims to kick-start hydrogen vehicles in the U.K.
By Kyle Sherer
23:10 April 1, 2008 PDT
April 2, 2008 Fifty million metric tons of hydrogen were produced in 2004, and the hydrogen production industry grows at an estimated 10% per year. But for hydrogen-powered cars to emerge as a serious competitor to fossil-fuel-powered transport there still needs to be substantial development of infrastructure. The latest push towards this goal in the U.K has seen ITM Power Plc and Roush Technologies Ltd sign a co-operative agreement that not only aims to put hydrogen-fueled commercial vehicles on the market within months, but also encompasses the development of hydrogen refueling station infrastructure that will enable vehicle operators to generate their own hydrogen supplies. Read More
Georgia Tech proposes carbon capture concept for automobiles
By Kyle Sherer
14:53 February 17, 2008 PST
February 18, 2008 Carbon capture and storage has been touted as a method for slashing carbon emissions in power plants – now researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology say it can be used to combat one of the most widespread greenhouse gas offenders: the automobile. Georgia Tech has outlined a concept system where carbon is isolated from fossil fuels, disposed of at a refueling station, and eventually recycled into new fuel. Not only is the closed-loop cycle carbon emission free, it is also renewable and efficient. Read More
Corgi International announces H2GO fuel cell powered toy car
19:15 February 6, 2008 PST
February 7, 2008 The automotive market is set to undergo momentous change over the next decade as the impetus of low-emissions, alternative fuel designs that have recently dominated the Concept offerings from major auto manufacturers continues to grow and prototypes move towards commercialization. But at the other end of the scale - literally - the application of hydrogen fuel cell technology in particular is already making its mark. The latest example comes from toy-maker Corgi International, which has unveiled a new hydrogen fuel cell powered radio controlled toy car at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair in Germany. Called the H2GO, the new RC car uses a propulsion system based on Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies' pioneering H-Racer. Read More
Robert Ferry
- July 3, 2009 @ 15:42 UTC
