It isn’t clear where current energy trends are going. Perhaps they may stabilize or as more and more people suggest the days of the carbon fuel fuel economy are quickly being done away with. Without CO2 based propulsion, researchers, businessmen, and engineers are on the look out for the next universal fuel. This fuel will be the first fuel in the age of the “clean fuel. ” Clean fuel refers to a non CO2 based fuel, which is renewable. The problem so far is that a universal fuel has yet to be found. Here are some of the possibilities: 1. Solar 2. Wind 3. Electric 4. Air 5. Hydrogen Solar Cars have long been the source of hope for green energy enthusiasts, mainly because the fuel is. . . free. The problem is that an efficient prototype available for mass markets has yet to be fully developed. There are some universities and other engineers working on workable solar car prototypes, but these prototypes have been relegated to the sphere of university projects despite the advances. Wind energy may not seem to be a good propulsion system for a car, but it is however a great source of primary energy to infuse the electric grid with. Wind Energy is a solid clean energy instead of carbon derived fuel, which is juicing up the grid now. This will truly move us into a purely clean fuel society. Electric Cars are not only a reality, but they are beginning to take the world by storm. Starting with Tesla and now others are beginning to jump on the band wagon. The sticking points in preventing mass consumption of electric cars have been a proper infrastructure to support the integration of electric stations and other support. This has begun to change recently as more and more smaller countries have begun to lay the foundations for turning over their carbon infrastructure to an electric one. Air Cars are another burgeoning possibility that has become very real in the last few years. They essentially work off of compressed air. The is released slowly, whose energy puts pressure on the pistons to propel the car. Air Cars are almost ready for the consumer market and when they are, they are assured of success. Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars have been around for a while, yet their technology has gotten to the point where they’re actually ready for the consumer market. Fuel-Cells are essentially a combination between an engine and a battery. Hydrogen is converted into energy using ions in the fuel cell. The energy is then used to power the vehicle. As with other clean fuels, hydrogen has a way to go since it lacks an infrastructure for refueling. Despite this, countries have been pushing forward with incentives and plans to build hydrogen stations. California has already done this as well as other areas of the world. Its not clear yet which clean fuel will be accepted as universal. Perhaps there won’t be a clear universal clean fuel, but rather a serious of choices built around regional and geographical situations.
Posts Tagged ‘Proper Infrastructure’
The Clean Fuel Society
January 5th, 2010Fuel-Cell Cars: The Wave of the Future?
December 24th, 2009Hydrogen fuel cell cars are expensive and impractical. So why would we even consider them? With gasoline prices well over $4 per gallon and reduction of CO2 emissions a priority, all alternative fuels and future car technologies are getting a closer scrutiny these days. Not only that, if a proper infrastructure was created, Hydrogen could very well be the world’s next propulsion fuel. Its cheap and abundant. . . so what are we waiting for? What are they, and how do they work? Hydrogen can be burned in a combustion engine or be converted back into electricity through a fuel cell. In an internal combustion automotive engine, gasoline or hydrogen can be used in a dual-fuel system that will suffice until a widespread hydrogen infrastructure can be built. These dual fuel cell systems are much like the electric hybrids like Toyato’s Prius, yet they use hydrogen rather than electricity to supplement the gasoline. In the long-term, with an infrastructure in place, hydrogen-on-demand vehicles can use either a hydrogen compound for internal combustion, or a fuel cell can create electro-mechanical energy and water. A fuel cell isn’t as complicated as a conventional gas or diesel engine and isn’t subject to high temperatures, corrosion or some of the structural weaknesses found in other types of engines. This affords a flexibility and durability for Hydrogen fuel cells. Hydrogen is processed through the fuel cell and combined with oxygen to create electricity. This newly formed energy is sent to pistons to propel the car forward (or reverse if you like). These fuel cell cars promise zero emissions and pollutants, with the only tailpipe emission being water vapor. Fuel-Cells are basically a combination of a battery and an engine making them a very unique advancement in car propulsion systems. Every year more and more efficient fuel cells are churned out by engineers and factories propelling the hydrogen car possibilities forward. Fuel-Cell conventions and conglomerates abound and with more and more government grants focusing on Fuel-Cell and Hydrogen Car development, the future continues to get brighter for Hydrogen Fuel-Cell cars. While there is concern that putting hydrogen fuel cell cars on the road is as bad of an idea as was the ill-fated Hindenburg, experts say the two aren’t related, and recent advances in car technology include development of safe, on-board hydrogen storage systems. Infrastructure and hydrogen highways. If you’re not familiar with the term, a hydrogen highway is a chain of hydrogen-equipped filling stations along a road. What will it take to make it happen? Norway started the HyNor Project in 2006; Japan has several stations, as does Germany, and California now reports having 25 stations in place from San Diego to Sacramento. All of these stations will add to a momentum of change and will hopefully give rise to a new determination to improve on present Hydrogen powered vehicle prototypes in order to begin to switch our fleet of petroleum based cars. The Hydrogen car will arrive even if it takes time: The future is now.
