Hydrogen News - November and December 1999
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12/30/1999  Fuel for the Future by Michael Parrish - ENN

Fuel cells can use various sources of hydrogen, including a simple tank of compressed gas. But methanol, a liquid usually produced from natural gas, is a much more efficient way to store hydrogen. This is why the first wave of fuel cells in cars will likely use an indirect methanol fuel cell, in which the methanol passes through a mechanism called a "reformer," which extracts the hydrogen. The direct method, which could be available commercially in five or six years, would use different, lighter stacks of plates that eliminate the need for a reformer. ..."We're very bullish about fuel cells in general," says Bernard Bulkin, vice president for environmental affairs at oil giant BP Amoco. And though the JPL fuel cell still faces technological hurdles before it moves to the marketplace, Bulkin agrees that "the direct methanol fuel cell is potentially a very good way of powering a car or anything else." Cars with methanol fuel cells would do little to change the regular routine of consumers at the filling station. A driver would simply stop at a pump and fill up with methanol rather than gasoline.

12/23/1999  Climate Chiefs Issue Severe Weather Warning by Michael McCarthy - Independent News (UK)

Global warming is now changing the world's climate rapidly, and humanity faces a "critical" situation because of it, the chief meteorologists of Britain and the United States warn today in a remarkable joint statement. Peter Ewins, head of the UK Meteorological Office, and James Baker, his US counterpart, confront climate-change sceptics head on with their assertion in a letter to newspapers, including The Independent, that the world is warming rapidly and human actions are responsible. The statement from such senior figures breaks a tradition of caution by scientists involved in climate research, who have been providing evidence for a decade of global warming, but have left the conclusions to politicians. Their statement will be seen in the context of recent climate-related catastrophes, from the devastation of Hurricane Mitch last year to the recent disastrous mudslides in Venezuela brought about by extreme weather conditions consistent with predictions of what global warming may cause. The two meteorologists attack the sceptical view, still prevalent in the American business community, that fears of global warming are exaggerated. They say in their letter that data on global temperatures over the last year "confirms that our climate is now changing rapidly". And they add: "These new observations, when combined with our improving understanding of the climate system, increasingly point to human influences as the cause of these climate changes." As revealed in The Independent a week ago, 1999 is likely to prove the warmest year in England since records began in 1659 – despite the recent icy conditions – and the fourth warmest year the world has known. It is likely to be the second-warmest year recorded for the US. "The rapid rate of warming since 1976, approximately 0.2 degrees per decade, is consistent with the projected rate of warming based on humaninduced effects," the meteorologists say. "Scientists now say that they cannot explain this unusual warmth without including the effects of human-generated greenhouse gases and aerosols. Our new data and understanding now point to the critical situation we face: to slow future change, we must start taking action soon." Global warming is believed to be caused by the increased emissions of industrial gases such as carbon dioxide from motor vehicles and power stations, which retain more of the sun's heat in the atmosphere. As well as higher temperatures, its predicted consequences include increased climate instability and more extreme weather events, such as hurricanes.

12/22/1999  Delphi And Global Successfully Test Fuel Cell - Reuters

The system incorporates a new gasoline reformer designed and built by Michigan-based Delphi together with solid oxide fuel cell stack components from Calgary-based Global. ...The auto industry has stated that it wants to get fuel cell-powered cars on the market sooner than originally planned.

12/22/1999  Aided by Russia, US to `Ignite' Hydrogen - Times of India

The world's biggest and most powerful laser will have three purposes -- to give US weapons scientists, who will no longer be permitted to conduct nuclear tests under the CTBT, a way to simulate hydrogen bomb blasts; to provide a new window for studying the thermonuclear fires that light the sun and stars; and to aid research on harnessing such reactions to to generate a safer, cleaner form of nuclear power. The project has been made possible by Russian technology for a key part, the Wall Street Journal revealed. The project threatened to grind to a halt because it seemed impossible to produce mineral crystals large enough to meet the needs of the giant laser's optics system. However, that key problem was solved when the labortory found Natalia Zaitseva, a scientist from Moscow State University, who taught the American scientists at the facility her technique for growing suitcase-sized crystals. Mass-producing 150 tons of near-flawless glass for the laser's amplifiers had been thought by some to be an insurmountable hurdle, but, according to energy department officials, two giant glass companies are now close to achieving that goal.

12/22/1999  New Hydrogen Fuel Station to Open in U.S. - Shell - Reuters

Energy and motor companies are to set up a dedicated hydrogen filling station and fuel-cell vehicle test centre in California next year, marking a major step in progress to fuel-cell based transport, Shell International said. A company statement said the facilities would be sited in Sacramento by the middle of the year at the headquarters of the California Fuel Cell Partnership - a group including the state government, energy firms and vehicle manufacturers. "Refuelling is one of the key issues for enabling fuel-cell vehicles to reach the mass market," said Don Huberts, chief executive of Shell Hydrogen, which will jointly fund the fuelling facility, along with Arco (Atlantic Richfield Co) and Texaco Inc. The statement did not say how much the project would cost but added that the station will dispense liquid and compressed hydrogen fuel for 16 fuel-cell powered passenger vehicles. Autmobile companies involved in the venture include DaimlerChrysler AG , Ford Motor Co , Honda Motor Co Ltd and Volkswagen AG and each will have garage bays at the centre for servicing, repairs and diagnostics.

12/20/1999  No Longer a Lone Wolf, DCHT May Lead the Hydrogen Pack - Power Online

As the nascent fuel cell market—estimated to be worth more than $10 billion by 2010—charges forward, the mantra of DCH Technology, “Hydrogen is the Future: We Can Sense It,” seems ever more clever and right on target. “These last few years have been tremendously encouraging,” said Dave Haberman, DCH Technology chairman and co-founder. “We no longer feel like the lone wolf. Today, it seems like fuel cell technology is on everyone’s radar screen.” ...A manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cells and gas detection systems and safety equipment, DCH Technology, which now publicly trades under the symbol (DCHT), incorporated in 1995. At the time, Haberman said the fledgling company focused solely on developing sensors and safety equipment for industries using hydrogen. Its first product release, the Robust Hydrogen Sensor, and its Thick Film Sensors, now monitor hydrogen at a variety of companies, including Aerospace Corporation, AlliedSignal, Ballard Power Systems, Ford, Northwest Power Systems, Lucent Technologies and NASA. With the current annual market for hydrogen gas detection equipment estimated at $440 million and growing rapidly, Haberman said DCHT still hopes to become the “de facto safety guy” for these and other companies using hydrogen. Yet in 1998 after coaxing Dr. Mark Daugherty to leave the U.S. Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory and join DCHT as its chief scientist, Haberman said the company worked with Los Alamos and developed its first PEM Hydrogen Fuel Cell. DCHT currently develops fuel cells from 1 watt (the size of a D-cell battery) to 10,000 watts for electronic equipment, marine vessels, portable power, battery charging, and for use in small businesses and homes.

12/20/1999  Long Term Appears Turbulent for Oil by Kenneth N. Gilpin - New York Times

Even if oil prices do not rise, movement toward the fuel cell cars is virtually inevitable, the experts said, although this technology is still being developed and is not expected to take hold until sometime in the second decade. "U.S. energy policy today is an environmental policy: cleaner fuels and substitution away from conventional oil moving slowly, inevitably toward alternative fuels," Mr. Goldstein said. Even as they roll out more and more gas-guzzling, high-profit-margin sport utility vehicles, automobile manufacturers have apparently heard the message. "I don't talk to anyone in the auto industry who doesn't think that fuel cells are the likely fuel-propulsion mechanism in the future," said Paul R. Portney, president of Resources of the Future in Washington. "Whether it is powered by methanol, hydrogen or something else is up in the air, but 20 years from now fuel cells will begin to propel more and more cars. In the interim, you will see hybrid cars."

12/19/1999  An Era When Cars Drive You by Keith Naughton- Newsweek/MSNBC

Every carmaker in the world is rushing to replace the internal-combustion engine with fuel cells.

12/17/1999  Avista to Enter Residential Fuel Cell Market - Power Online

Avista, Avista Labs—its technology subsidiary—and UOP signed a joint development agreement that the companies hope will put them in the residential fuel cell market by early 2001. The agreement forges an alliance that combines Avista Labs' fuel cell expertise in the development of small-scale, modular fuel cells with the engineering, process design, and catalyst skills of UOP. The two companies are jointly developing a distributed, fuel-cell power plant designed to deliver electricity to residences or businesses.

12/19/1999  What Moves Spaceships May Power Your House by Tom Henry - Toledo Blade (Ohio)

[A]re fuel cells the wave of the future for the average homeowner? DTE Energy, Detroit Edison's parent company, thinks so. In less than two years, the utility will try to sell residents of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois on the idea of using them to generate electricity for their homes. This may sound like a strange idea for a company that is in the business of selling power it generates itself. Detroit Edison owns the Fermi II nuclear plant in northern Monroe County and eight coal-fired power plants. ...But DTE has formed a company in Latham, N.Y., called Plug Power to develop fuel cells powerful enough to supply all the electricity a home needs - maybe more. Investors in the project include General Electric. ...The technology is relatively simple and has been around for a long time: NASA employed fuel cells in Gemini rockets during the 1960s to provide on-board electricity for astronauts. They have been used on every spacecraft since, according to Mark Hoberecht, fuel cell team leader for NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. ...Plug Power is developing a device that would be about the size of a full-size refrigerator and tap into natural gas lines in basements or other parts of a home, distributing power throughout each structure. A similar model that runs off propane is likely to be developed for people who live out in the country, away from natural gas service. Natural gas and propane will be used to make the first generation of units affordable, but the price tag is still going to be hefty: $7,500 to $10,000 for the initial units, due out in 2001. By 2003, the company hopes to have sold its first 100,000 devices and have the price down to about $4,000 a unit, John Mousaw, Plug Power spokesman, said. Its initial target market will be people served by rural electrical co-ops, as well as residents of remote areas that either have no electricity or have a history of losing it following thunderstorms, he said. ...Larry Garberding, DTE Energy executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the market is ripe for fuel cells, given the costs and environmental problems associated with aging coal plants. ...Mr. Hoberecht said he believes Plug Power's style of gas-powered fuel cells will be phased out 20 to 30 years after they reach the market. Competition and more efficient production will someday make the cleanest type - those that run off pure hydrogen tanks - affordable for the general public, he said. Nathanael Greene, energy policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council, called Plug Power's units a "transitional technology" that will help wean the nation off its reliance on coal. "They have this ability to dovetail into a clean future," Mr. Greene said. "In their current state, they're not the solution in themselves. But we're very gung ho about them as a whole," he said.

12/19/1999  Fuel Cell Bus Test Puts Chicago in Driver's Seat - Chicago Sun Times (Illinois)/Bloomberg

Although Ballard isn't the only company trying to develop fuel cells to power cars and trucks, investors say the Canadian company has the best chance of making an acceptable alternative to the internal combustion engine. Winning this competition will be "the equivalent of finding a cure for cancer," said Simon Baker, who manages $85 million in British-based Jupiter Asset Management's Ecology Fund. The fund owns 243,300 Ballard shares, which represent almost 7 percent of its holdings. ..."We don't usually invest in companies that aren't making money," said Jupiter's Baker. "Ballard is an exception" because investments by companies such as DaimlerChrysler and Ford have given the company's technology a "stamp of approval." DaimlerChrysler owns 20 percent of Ballard, and Ford has a 5 percent stake. Ford spokesman Glenn Ray calls the fuel cell "the most promising technology right now to displace gas power," adding that Ford is committed to deliver commercially viable fuel cell vehicles by 2004.

12/16/1999  Plug Power Cell Now Hooked on Natural Gas by Jo-Ann Johnston - Times Union (New York)

Plug Power's fuel cells for homes are dishwasher-sized devices intended to provide enough electricity for an average house. ...The fuel cell previously operated from June 1998 to July 1999 using hydrogen gas as fuel. But that was an early stage model that doesn't mimic the way an average homeowner would use a fuel cell. Plug Power always intended that homeowners would probably use natural gas or propane with its cells. ...With fuel cells, homeowners would pay $3,000 to $5,000 for the cell, plus the price of the natural gas or propane. Plug Power expects its fuel cells to go on the market in 2001. A joint venture between Plug Power and GE Power Systems, called GE MicroGen, will handle sales.

12/16/1999 [ Ballard] Energy for the 21st Century Automobile - The Hindu (India)

Daimler's fuel cell vehicle development project started in 1991 under the guidance of Dr. Hartmut Weule, then R & D boss of Daimler Benz. In 1993, the Vancouver-based Ballard Power Systems, an experienced player in the fuel cell arena, joined the research effort. The first prototype fuel cell vehicle hit the road in 1994. It was a 3.5 tonne Mercedes Benz -180 van powered by a fuel cell system of 50 kW output. It was christened as New Electric Car (NECAR-1). The fuel cell system occupied so much space that the vehicle could accommodate only the driver and one passenger as it cruised along at 90 km/h. ...The NECAR-4 represents a new milestone in fuel cell technology. Special bipolar plates ensure that both air and gaseous hydrogen flow as freely as possible through the stacks. The platinum catalyst coating is now applied uniformly over the entire surface of the membrane. As a result, the area throughout which the catalyst can react with the hydrogen atoms to produce electrons and protons is spread homogenously across the whole membrane surface. This greatly enhances the fuel cell's capacity to produce power. It also provides a very high energy conversion efficiency. On average, the new stacks function with an efficiency of between 50 and 80 percent.

12/13/1999 Ballard Taps Hyundai as Cell Buyer - Seven Carmakers Aboard by Drew Hasselback - Financial Post (Canada)

The Korean automaker joins DaimlerChrysler AG, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (which recently combined with Renault SA) and Volkswagen AG as companies that have committed to Ballard's technology. ...Hyundai, the world's 10th-largest automaker, has placed a [CN]$575,000 order for Ballard's fuel cells, related equipment and support services. ...The three top 10 producers Ballard has not signed deals with are Toyota Motor Co., Fiat SpA and PSA Peugeot Citroen. ...Reports have estimated it costs Ballard about $35,000 to make a fuel cell engine but it would have to cost a tenth of that to make it competitive with existing engines. ...One of Ballard's major announcements next year will be the unveiling of the Necar 5, a new fuel cell-powered prototype built by DaimlerChrysler. For the first time, this prototype will run on methanol instead of hydrogen and still leave enough space in the car for four passengers. The change is significant because it is easier for existing gas stations to sell methanol than hydrogen, said Peter Hoffman, editor of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Letter, a publication that tracks develops in the alternative energy sector. ...Ballard says its Mark 900, the model name given to the fuel cell stack powering the Necar 5, now lays down the minimum space required for fuel cells in vehicles.

12/12/1999  Bill Ford Lifts the Veil on Campaign of Denial Over Global Warming by Kevin J. Sweeney - Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)

When 2,500 scientists agreed on a statement that global warming is a real and urgent phenomenon caused by humans, the GCC drummed up a small handful of dissenters. Spending millions on advertising, lobbying and other efforts to discredit the best science, the group's small clique has had a huge presence. They have allowed political leaders to hide behind the false notion that there is disagreement about global warming in the scientific community. They have provided ready sources for journalists who, under the guise of objectivity, lazily assume that "another side" to the science should be presented in each story on the topic. The Ford Motor Co.'s withdrawal exposes this deception. Ford is tacitly admitting that it is folly to continue clouding the debate and that discussions instead should focus on policies and products that can stop or slow the warming trend. In walking away from the GCC, the auto giant has pulled back the curtain to show that science has never clouded this debate. It was the sophisticated advocacy and self-interest of panicked industrialists that did so. ...Next year, its entire SUV fleet -- the one currently on assembly lines -- will meet the low emissions vehicle standards for selling cars in California. And it has invested heavily in fuel cells -- nonpolluting components that produce energy from hydrogen, a renewable substance.

12/11/1999  Automotive Designs Ease Ravages of Age by Donald W. Knauss - Spokesman-Review (Washington)

While DaimlerChrysler rushes to bring a fuel-cell-powered Mercedes-Benz to mass production by 2004, German rival BMW has largely pooh-poohed the fuel-cell hoopla. "We are not optimistic about fuel cells," Christopher Huss, BMW's director of environmental research, said last year. So observers were rather surprised when BMW recently announced that it will soon bring a fuel-cell vehicle to market, beating DaimlerChrysler and others by several years. But there's a catch. BMW's vehicle will only use the fuel cell -- which uses hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity -- to run the vehicle's electrical accessories, much as a battery on a conventional car does. BMW will put the small fuel cell in a 7-Series sedan that uses a traditional internal-combustion engine fueled by liquid hydrogen. BMW has been researching hydrogen-powered vehicles for 20 years.

12/7/1999  University of Texas Reactor Closes as Result of Gas Buildup by Alexi Baker - Daily Texan (Austin)

UT researchers first noticed something was wrong with the reactor when excess gases were created in its reflector, shifting part of an experiment they were conducting. The reflector keeps radioactive particles from escaping by reflecting them inward. O'Kelly said many researchers believe a tiny flaw let water into the reactor's reflector but not the space inside the reflector where the containers of uranium were located. The uranium radiation then converted the water into gases inside the reflector. "Apparently a lot of water leaked in over the years at a very slow rate," O'Kelly said, adding that the investigators will later estimate how long the leak has existed. Breck Henderson, the spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Arlington, said the gases formed from the water are currently the main concern. Hydrogen and oxygen gases can explode if combined and ignited by a spark. But Henderson said it is very unlikely the gases will encounter any sparks, though, since the reactor's radioactive core is kept under 27 feet of water.

12/7/1999  Toshiba Discovers How to Make Voids in Silicon - EE Times/EDTN

Toshiba has discovered how to make what it calls "empty space in silicon" or ESS. The ability to form bubbles, pipes and flat plates as voids in silicon could be a useful addition to the range of techniques available for manipulating silicon and could be used to create novel silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structures. ...[Toshiba engineer Tsutomu Sato] admitted that the ability to make such voids was found by accident as he and his colleagues were working on experiments in hydrogen diffusion through single crystal silicon. The technique involves thermal annealing at of a silicon wafer at 1100 degrees centigrade after a silicon wafer has been etched with deep trenches with aspect ratios of greater than about five. Although the temperature is below the melting point of silicon, the annealing, performed under hydrogen at a low pressure of about 10 torr, causes the monoceystaline silicon to re-organize its lattice and the trench forms into a series of "bubbles" to minimize the surface energy of the silicon crystal structure.

12/6/1999  Ford Commits To Clean Air Future: Dumps Anti-Global-Warming Lobbying Group "Global Climate Coalition"- CHBC

Facing growing anger from environmentalist groups and mounting scientific evidence of the highest caliber indicating global climate change, the Ford Motor Company announced today that it was renouncing its membership in the industry lobbying group "Global Climate Coalition."     At the 1997 Climate Change Convention in Kyoto, Japan, the outspoken environmentalist organization Earth First branded the GCC as "the top of 'Dirty Dozen' climate-wrecking firms and industry organizations" and condemned it for "destroying prospects for an effective greenhouse gas reduction target by campaigning in the USA against binding emission controls." "The Kyoto Protocol does not need to be a job killer and a drain on the U.S. economy, as the Global Climate Coalition and other critics of the Kyoto Protocol have claimed," criticized Howard Geller, Executive Director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) in 1998.  "The Global Climate Coalition and the coal and oil industries use worst case, implausible assumptions that lead directly to job loss and lower economic growth," Geller stated. "These assumptions include imposition of a carbon tax without offsetting reductions in other taxes, no consideration of technological innovation, no cost savings from energy efficiency improvements, no benefits from reducing smog, soot, and acid rain with the same technologies that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and no international trading or joint implementation.    "In effect, the Global Climate Coalition assumes the Kyoto Protocol would be met in a costly, inflexible, dumb manner. New technologies, such as more efficient appliances, lighting, vehicles, and industrial processes, as well as renewable energy sources, are the key to cutting greenhouse gas emissions without harming the economy. By taking a technology-oriented approach, the United States and other nations can create new industries and jobs, save consumers money, and greatly reduce GHG emissions." According to the Associated Press, Ford spokesman Terry Bresnihann admitted "being in GCC has become something of an impediment to pursuing our environmental initiatives in a credible way.'' John Passacantando, Executive Director of atmospheric protection activist group Ozone Action, praised Ford's decision. "In the same way that the GCC's power over the years has represented industry's unwillingness to acknowledge global warming, its current disintegration is a signal that corporate America is finally recognizing the reality of the threat," he said. "We have all suffered from a decade of lies on global warming from corporate America. Now we finally have Bill Ford Jr., Chairman of one of our country's largest manufacturers, standing up saying that he wants to tell the truth about our most pressing environmental crisis. It makes for a promising end to the century." Global Climate Coalition Executive Director Glenn Kelly responded to Ford's resignation by saying, "What is most disappointing about Ford’s decision is that it seems to be driven by a campaign of misinformation by fringe environmental groups such as Ozone Action who disregard the serious nature of this debate with scare tactics, half-truths and outright distortions." By turning its back on the GCC, Ford joins ex-members Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum/Amoco and Dow Chemical in a united front of Fortune 500 companies recognizing the threat of global warming and working to  develop technological solutions. "We do believe there is something to climate change. There is enough evidence that something is happening that we ought to start looking at this seriously,'' the Associated Press quoted Ford spokesman Terry Bresnihan on Monday.

12/4/1999 [ Ballard] Honda: Stack of Trouble - The Economost (UK)

It looks like a chunky stereo amplifier, except that it is made of plastic composite and has ribbed fin surfaces. This is Honda's version of a fuel-cell stack, the soul of the machine that within 20 years may replace the internal-combustion engine with hydrogen-powered electric motors. But this revolutionary stack looks bigger and bulkier than those made by Ballard Power Systems, a Canadian company now working with DaimlerChrysler and Ford to develop fuel-cell engines. Another partnership between General Motors (GM) and Toyota is also working on fuel-cell cars ready to go to market in four years. Honda has had to curtail its re-entry into Formula One - the ultimate tribute to the internal-combustion engine - because it needs to save money for investment in the machine that threatens to kill off that technology. Honda has installed a Ballard fuel cell in one of its prototype electric cars. But Ballard's contract does not allow the Japanese firm to take apart the cell to learn its internal secrets. Honda's boss, Hiroyuki Yoshino, is hoping that Honda's famously talented and creative engineers can close the gap with the Ballard cell and develop an entire fuel-cell engine themselves. That will be costly. ...This week, in America, Honda is launching a hybrid petrol-electric car. It has tied a battery and an electric motor to a small, one-litre engine. That gives the performance of a 1.5-litre engine, but with consumption of only about 3 litres per 100 kilometres, half as much as a conventional engine. This is the first hybrid car to be launched - ahead even of the hyped Toyota Prius. However, although Honda is ideally placed to supply the petrol engines that everybody reckons the market will want in the next 20 years, that will not guarantee the company's future. The problem is that developing a decent fuel-cell engine is proving so expensive.

12/3/1999  Expect Rapid, Pervasive Innovation in 21st Century - Purdue University

Fuel-stingy cars will likely get about 80 miles to the gallon and use a "hybrid" drive system: an electric motor powered by batteries or fuel cells, supplemented with a gasoline or diesel engine only when needed for acceleration and high performance. ...The automotive leap also will depend on the refinement of fuel cells, which generate electricity through electrochemical reactions between hydrogen and oxygen. Developed for use in spacecraft, fuel cells emit only water vapor and would ideally use pure hydrogen as a fuel. Because of technological challenges and potential hazards posed by pure hydrogen, early fuel-cell cars probably will draw their hydrogen from gasoline or some other hydrocarbon fuel. An on-board chemical plant will break down the fuel into its fundamental components, which include hydrogen.  In coming decades, fuel cells will likely evolve. Some visionaries predict that, before the middle of the next century, automobile fuel cells will generate enough electricity to run a house.

12/3/1999  The NeCar 4: A Work in Progress - Financial Post (Canada)

The Necar 4 is powered by Ballard's proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. ...The car operates like an ordinary automatic. You simply slide the gear shift to D for drive, take your right foot off the brake, then stomp on the gas pedal to go. But flooring the gas pedal does not reward the driver with the squealing of tires and a jolt of acceleration. Instead, the car's response is rather sluggish. It feels much the same as driving an electric golf cart. Once under way, the Necar can eventually accelerate to a pretty good clip. The car's top speed is 145 kilometres an hour. Considering that this is a small car, one that might be described as a subcompact minivan, the Necar can rip along at a pretty good clip. But it does take 14 seconds for the car to reach 100 km/h. This is certainly not the car for people who crave power. ...DaimlerChrysler and Ballard, which is 20% owned by Daimler, still have a long way to go. They don't expect fuel cell vehicles to enter commercial production until 2004. This is more than a business deadline. A state law in car-crazy California requires that 10% of automakers' sales come from zero-emission vehicles. Until then, Ballard's engineers are still working to beef up the fuel cell's power and to shrink the cost of producing fuel cell engine.  ...Meanwhile Ford Motor Co., which owns 15% of Ballard, has already produced a zippy fuel cell vehicle, the P2000. ...With a 67-kilowatt fuel stack, the P2000 has a lot more pep than the Necar 4. It is also a lot roomier and handles turns more sharply. Ford says the vehicle can hit 100 km/h in 12 seconds, a little faster than the Necar.

12/3/1999  Taking Up the 'Zero Emissions' Challenge: FUEL CELLS by Tim Burt - The Financial Times (UK)

Leading carmakers have realised - some too late - that existing engine technology could become redundant if future products are determined more by emissions standards than customer satisfaction. It has forced them to reassess their whole attitude to the combustion engine. And their common response is the fuel cell. ..."We need to move away from internal combustion engines as the sole prime mover towards new technologies," says Peter Histon, manager for fuels technology at BP Amoco. "In particular, it demonstrates the attraction of moving towards hydrogen or battery electric vehicles." ...Manufacturers, led by DaimlerChrysler and Ford, claim the cheapest and most-widely available solution is to use methanol. ...Fuel providers, which would have to install the necessary infrastructure, disagree. "We have a lot of concerns about methanol," says one oil industry executive. "It would require a completely new infrastructure and requires a number of health and safety issues to be resolved." Their reluctance to embrace methanol poses a problem for the carmakers. Attempts by DaimlerChrysler, Honda and others to launch fuel cell cars as early as 2003-04 would be compromised if methanol is rejected as the first fuel source. Millions of research dollars are being spent on direct injection hydrogen or reforming hydrogen from gasoline. But such developments are unlikely to be on the market much before 2010. That leaves a large gap between the ambition and reality of fuel cell development. ...Autopolis, the UK automotive consultancy, claims fuel cells lend themselves towards urban buses better than cars. It says tests under way in Sao Paulo, Vancouver and Washington demonstrate that roof-mounted hydrogen cylinders refuelled in the controlled environment of municipal bus depots can power fuel cells for a range of up to 300km. "Fuel cells engines have ideal characteristics for urban buses and performance targets can be achieved," says John Wormald, senior partner at Autopolis.

12/1999  Fueling the Cells by Paul Sharke - Mechanical Engineering

Clean-running vehicles can convert hydrogen into electricity. The question is, "How are we going to get the hydrogen?" ...For a fuel cell vehicle to be truly emissions-free, the hydrogen for the fuel cell must itself come by way of a source that produces no emissions. Among the fossil fuels, petroleum and natural gas are considered primary contenders to provide a source of mobile hydrogen. They have higher ratios of hydrogen to carbon dioxide when compared to coal. Coal, with 50 percent hydrogen, may simply be too rich in carbon dioxide to provide an attractive source of fuel-cell energy. Oil does better than coal, at 67 percent hydrogen. Natural gas, at 80 percent hydrogen, does better still. Renewable sources of primary energy—solar and geo-thermal—can provide hydrogen without producing carbon dioxide. Photovoltaic cells, for example, make electricity directly from sunlight, which can then be used to strip hydrogen from water. Wind power, another form of solar energy, can make hydrogen as well without producing carbon dioxide. ...A prototype personal fuel appliance under development at Stuart Energy of Toronto could make hydrogen for as many as five cars parked at home. ...John Turner, a researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., suggested that in the short term the most appropriate step in transitioning to a hydrogen economy would be to build stationary reformers at existing natural gas filling stations. ...Shell Hydrogen has teamed up with DaimlerChrysler, Ballard, and Norsk Hydro to experiment with a closed hydrogen economy in Iceland. Although the exact pattern of the experiment is awaiting definition, and is expected to be announced early in the coming year, talk has centered around converting Iceland's large fishing boat fleet to hydrogen, and then powering its automotive and transit vehicles in the same manner. Iceland has vast geothermal energy sources, so using them to generate hydrogen makes good economic sense. Phillip Baxley, a manager at Shell Hydrogen in Houston, speaking about the Iceland project during a recent fuel cell conference, said, "The purpose there is to understand on the ground how you would use renewable resources to build a hydrogen economy—an entire hydrogen economy rather than just a fueling station."

12/1999  [ Ballard] DaimlerChrysler to Roll Out Next-Generation Necar 5, Shows Miniaturized Stack, Reformer - Peter Hoffmann's Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter

Development of the new stack emphasized the use of lower-cost technology and components, such as stamped, instead of machined, carbon bipolar plates of the type that Ballard Power Systems and DaimlerChrysler eventually expect to be getting from suppliers such as UCAR ...Also shown to the visitors was the new, ultra-compact, intricately machined methanol/water mixture reformer, a rectangular box judged to be roughly the same as the fuel cell stack itself. Sitting right next to two previous, much bigger reformer generations from Necar 3 and 4, the new one impressively demonstrated progress in bringing down the size of fuel cells and associated equipment for the eventual production version that the company reaffirmed will begin to be sold five years from now. 

12/1999  Establishing Renewable Energy Markets by Carola Hanisch - Environmental Science & Technology, American Chemical Society

Deutsche Shell AG, the Hamburg-based German subsidiary of the international Shell group, is actively developing and marketing renewables and hydrogen-based technologies. ...As a member of the board of Deutsche Shell AG, [Professor Fritz Vahrenholt] is in charge of renewable energies, chemistry, the environment, and public relations. "[Shell Hydrogen] has a $120 million budget.... One focus is on storage of hydrogen, of course, a very important problem. Then we will try to develop a catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) reactor for fuel cell cars and stationary electricity production. ...We believe that it represents an important bridge to a hydrogen economy because there is no infrastructure for hydrogen yet. The CPO reformer allows you to fuel your car with gasoline as you are now accustomed to doing. The reactor converts the gasoline on board the car to hydrogen, which feeds the fuel cell. In the end, of course, you will use regeneratively produced hydrogen or methanol. But you cannot do this all at once. ... Hydrogen is the best secondary energy carrier for storing renewable energy. ... I am absolutely convinced that fuel cell technology will replace the internal combustion engine. Consider the efficiencies of modern gasoline or diesel engines or conventional power plants: You can still increase those efficiencies, but only very modestly. That is nothing compared with the almost 80% efficient chemical energy conversion achievable in fuel cells. With combustion engines we will always have high heat losses, and there, fuel cell technology offers a big advantage. ...Hydrogen is going to revolutionize energy production. In a couple of years, we will have the first fuel cells in basements—small power plants that provide houses with electricity and heat and that feed the extra power into the grid. So in the end, we will have a completely changed energy supply structure. The customers will be consumers and producers at the same time—that is a revolutionary change."     

11/30/1999  Dr. T. Nejat Veziroglu: Hydrogen Powers His Dreams of the Future - Miami Herald

Back in 1974, when the international hydrogen fuel movement was born in Miami during a meeting of 700 scientists from around the world, only a handful of people believed in the concept. Others called them the Hydrogen Romantics. He's still a romantic. ``Ninety percent of the universe is hydrogen,'' he says, with an excitement he cannot hide. ``The sun is hydrogen. The stars burn hydrogen. And hydrogen in the form of water covers most of the earth.'' Dr. V proposes producing hydrogen from water and using that gas instead of fossil fuels. The theory may sound simple but it has vast economic implications. Converting to hydrogen -- a process that is already inching along -- would mean an enormous change in the infrastructure of how we supply and obtain energy. His work in the field had been instrumental in developing the technology to convert the sun's rays into electricity, which in turn strips hydrogen from water. In his lab he has found pioneering ways to make hydrogen fuel feasible, developing several hydrogen-run machines, such as air-conditioning units. ``It's such a wonderful concept. It doesn't have pollution, ozone layer depletion, acid rain and all the other problems of fossil fuels,'' he adds. ...``Hydrogen is our future,'' he says. ``And as long as we have sun, we will have hydrogen.''

11/30/1999  Battelle Forecasts Strategic Technologies for 2020 - Battelle/PRNewswire

A team of top scientists and engineers at Battelle, a world renowned technology organization based in Columbus, Ohio, has compiled a list of the 10 most strategic technological trends that will shape business and our world over the next 20 years. ...Developments such as highly advanced batteries, inexpensive fuel cells, and micro-generators of electricity will make many of our electronic products and appliances highly mobile. Decentralized power sources will be extensive, affordable, and environmentally clean. These new, high-power, distributed energy systems will provide backup if not primary energy sources for appliances, homes, and vehicles. In the transition to fuel cells, we will see further improvements in batteries -- perhaps linked with solar power-and small generators fueled by natural gas.

11/30/1999 Ballard Reduces Fuel Cell Costs - Detroit News (Michigan)

Mass production, trimming platinum are keys... Ballard hopes to reduce the cost of fuel cells to $3,500, which would be competitive with existing engines, currently on the market.

11/30/1999  High School Student Suffers Second and Third Degree Burns in Chem Lab Experiment Gone Bad - CIRC (Lansing MI)

Twelve students from the district west of Lansing were treated and released for minor burns. Nine of 11 uninjured students in the class went home early with their parents, while two others remained in school. Methanol fumes apparently ignited during a routine chemistry demonstration by teacher Ernest Luttig, said Delta Township Assistant Fire Chief Scott Pellerito. ``It was just a normal chemistry type of experiment,'' Pellerito told the State Journal. ``He had done it many times.'' The experiment uses methanol vapors to blow a cork from a plastic bottle. The bottle being used was a white quart-size plastic jug, which fell from Luttig's hand when the unexpected flash occurred, Pellerito said. Waverly Community Schools Superintendent Jim Ryan said Luttig was ``devastated.'' There was virtually no damage to the school building. The rest of the 1,100 Waverly students were in no danger and continued their normal schedule of classes, Ryan said. Pellerito said Ms. Jurus was sitting closest to the failed experiment, and her hooded sweatshirt and hair caught fire. Luttig and Ms. Jurus' classmates threw a coat over her to smother the flames, Pellerito said.

11/27/1999   Ballard Power Investors Run on Optimism by Karina Lahni - Seattle Post-Intelligencer/Bloomberg (Washington)

Fuel cells are currently too expensive to make sense for the average Taurus or Mercedes. Ballard declined to say how much it costs to make a fuel cell engine, though analysts estimate the price tag at about $35,000. Ballard hopes to reduce that figure to $3,500, which would be competitive with existing engines. ...The Chicago Transit Authority has been testing three buses powered by Ballard fuel cells since March 1998. Chicago paid about $1.4 million for each of the buses, compared to $300,000 for a diesel bus. ...Made from materials such as Teflon, fuel cell engines should eventually be lighter and smaller than internal combustion engines made of steel and aluminum, and should become cheaper to produce at similar volumes. "Manufacturing a car is going to be more akin to putting together something like a TV," said Christopher Taylor, who manages $920 million at London-based Fuji-Lord Abbett International Ltd. ...Methanol is considered the front-runner for private and individual use since existing gas stations could be used to dispense the fuel with minor adjustments. Ballard has declared itself fuel-neutral, as has the U.S. Department of Energy. "We'd like to get away from petroleum," but there is little incentive to do so as long as gasoline remains relatively inexpensive, said Steven Chalk, energy conversion team leader in the Energy Department's transportation division.

11/21/1999 New Power Source or Sci-Fi Delusions? by Kevin Coughlin -The  Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.)/Austin American-Statesman (Texas)

Randell Mills calls his secret weapon the BlackLight Process. ..."His theory is totally groundless," says Paul Grant, a former IBM scientist now with the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif. ...Mills claims 150 investors have bought into his chemical process, which purports to convert hydrogen into a previously unknown "lower-energy state" of hydrogen that he's dubbed a "hydrino." Hydrinos, he says, emit energy in the form of heat suitable for generating electricity and a hydrogen plasma that can be used for lighting. ..."It's hard to tell if it's self-deception or a scam," said Robert Park of the American Physical Society. "He's been at it so long that one worries that self-deception should have cured itself by now." "From start to finish, it's quackery," said Professor Michio Kaku of the City University of New York. "I was astounded reading this stuff. If he was a student, I would flunk him. He wouldn't pass freshman physics."

11/19/1999 [ Ballard]  Auto Stocks Insider: Fuel Cells Fuel Excitement about This Company by William Deim - Worldly Investor

Ballard's not alone in the industry, but the number of players is small and getting smaller. European carmakers PSA and Renault just combined their operations. Forget them. Honda is developing its own version, as usual, but it's also buying Ballard technology. General Motors and Toyota have formed a team of formidable power. And Ford and DaimlerChrysler have a team, with Ballard. They are shareholders in Ballard, and in several associated companies. A top Ford executive who has been working with electric cars for 15 years told me in September that in the end, all the automakers will use either the Toyota-GM system or the Ballard-Ford-DaimlerChrysler system. He wasn't exaggerating. In October, Akira Kijima, the deputy corporate general manager for research at Mitsubishi Motors, called for Ballard to open its technology to everyone for the good of the planet. He said a third party, such as a government or association, should have control of Ballard's patented ideas.

11/17/1999  Pipe Cracks Suspected in H-2 Launch Failure - Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan)

The National Space Development Agency of Japan on Tuesday reported to the government's Space Activities Commission that Monday's failed rocket launch was likely caused by liquid hydrogen fuel leaking from cracked pipes in the booster stage of H-2 Launch Vehicle No. 8, government sources said Tuesday. NASDA reached its conclusion after studying tape of the launch that showed abnormal jets of gas shooting from the booster and flight data transmitted to the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, from which the H-2 rocket was launched. ...Investigators noted that the pressure levels in pipes containing both the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen suddenly dropped, so it is highly likely under the high pressure the pipes cracked, allowing the liquid fuel to rush out, added the sources. Furthermore, a thermometer mounted on the outside of the booster showed a sudden temperature rise, followed by a fall to the temperature of liquid hydrogen, leading NASDA officials to suspect that it was liquid hydrogen that leaked.

11/15/1999  Water for Space Fuel Considered - Defence Systems Daily (UK)

DARPA is considering supporting research and development of space propulsion concepts employing new, novel or unconventional fuels with properties enabling satellite-to-satellite fuel transfers. They are particularly interested in concepts for the on-orbit use of water for the generation and storage of spacecraft electrical energy and/or generation of propulsive power due to water's seemingly unique advantages as a prospective space power/propulsion feedstock. Water is: Readily available in virtually limitless quantity, at an extremely low cost. Non-flammable; non-volatile; non-toxic; non-corrosive; non-polluting. Easily convertible in-orbit (using solar-powered electrolytic decomposition into hydrogen and oxygen) into regenerative fuel cell consumables and high-energy propellant.

11/15/1999  MIT's Plasmatron for Cutting Car Pollutants is Significant Step Closer to Road Tests - Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The recent engine tests were conducted using gasoline. However, laboratory tests with the plasmatron alone have shown that the device can also process diesel and biocrude fuels. Although in principle the device could process all of the fuel for a vehicle, the researchers say that it's most cost-effective to convert only a fraction of the fuel into hydrogen-rich gas. That's because even though such gas increases the efficiency of an engine, the plasmatron itself consumes energy. The best results in the recent tests were achieved by converting 25 percent of the gasoline into hydrogen-rich gas.

11/15/1999 'Plasmatron' May Clear the Air by Tom Paulson - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The experimental plasmatron is small enough to fit on your car's carburetor, will likely cost only a few hundred dollars and converts gasoline or even corn oil into hydrogen gas with such high efficiency it may become one of our best weapons against air pollution. ...Cohn first got the idea for using plasma technology from a former Soviet scientist he met in the early 1990s.  ...In 1993, Alex Rabinovich, the former Soviet scientist, came to MIT to continue his work in plasma physics. Rabinovich mentioned to Cohn how he had set up a low-temperature plasma reactor using common fuels to give his lab more than the government-allotted power supply. ...What they have arrived at after considerable tinkering is a plasmatron that converts some of the fuel to hydrogen gas that is fed back into the regular fuel supply. This hydrogen-rich fuel is sent to the engine where the hydrogen allows the engine to burn the fuel much more efficiently at a lower temperature. ..."We think it's the best option for reducing pollution in cars," Cohn said. Tests in a car engine at the Oak Ridge Lab, he said, produced a huge reduction in the emission of nitrogen oxides -- the main contributors to smog. He said the plasmatron, when mass-produced, should cost only a few hundred dollars.

11/12/1999    Ballard Has $4.5-Million in Fuel Cell Orders by Steve Mertyl - Money Journal/Canadian Press

Ballard has supplied fuel sells to other automakers, including General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Volkswagen. But chairman Firoz Rasul would not say whom the latest orders were destined for. "They've indicated that at this stage for competitive reasons they would rather not disclose to their competition that they're working on these things," he said. Rasul also would not reveal the number of fuel-cell stacks ordered because it could provide pricing information to competitors. The pace of fuel-cell vehicle development is picking up as manufacturers commit to introducing commercially viable production models within the next four to six years, said Rasul. A total of 10 automakers showed fuel-cell vehicles at the recent Frankfurt and Tokyo auto shows, seven of which used Ballard fuel-cell stacks, he said. ...The fuel-cell stacks, the heart of the system that process the produces electricity from hydrogen and air without pollution, will be delivered in early 2000, said Rasul. The units will be manufactured on Ballard's pilot production line in its Burnaby complex. Ballard's adjacent main production facility will be running by the second half of next year, Rasul said.

11/12/1999  21st Century Inventions by Amanda Griscom - Feed Magazine/MSNBC

Cars as we’ve know them for the last century are a happily endangered species. In the foreseeable future you may be gliding down the highway in a sleek plastic shell — half the weight of a steel car, a fraction of the emissions, but all the traction and torque. You’ll sip fresh water from your exhaust pipe and lounge back with an online movie on the dash while the sensors in the road guide you home. ...Fuel cells could offer the auto industry near-zero emission vehicles with long range, good performance, and rapid refueling. Fuel cell technology has been around as a concept for 150 years (it was initially invented by Sir William Grove in 1839 during experiments on the electrolysis of water) but only now are the materials available to make it a commercial reality. Essentially, a fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen over a thin, plastic membrane to produce electricity, heat, and a pure, drinkable byproduct: water. The fuel cell operates somewhat like a battery, but it doesn’t run down or require recharging as long as fuel (hydrogen) is supplied. The required hydrogen can be either carried on the vehicle as a compressed gas, or extracted from a fuel, such as gasoline, methanol, ethanol, or propane.

11/11/1999  Safety of Electric-Car Batteries Ignites Concern by Ralph Vartabedian - Los Angeles Times (California)

The explosive energy in 20 gallons of gasoline is much greater than what you'll find in an electric vehicle, but nonetheless there is a tremendous amount of energy being stored in the battery arrays of electric vehicles. Without question, the power output of an electric vehicle--running at 200 to 300 volts--is enough to electrocute an individual or cause a fire in the case of a short circuit. And the batteries could in theory produce enough hydrogen gas for a fairly large explosion that could cause injury or destroy the vehicle. ...Battery explosions are a serious safety hazard. A NHTSA study found that in 1993 alone, 2,280 people were injured badly enough by battery explosions to require hospitalization. Passenger vehicles generally use 12-volt batteries, which have six 2-volt cells that contain a grid of lead plates surrounded by acid. Electricity is generated when the lead reacts with the acid and water. The process is reversed during charging. One byproduct is gaseous hydrogen, which is highly explosive. ...Two types of batteries now dominate the electric vehicle field--absorbed glass mat and jell cell--said Jim Powell, a technical expert at Interstate Batteries, a major producer based in Dallas. In an AGM, the acid is held within a fibrous material, leaving just 1% in liquid form. In a jell cell, the acid is in the form of a thick paste. In both types of batteries, hydrogen gas production is minimized during the charging cycle. But hydrogen can be produced in dangerous quantities even with AGMs and jell cells if the batteries are overcharged. With EVs, the charging occurs while the vehicles are parked, typically in a garage. So safety is all the more important in terms of preventing fire.

11/11/1999  Tomorrow's Cars - Clean and Clever - Reuters

``The fuel cell is the most promising option for the future. We are determined to be the first to bring it to market,'' said Juergen Hubbert, the DaimlerChrysler director in charge of Mercedes and Smart cars. The company has pledged to roll out an economically viable car powered by a fuel cell engine, which works by converting hydrogen into electricity, by 2004. Hubbert said it was a question of reducing the bulk -- hydrogen takes up a lot of space -- and the cost, currently more than 10 times that of a conventional engine. Taking another route, rival BMW is working on a virtually emission-free, hydrogen-burning internal combustion engine. Hydrogen-powered cars will not challenge the existing order for at least 20-25 years, auto executives say, because even if the technological hurdles are cleared, it will take time to set up the infrastructure -- fuelling stations selling hydrogen. But with laws insisting on cleaner cars, companies are studying interim solutions whereby hydrogen might be extracted from methanol or gasoline to power cleaner, though by no means emission-free, cars. ``If the best engineers in the world are working on this, they'll find a way,'' Hubbert said at the Tokyo car show.

11/9/1999  Agreement Lights the Way for Fuel Cell Use by Coast Guard - U.S. National Energy Technology Lab

The MOA is the first step in a process that allows the Coast Guard to investigate using 21st century technology to provide power at its remote installations, and radionavigation sites in the U.S. The center will provide collaborative research with the Coast Guard to determine the best type and most appropriate use of fuel cell power systems at those installations. ..."These remote locations provide services that are necessary for safe marine navigation and, therefore, need to be available for use at all times," says Captain George Gunther, Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development, Groton, Connecticut. Gunther remarked the Coast Guard will investigate the potential use of fuel cells at LORAN and Differential GPS Stations (electronic-navigation systems). This effort is in addition to an ongoing partnership with the Navy and other federal agencies in examining the potential for use of fuel cells on ships.

11/8/1999  Carbon Tubes Could Store Hydrogen Fuel - BBC (Great Britain)

A hydrogen gas fuel tank that contained a store of energy equivalent to a petrol tank would be more than 3,000 times bigger than its conventional cousin. Compressing or liquefying the gas is expensive. Current thinking points to the absorption of hydrogen in another medium. ...Now a team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shenyang, China, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, US, has demonstrated an effective way to absorb hydrogen into carbon nanotubes - minute cylinders made of carbon atoms. Their research, published in the journal Science, substantially increases the amount of hydrogen that can be absorbed using this method. It involves soaking the nanotubes in hydrochloric acid then heating them to 500 degC for two hours. This wash-and-dry procedure removes most of the impurities that have inhibited previous attempts to get carbon nanofibres to absorb hydrogen. The team found that its tubes would absorb one hydrogen atom for every two carbon atoms. What is more, almost 80% of the stored hydrogen could be released from the tubes at room temperature and pressure, with the rest released after the tube was heated.

11/8/1999  X-43 Hypersonic Flight Research Vehicle Delivered - Science Daily, NASA

The first of three experimental vehicles, designated X-43A, recently arrived at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, to prepare for flight in May 2000. ...Built by Micro Craft, Inc., Tullahoma, TN, for NASA's Hyper-X program, the 12-foot-long, unpiloted X-43 vehicles will significantly expand the boundaries of air-breathing aircraft. Three flights are planned -- two at Mach 7 and one at Mach 10. The flight tests will be conducted within the Western Test Range off the coast of southern California. The Hyper-X program will build a technology bridge to reusable and recoverable vehicles with larger engines. Program managers hope to demonstrate hydrogen-powered, air-breathing propulsion systems that could ultimately be applied in vehicles from hypersonic aircraft to reusable space launchers.

11/8/1999 UCLA Scientist Awarded Seaborg Medal by Jaime Wilson-Chiru - UCLA Daily Bruin

UCLA's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry conducted the annual Glenn T. Seaborg Symposium and award dinner Saturday honoring John P. McTague, a prominent scientist and former UCLA professor. "For the new millennium we must give birth to a new mode of transport," said Jesse Ausubel during his presentation on the future of transportation. "It seems to me there is no alternative." Ausubel, the director for the Program for Human Environment at Rockefeller University, spoke about future modes of travel, including non-polluting fuel-cell cars, hydrogen-powered planes and magnetically levitated trains. After UCLA, McTague served as deputy director and acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology, served as vice president of research and of technical affairs the Ford Motor Company. At Ford, he worked for more than 12 years to develop technology such as fuel cell cars, and vehicles powered by natural gas as well as creating USCAR, a research partnership between Ford, Chrysler and General Motors. "I feel best about the work I did at Ford to get the automobile industry ready for the 21st century," McTague said. "When I left Ford, 90 percent of alternative fuel vehicles sold in the U.S. came from Ford. I feel very good about that."

11/5/1999  Fill Up My Nanotubes, Please by Mark Sincel- Academic Press Daily InScight/SCIENCE

Storing hydrogen gas in high-pressure tanks is one possibility, but it takes too much energy to compress the gas, says National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) physicist Michael Heben. The other alternative, liquefying hydrogen, takes just as much energy. A number of researchers proposed storing hydrogen gas in nanotubes--tubes of carbon atoms only 2 nanometers across--but they had only succeeded in pushing the gas into tubes at cryogenic temperatures. So Heben and NREL colleague Anne Dillon were understandably excited when they forced a sample of carbon nanotubes to soak up hydrogen gas at room temperature. But their nanotubes only held about one hydrogen atom per 50 carbon atoms, nowhere near enough to serve as a useful gas tank. Now, a team led by Mildred Dresselhaus, a materials scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has boosted the hydrogen storage capacity to one hydrogen atom for every two carbon atoms. They did it by soaking nanotubes in hydrochloric acid then heating them to 773 degrees Kelvin for 2 hours. The wash-and-dry procedure removed most of the impurities that inhibit hydrogen adsorption. And just as important, they found that the nanotubes released almost 80% of the stored hydrogen when the sealed container holding the nanotube sample was opened.

11/5/1999  Titanium Fire Causes Minor Disruption by Cheryl Martinis - The Oregonian

The fire, which was under control within about 90 minutes and produced no hazardous smoke, came just two months after a blast inside a building at the same plant injured five workers. ...The earlier blast was caused when workers failed to heed a computer sensor that detected low water flows in a furnace. The furnace eventually overheated, allowing water to come into contact with molten titanium. The result: a series of steam and hydrogen explosions.

11/3/1999 The Car of the Future by N. N. Sachitanand - The Hindu (India)

...[C]ar makers are betting on two other alternatives. One of them, on show at the BMW stand at Frankfurt, is an internal combustion engine in which hydrogen is burnt with air to provide energy and the exhaust is plain water. The hydrogen is stored in liquid form in special cryo-containers which have been crash and flame tested for establishing their safety. Part of the hydrogen is sent through a fuel cell stack to produce the electricity required for all the control functions. ...BMW has developed such a car which has a cruising range of 400 km with a full tank of 150 litres of liquid hydrogen, corresponding in energy value to 40 litres of petrol. The other alternative, a joint research effort of Daimler, Ford and Ballard Power Systems, is an electric drive in which the electricity is derived from a fuel cell stack, instead of a battery. ...Daimler has already demonstrated a concept vehicle based on using hydrogen gas fuel cell technology mounted in a Mercedes-Benz A-class compact car, which does up to 90 miles/hour and can cruise nearly 280 miles before refuelling.

11/2/1999  Climate Pact Drives 'Green' Car Technology by Suvendrini Kakuchi - Interpress/EcoNet (Japan)

The hydride battery for electric vehicles alone costs some 14,420 U.S. dollars per car. The even higher cost of the fuel cell battery, and other technical issues, means that everyday use of alternative cars is not a probability for at least a decade. ...Toyota has announced a 50 billion yen (480.7 million dollars) budget for developing alternative engines and improving conventional power plant efficiency. ...Noriyuki Matsushima, at Nikko Salomon Smith Barney Limited, a specialist on the global auto industry, points out that the desire to save costs in environmental technology development is a major reason why auto firms are merging and or forging alliances. He points to the recent alliance between France's Renault and Nissan, which he says is based on, among other concerns for Renault, the company's desire to acquire Nissan's strength in environmental technology. Another example is the collaboration between Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, a world leader in the gasoline direct-injection engine that is fuel efficient, and Peugeot of France, to which Mitsubishi will provide this technology. At the Tokyo motor show, Toyota Motor Company and General Motors announced joint research toward the development of the next- generation hybrid cars. ''Otherwise (both companies) chances for survival would be low,'' Matshushima says in a report published in June. ...Roger Sherifler, an expert on the Japanese motor industry, observes that at this juncture, the auto industry tends to follow one of two lines of reasoning. ''One held by Toyota advocates an across-the-board move toward environmental vehicles and clean fuels,'' he explains. ''The other, held by Honda, and to a lesser extent Mitsubishi Motors, focuses on improving the efficiency of conventional internal-combustion engines.''

11/1/1999  It's Official: Honda and Volkswagen Join California Fuel Cell Partnership - Peter Hoffmann's Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter

11/1/1999  Automakers Scout Yolo by Carol Hartman and Mike McCarthy  - Sacramento Business Journal

A partnership of car makers, energy companies and state agencies is looking to build a 60,000-square-foot test facility that could employ up to 240 in West Sacramento. The site would be used as a hydrogen fueling station and for testing vehicles powered with experimental fuel cells. A lease has not yet been signed. To meet the goal of being on line by early summer 2000, ground has to be broken by Thanksgiving, said Joe Irvin, spokesman for the Fuel Cell Partnership. The partnership, which joined hands in April, includes Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler, Honda, Volkswagen, Atlantic Richfield Co., Shell Oil Co., Texaco Inc., the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission and Ballard Power Systems of Vancouver, Canada. Irvin estimated the construction costs at more than $3 million, given the special needs of the facility. The building would house passenger vehicles and buses, plus a fueling station for the vehicles. The automakers would each have a bay to park and service their vehicles and some research space. Hands across America: Each company is expected to staff their operations individually, moving experts in from their research and development units. As many as 60 staff members per company are expected to work at the site at any one time.

11/1/1999  R&D Spending Costs Ballard Heavy Third-Quarter Losses - CBC

The company spent $20.4 million on R&D in the 1999 third quarter, compared with $9.4 million in the same period a year earlier. ...Ballard's President and CEO Layle Smith said the company is continuing to look for lower-cost materials and manufacturing processes for its fuel cells. That goal is reflected in the higher expenditures on R&D. ...Tom Koppel, an author who has written a book on Ballard Power says despite the losses, the company is positioned to zoom ahead in the electric car market. "The Ballard fuel cell could end up being the central portion of electric engine systems by many manufacturers," he says, adding that Ford and DaimlerChrysler are already using Ballard in their test systems.

11/1/1999 Tom Gold, Oil Man - A Scientific Heretic Says We'll Never Have to Worry About Running Out of Gas by Ken Ringle - Washington Post

Gold, who holds prestigious appointments to the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of London, turned his attention to petroleum during the energy crisis of the late 1970s. ...As an astronomer and geophysicist, he says, "it always seemed absurd to me to see petroleum hydrocarbons on other planets, where there was obviously never any vegetation, even as we insist that on Earth they must be biological in origin." ...Working from that hypothesis, Gold's theory goes like this: Oil and gas were born out of the Big Bang and trapped in the Earth 4.5 billion years ago in randomly dispersed molecular form. But the intense heat of the Earth's volcanic core "sweats them out" of the rocks that contain them, sending them migrating outward through the porous deep Earth because they are more fluid and weigh less. In a region between 10 and 300 kilometers deep, the hydrocarbons nourish vast colonies of microbes where all of earthly life began, and where today there's a vastly greater mass of living things than exists on the surface of the planet. The migrating oil and gas "sweep up" the biological wreckage of this life as they percolate upward, together with molecules of helium, all of which eventually get trapped and concentrated for periods in near-surface reservoirs where oil is usually found. ...Chris Flavin of World Watch Institute says he's found many elements of Gold's theory "pretty persuasive" in the light of such discoveries, and says there's much to cheer environmentalists. If Gold is right, he says, the greatest abundance of accessible hydrocarbons will be found in the form of natural gas. Gas is not only the cleanest-burning energy source right now, it promises "to be the bridge to the hydrogen economy in the future" which will be cleaner still, he says.

11/2000  Iceland Goes Hydrogen - e-Petroleum Magazine

Daimler-Benz conducted key research in the 1980’s, which set up a special company with Mannesman to develop metal hydride storage. Today this work is continued by GFE (gesellschaft fur Electrometallurgy).  BMBF has provided funding of DM210 million ($ 129m) since 1980 for a range of technologies including the CO2-free production of hydrogen from water and (Solar) electricity, in particular the development of more efficient electrolyses, as well as hydrogen based fuel cells, boilers, catalytic heating systems cooling systems. Hydrogen technologies and their interaction with photovoltaic have been tested for the past 10 years at the Solar Wasserstoff Bayern (SWB) demonstration project in Neunburg vorm Wald (Which ends this year), and as part of a cooperation projects the HYSOLAR projects in Saudi Arabia (from 1986 to 1995). SWB, a subsidiary of Bavaria’s largest utility, Bayernwerk, launched the demonstration facility with BMW, industrial gas producer Linde, and electrical equipment manufacturer Siemens in November 1986. Deutsche Aerospace (DASA) dropped out after a few years. Overall, the partners invested DM145 million ($ 89m) in facility, which received the same amount from the Bavarian state government. While the facility’s work confirmed the long-term value of hydrogen it also showed that solar hydrogen technology is not yet economically viable.

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