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Hydrogen-powered cars work but lack easy access to fuel

Hydrogen-powered cars are already on the road, and one company plans a limited release of models to the general public later this year.

The cars run quietly, emit only distilled water and can range more than 250 miles, just like gasoline-powered vehicles.


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  • But these wonder vehicles have a "chicken or the egg" problem, notes the U.S. Department of Energy: very few fueling stations. Without those stations, who's going to buy hydrogen cars? If no one's buying the cars, who wants to build a fuel stop?

    Las Vegas recently signaled support for a multistate effort to slice through that conundrum by building hydrogen fueling stations in six Western states, allowing those with hydrogen cars -- at first, California residents, mostly -- to hit the highway without worrying about running out of juice.

    "We don't have to wait 30 years to show that it will work," said Dan Hyde, transportation and fleet services manager for the city of Las Vegas, which has been active for almost a decade in adopting alternative fuel vehicles.

    If states can show that they're serious about backing hydrogen fuel cell technology, he said, it will attract businesses, investment and resources in the field.

    "They'll come to the table, and I think we'll attract the kind of grant money that we need to get this started," Hyde said.

    How much that will take isn't clear. While the costs aren't insignificant, they've come down substantially even in just the last few years.

    For instance, Las Vegas' hydrogen fuel stop cost about $10 million six years ago. Building the same station today would cost closer to $2 million, Hyde said, and would be one-fifth as big.

    Las Vegas uses the stop to fuel two hydrogen-powered buses and for a Honda FCX that's being road-tested by city staff who drive a lot. Some vehicles also use a combination of natural gas and hydrogen. It's not open to the public.

    Hydrogen centers in California are, however, and that's where the hydrogen highway-system ball got rolling.

    The California Fuel Cell Partnership said the state has 179 fuel cell vehicles on the road, along with 24 hydrogen fueling stops, mostly clustered around Los Angeles. The goal is to have 100 fueling stations and 2,000 hydrogen vehicles in California by 2010.

    In the grand plan, accessible hydrogen stops would be established in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona as well.

    "We're now trying to establish a synergy ... in order for people to be able to go seamlessly through those states and through those cities," said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman during his annual State of the City address.

    "That's our responsibility in order to make sure our planet is going to be healthy for those who follow us here."

    Having said that, broad access to hydrogen-powered vehicles is for the most part several years away.

    Some automakers expect to bring cars to market as soon as 2010, according to the fuel cell partnership. But showroom-level production isn't expected for at least another decade.

    Honda does plan to release limited numbers of its hydrogen-powered sedan for lease in Torrance, Santa Monica and Irvine, Calif., later this year.

    The "hydrogen highway" concept is part of the much larger Western Climate Initiative championed by several Western governors and the premiers of two Canadian provinces.

    It sets goals for emissions reductions for participating states.

    So far, Nevada has not signed the accord, although the state is participating as an observer, said Melissa Subbotin, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jim Gibbons.

    Gibbons did establish a Nevada Climate Change Advisory Committee, which is supposed to report its recommendations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by May 31.

    Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate @reviewjournal.com or (702) 229-6435.

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    anthony wrote on January 29, 2008 07:27 PM: Are you on crack, or just bought? Hydrogen cars ... water cars do not need a filling station. Research Joe Cell. Base your articles on real information Not Supplied by Opec.


    Gregg wrote on January 29, 2008 04:08 PM: I have to wonder what the effect of free hydrogen on ozone layer. One thing you can say without fear of contradiction is that a large fraction of hydrogen used in transport will end up in the atmosphere. Hydrogen can leak out of just about any container. Ozone is unstable. It needs ultraviolet light to keep the concentration at necessary levels. It seems a free monatomic oxygen would glom onto a H2 molecule and not let go. Also, hydrogen has a tendency to boil off the atmosphere and into space. So the hydrogen economy would not be environmentally benign nor materially closed. There's a reason why hydrogen is never found free in nature. Why not leave it at that?


    Dave wrote on January 29, 2008 11:15 AM: I hate to see all this energy, ingenuity and investment poured into personal transportation solutions that merely serve the wealthy elite, and don't change fundamentally destructive patterns. What we really need in North America is a massive shift towards rail links like Europe has, that will wean people off car dependancy and significantly reduces our ecological footprint. Hydrogen cars still mean more tires, oil, asphalt and road kill!


    kenneth wrote on January 29, 2008 09:06 AM: as a civilization we are in trouble! everything we have now is the result of cheap easily accessible oil, without which we would have an 1860 year standard of living. all of these alternative energies won't scale up. the energy density, the investment, the infrastructure are not there. but the biggest reason is that as oil supplies dwindle, how do you keep the party going, and create a new system. if we are struggling to stay afloat with the present energy sytem and infrastrucute, how can we fuel a new one? the daily oil supply is in the neighborhood of 84-85 million barrels worldwide. in america we use about 22 million barrels. there is hardly any spare capacity. in addition the cost of an alternative energy infrastructure would be mind-boggling, especially since our economy is in such a state that the powers that be are proposing a $150 billion stimulus package.


    LeeHouse wrote on January 28, 2008 07:03 PM: What is the cents per mile using hydrogen fuel? My Saturn Ion gets from 25 to 30mpg. At $3 for a gallon of gas, I spend 10 to 12 cents per mile on fuel. I'm all in favor of reducing emissions and freeing ourselves from OPEC, so I would accept some additional premium, but still want to see some real numbers and not commentary.


    douglas wrote on January 28, 2008 05:24 PM: what a country !

    can poster brooklyn also give us a link to get one of those aluminum foil hats to deflect the gubmit brain rays ? does the site have a space for the buyer to type in "brooklyn" or some secret code word, to get a special discount ?

    the metal hat designs i've seen imaged on the web could stand improvement. how about if 4 propellers were added on differing axes ? that oughta further foil the gubmit attempts to probe the wearer's mind.


    CB_Brooklyn wrote on January 28, 2008 03:48 PM: Zero Point Energy was used at the World Trade Center in New York on 9/11. See the following new paper written by Dr Judy Wood and John Hutchison:

    "Anomalies at the WTC and the Hutchison Effect"
    http://drjudywood.com/articles/JJ/


    Also note the two 9/11 court cases with attorney Jerry Leaphart:

    Court Cases in the US District Court, Southern District of New York:

    Dr Judy Wood, suing on behalf of the United States of America and demanding a Trial by Jury, has evidence that Directed Energy Weapons were a causal factor in the destruction of the World Trade Center.
    http://drjudywood.com/articles/NIST/Qui_Tam_Wood.html

    Docket No. 1:07-cv-03314-GBD
    Title: Wood v. Applied Research Associates, Inc. et al
    Judge: George B. Daniels



    Dr Morgan Reynolds, suing on behalf of the United States of America and demanding a Trial by Jury, has evidence that the Media broadcasted cartoons of an airplane hitting the South Tower.
    http://nomoregames.net/index.php?page=911&subpage1=federal_case

    Docket No. 1:07-cv-04612-GEL
    Title: Dr. Morgan O. Reynolds v. Science Applications International Corp. et al
    Judge: George B. Daniels


    CB_Brooklyn wrote on January 28, 2008 03:07 PM: Why are we still using gasoline powered cars? Answer: the Energy/Oil Companies don't want to lose revenue. In addition, they want control over our electric grids to limit our independence. See the following link to learn how "free energy" Cold Fusion was discredited by physicist Steven Jones to keep us addicted to oil:

    http://www.911researchers.com/node/125

    Be sure to check out the link in the first paragraph labeled "the Global Elite had other plans". Also watch the videos linked at the bottom, especially that of Dr Eugene Mallove.

    Forget what you've heard about Cold Fusion in the past. Look at the information above with a fresh mind.


    Art from KC wrote on January 28, 2008 02:19 PM: Go to www.switch2hydrogen.com/h2.htm

    A company called United Nuclear can teach you how to make your own Hydrogen fuel.


    douglas wrote on January 28, 2008 01:56 PM: if the true cost of hydrogen or ethanol, even solar/wind/geo thermal produced energies are for example, twice their currently comparable fossil fuel sources, let the consumers buy what they want.

    same as when the first color tv's came out, they were far more expensive than black and white sets. no one had to buy a color set; some did no matter the cost.

    the gubmit should not mandate some knee jerk switch over to any specific energy source. rather the gubmit [read, taxprayers wallets] might remove the usual bureaucratic red tape with such development. and at best, might provide some siting tax relief for the plants, kinda like state and local gubmits provide such property tax relief to site some auto assembly plant.

    the answer is *not* to add some 50 cent or dollar a gallon federal tax on gasoline to funnel that slush into a "blue-ribbon", fact finding committee. little would trickle down to where the rubber meets the road... to the lab tech with the microscope and computer.

    when through what seems to be a natural market driven increase in cost of petroleum fuels, those alternative sources equate [or even get close], likely citizens will voluntarily switch over. meanwhile the issue best be kept in the hands of private, for profit industry.


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