Do you think the Hydrogen cell car will ever hit the market in masses?

[BP]

Cars, no. No way the general masses will be entrusted to carry around a tank of hydrogen. I think it will catch on with places currently using natural gas though. Fleets like UPS that'll get a huge tax break, city vehicles, airport transportation, etc....

I've witnessed first hand what happens when an LPG powered vehicle has a light interior fire. Regardless of the safety measures that one still burned down an entire 40+ bay shop. Now take a fuel source with more explosive energy than ammonium nitrate or hydrazine and see what happens.

[Ruffdaddy]

Anyone who thinks electric/hybrid cars or battery technology are a joke is well under studied in the field. It's amazing what can be done with batteries now...and several advancemts are continuing to be made. Electricity is a much better means of energy than hydrogen IMO.

[Sgt Beavis]

Infrastructure is the main hurdle but hydrogen storage is a HUGE hurdle for making it practical. Hydrogen is the smallest atom and can pass through pretty much anything short of a magnetic bubble.

Let's say you go to the airport for a 2 week long trip. You park your fuel cell car at airport parking and head off on your merry way. While your gone, that Hydrogen is slowly boiling off. By the time you get back, you find that you have no fuel at all and you're stuck..

IMO, in the long term future it will be a tossup between Hydrogen or electric. Battery technology is the obvious issue for electric. Lithium is in short supply on this planet so Li-ion or Lithium polymer batteries are not a long term solution. Batteries based on carbon nano tubes may be the true leap we need.

But, all that said, both fuel cells and electric cars are currently reliant on fossil fuels. All the hydrogen we currently manufacture is done by the oil industry. Electrolysis takes a lot of power to be effective and the power for that is still largely coming from fossil fuels. There is currently no renewable energy source that is reliable enough to be a long term replacement for coal, oil, or natural gas.

Short term (next 20 to 50 years) I see us slowly transitioning to natrual gas as our primary fuel. The US has far more natgas than anyone else. It will be much easier to build a natgas infrastructure and it will be much more reliable.

Long term there really is only one answer and that is Fusion. Fusion is such a game changer that the entire geo political system of this planet with be changed forever. Iran? Saudi Arabia? Iraq? No one will ever give a fuck about them anymore.

It amazes me that this country only spends, on average, about half a billion dollars a year on this fusion research. It has spent about $22billion over the last 60 or so years..

That ecoboost engine is far from being a true gas efficient vehicle. It just makes v8 power on a V6 block. Nothing good about the gas mileage.

They also make two small I-4 ecoboost engines that get good power with great economy. The 2.4 ecoboost is going in the Edge and Explorer. The Edge is expected to get over 30mpg with that engine.

[mardyn]

I want an electric car with a small on-board fusion reactor (Mr Fusion?) to power the drive motors....

'til then, I'm astonished that the industry isn't moving towards CNG, it's plentiful, "grows" right here, and the existing engine architecture and infrastructure is easily adaptable...

Battery powered cars are still only a fad until some real evolution in battery tech comes along.

mardyn

[yellowstang]

I say go old school, like trains use to be, and give us a coal powered car!

[Chili]

I see car companies focusing on electric cars, but don't hear much about the hydrogen cell cars anymore. I can't help but feel that the battery operated cars are a big joke. Limited mileage and eventually the batteries will go bad. Cost to replace them will be silly, not to mention disposing of the bad ones will cost a bit too.

I would love to see more focus being put on the hydrogen cell cars and trucks. What would you vote for in the future?

Honda has one, I just saw a top gear or some show with that same host on BBC America about it. Fill up with Hydrogen just like gas, that powers the gererator, which powers the electric motor. 0-60 in 9 seconds, and it will door 100mph. Couple hundred mile range and fills up in 2 minutes.

I want an electric car with a small on-board fusion reactor (Mr Fusion?) to power the drive motors....mardyn

That's basically what the hydrogen Honda does, but doesn't supply 1.21 Giggawats.

[jakesford]

Small displacement diesel engines would be a step in the right direction... If the public and EPA would get over the idea, and stop killing development with emission requirements it would really put a dent in fuel economy. Europe has been on the right track for decades in this regard.

Extended range ev's are a good next step. Grid electricity will always be more efficient than an on-board engine, and for the daily commute it is all many people need. Pair that with a back up generator (a small diesel or even better a small gas turbine) it would make the volt look like child's play.

There are so many areas that need research. Making cars lighter and more aerodynamic, requires advancements in material science and manufacturing with composites. Advancements in battery tech, and securing rare earth mineral will be needed. The list goes on and on...

As usual we are behind the eight ball and gas will be $5 a gallon within a year.

[Ruffdaddy]

I want an electric car with a small on-board fusion reactor (Mr Fusion?) to power the drive motors....

'til then, I'm astonished that the industry isn't moving towards CNG, it's plentiful, "grows" right here, and the existing engine architecture and infrastructure is easily adaptable...

Battery powered cars are still only a fad until some real evolution in battery tech comes along.

mardyn

That's not a fad that's called developmet. Just like the first computer didn't use the IC, the first automobiles were under 1hp, and the first airplanes used warped wings and 2x4s as a runway.

You gotta start somewhere and that is whats being done

[BP]

I say go old school, like trains use to be, and give us a coal powered car!

45% of the electricity generated in our country is from coal fired plants, those electric cars are already running on coal by extension.

[Denny]

Amish Caddi FTW

[yellowstang]

45% of the electricity generated in our country is from coal fired plants, those electric cars are already running on coal by extension.

Very true, this way we can bypass the middle man!

[BP]

Amish Caddi FTW

Only if they are free and made in China.

[Denny]

Only if they are free and made in China.

We exceed the weight limits for Chinese horses.