All About Alternate Fuel Vehicles (AFV)

20 August 2007
Source: Fuel Cell Today
http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/FuelCellToday/IndustryInformation/
IndustryInformationExternal/NewsDisplayArticle/0,1602,9597,00.html

The 2007 Innovative Energy Technology Developer of the Year Award in the Asia Pacific region has been presented to Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies.  This award acknowledges the efforts of the Horizon team and recognizes the success of the company’s strategy in bringing fuel cell products to market. Founded in 2003 in Singapore, Horizon currently has most of its operations based in Shanghai. The company aims to develop practical and economically viable fuel cell power modules for a broad range of potential applications.
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Aug. 20, 2007, The Associated Press
Source: Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5068529.html

City vehicles are getting a little greener.  By mid-September, three cars and two pickup trucks powered by hydrogen will be added to the White Plains’ fleet. The vehicles will hit the road after Shell Oil completes a hydrogen fuel plant at a city-owned garage.
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August 21, 2007
Source: PhysOrg.com
http://www.physorg.com/news106920683.html
A small pellet of solid ammonia borane (240 mg) as shown is capable of storing relatively large quantities of hydrogen (0.5 liter) in a very small volume. Credit: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Hydrogen may prove to be the fuel of the future in powering the effi cient, eco-friendly fuel cell vehicles of tomorrow. Developing a method to safely store, dispense and easily “refuel” the vehicle’s storage material with hydrogen has baffl ed researchers for years. However, a new and attractive storage medium being developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists may provide the “power of pellets” to fuel future transportation needs.  The Department of Energy’s Chemical Hydrogen Storage Center of Excellence is investigating a hydrogen storage medium that holds promise in meeting long-term targets for transportation use. As part of the center, PNNL scientists are using solid ammonia borane, or AB, compressed into small pellets to serve as a hydrogen storage material.
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Ford becomes the world’s first automaker to set a land speed record for a production-based fuel cell powered car

Source: Businessweek.com
http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/aug2007/bw20070821_746926.htm?

After a year of construction and ten years of research, the fuel-cell powered Ford Fusion 999 has scorched across the Salt Flats of Utah at the Bonneville Speed Week, clocking an incredible 207.297 miles per hour and giving Ford the mantle of the world’s first automaker to set a land speed record for a production-based fuel cell powered car. Powered entirely by hydrogen fuel cells, the collaboration with Ballard, Roush and Ohio State University represents another significant step toward commercially viable hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
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London, June 26, 2007
ANI Correspondent, Daily India.com
Source: http://www.dailyindia.com/show/152444.php/

Greek scientists have found a way to safely store hydrogen fuel in nanoscropic scrolls of carbon for use in future cars and portable devices. They have found that by adding impurities to rolled up sheets of carbon, it is possible to control how tightly the scrolls wind up and hence, how much hydrogen they adsorb.   As part of their research, George Froudakis of the University of Crete and his team carried out computer simulations to see how the hydrogen uptake of carbon nanoscrolls could be affected by adding quantities of different alkali metals.  These impurities cause the atomic distance between the layers of a scroll to vary.
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Source:Duncan Graham-Rowe: New Scientist  25-June-2007
Journal reference: Nano Letters (doi:10.1021/nl070530u)
http://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage7513.html

The thorny problem of how to store hydrogen fuel safely for future vehicles and portable gadgets could be solved by simply storing it in nanoscopic scrolls of carbon.  Scientists in Greece say they have found a way to make so-called “carbon nanoscrolls” store more hydrogen than any other material.  By adding impurities to rolled sheets of carbon in detailed computer simulations, they found they could control how tightly the scrolls wind up and, hence, how much hydrogen they adsorb.
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Power module orders from nine customers include repeat order to The Toro Company for ongoing development of fuel cell utility vehicles
Missisauga, Ontario /April 19, 2007
Source: Hydrogenics Corp. /press release
http://www.hydrogenics.com/ir_newsdetail.asp?RELEASEID=238677

Hydrogenics Corporation (Toronto:HYG.TO)(NasdaqGM:HYGS), a leading designer and manufacturer of hydrogen and fuel cell systems, announced today that it has received HyPM® Fuel Cell Power Module orders to date in 2007 from eight new customers and one repeat customer, for deployment in a range of pre-commercial markets. The total value of these orders is approximately $1.0 million and in some cases includes additional engineering and system integration. Power module orders from three leading European OEMs and system integrators involved in renewable energy applications will be deployed in projects that are combining hydrogen and fuel cells with wind and/or solar energy sources to demonstrate the benefits of integrating hydrogen technologies to create fully renewable, continuous power systems.
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Strong value proposition for auxiliary power fuel cell on board hydrogen ICE bus
Missisauga, Ontario, May 15, 2007
Source: Hydrogenics Corp. Press release
http://www.hydrogenics.com/ir_newsdetail.asp?RELEASEID=244066

Hydrogenics Corporation (TSX:HYG)(NASDAQ:HYGS), a leading designer and manufacturer of hydrogen and fuel cell systems, announced today that it has received an order for a fuel cell auxiliary power unit from MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG (www.man-mn.com/en/en.jsp), one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of commercial trucks, urban buses, coaches, intercity buses and bus-chassis.
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OJ Fagbire, 07 May 2007
Source: H2Daily.com
http://www.h2daily.com/news/

The California Fuel Cell Partnership celebrated 1 million miles of emission free driving. They will celebrate reaching this milestone on Earth Day which is also the eight anniversary of its annual earth day open house.  Many Californians are being moved every day though busses and cars that are powered with clean hydrogen fuel cell technology. Catherine Dunwoody explained that every mile driven brought the state a little bit closer to its goal of widespread commercial applications for the clean new technology, and shows California’s commitment to a cleaner world through sustainable transportation alternatives.
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By Lewis Page , 11th May 2007
Source: The Register, UK
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/11/honda_green_car_actress_promo/

Honda yesterday laid out its future green motoring technology strategy for the world’s media with announcements and demonstrations in Washington DC.  The only piece of mainstream kit in the near future will be a new hybrid car, to go on sale in the USA within two years priced below the current Honda Civic hybrid variant, which goes for $25,000. The Civic hybrid hasn’t achieved sales to match Toyota’s groundbreaking Prius: Honda believes this may be because it doesn’t look visibly different to the ordinary Civic. The theory is that green motorists like to be seen to be green, and to that end the new hybrid will have unique styling.
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