Hydrogen

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

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

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

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

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 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’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

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

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