Road tour educates people about hydrogen vehicle technology
18 08 08 - 17:15 Road tour educates people about hydrogen vehicle technologyBy Jackie Best
Washington - Hydrogen powered cars have finally moved from the drawing board to the road, and as tourists on a double-decker snapped photos, I got the chance to test drive two of them Thursday.
When I floored it on a nearly empty street at L'Enfant Plaza, the Nissan X-Trail sport utility vehicle, switched power sources - from the battery to the hydrogen fuel cell. The Nissan and the other car I drove, a BMW Hydrogen Series 7, are the future of automobiles, according to government officials and car manufacturers.
The departments of Energy and Transportation, along with nine auto manufacturers, sponsored at the Hydrogen Road Tour Event to show hydrogen vehicles to the public.
"The idea is to get people a little more comfortable with the technology," said Thomas Barrett, deputy transportation secretary.
Hydrogen vehicles run on hydrogen and oxygen and have zero emissions - the only byproduct is water vapor.
The Nissan X-Trail has a fuel cell that converts hydrogen into electricity and a lithium battery pack to help with acceleration and performance. It also turns off automatically when the car is idling at a stoplight.
The car was silent. I turned the key and was about to turn it again because the car didn't make the usual start-up clamor when Brian Johnston, senior project engineer for Nissan who was riding with me, pointed out it was already on. Accelerating and stopping were much smoother than any gasoline powered car.
The BMW Hydrogen Series 7 runs on hydrogen in an internal combustion engine, just like a gasoline car. It can also run on gasoline, so drivers who have trouble finding a hydrogen fueling station can switch to gasoline at any time.
This car was also silent, but instead of using a key to turn it on, it has an on/off button. It drove exactly like a gasoline car.
Dave Buchko, product communications manager for BMW, said the company chose a combustion engine rather than a fuel cell so people would feel like they were driving a regular car.
He said hydrogen is not only an important energy source because it produces zero emissions, but also because it can be produced domestically
The tour began Monday and goes to Aug. 23. It will visit 31 cities in 13 states, giving people a chance to see the cars, talk to experts and even drive them. The vehicles will travel a combined 24,000 miles on the trip.
Hydrogen is quickly emerging as a renewable alternative energy to foreign oil, Barrett said.
Hydrogen vehicles are already being driven by some people in demonstration programs, but by 2015 the vehicles are expected to be ready for practical use. By 2030, half of cars are expected to run on hydrogen, and by 2050, the majority of cars are expected to run on hydrogen, said Jeff Serfass, president of the National Hydrogen Association.
"There's no doubt about it - energy and the importation of oil are threatening our nation," Serfass said. "We can really reach oil independence by the middle of the century. We are much closer today than in 2004."
In 2004, President Bush created the hydrogen fuel cell initiative, which provided $1.2 billion over five years for research and development of hydrogen technology to help reduce dependence on foreign oil.
"We need national leadership, and we have had it from Bush," Serfass said.
His daughter, Julie Serfass, 25, test drove the Daimler Mercedes-Benz F-cell car and said the car was much quieter than a gasoline car. An educational researcher from Washington, she normally drives a Honda Civic.
"I would much rather have a hydrogen than anything gas powered," she said.
So far, several thousand people have driven the vehicles on the tour.
Hydrogen is a good fuel source for many reasons, Johnston said. Hydrogen can be manufactured from a variety of different products, including water; it has no emissions, which is important for improving urban air quality; it is safer than gasoline because it cannot catch fire, and it is predicted that eventually the cost per mile to operate a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and maintenance costs will be less than current vehicles.
Earl Lawson, vice president of commercial development for Linde North America, which produces hydrogen, said hydrogen has been produced and used for decades in technology such as space shuttles and material processing.
He said hydrogen is a renewable resource if it is taken from water. It can also be taken from natural gas and other chemicals. He said creating hydrogen-fueled vehicles is an important step toward energy independence and economic growth.
Hydrogen cars are fueled at stations with pumps, in a process similar to filling a tank with gasoline. Only about 60 hydrogen stations exist in the U.S., Barrett said.
The vehicles going on tour are the BMW Hydrogen Series 7, the Daimler Mercedes-Benz F-Cell, the GM Chevy Equinox FCV, the Honda FCX Clarity, the Hyundai Tucson FCV, the Kia Sportage FCV, the Nissan X-Trail FCV, the Toyota Highlander FCHV, and the Volkswagen Touran and Tiguan HyMotion. The departments of Energy and Transportation, along with nine auto manufacturers, sponsored at the Hydrogen Road Tour Event to show hydrogen vehicles to the public.
"The idea is to get people a little more comfortable with the technology," said Thomas Barrett, deputy transportation secretary.
Hydrogen vehicles run on hydrogen and oxygen and have zero emissions - the only byproduct is water vapor.
The Nissan X-Trail has a fuel cell that converts hydrogen into electricity and a lithium battery pack to help with acceleration and performance. It also turns off automatically when the car is idling at a stoplight.
The car was silent. I turned the key and was about to turn it again because the car didn't make the usual start-up clamor when Brian Johnston, senior project engineer for Nissan who was riding with me, pointed out it was already on. Accelerating and stopping were much smoother than any gasoline powered car.
The BMW Hydrogen Series 7 runs on hydrogen in an internal combustion engine, just like a gasoline car. It can also run on gasoline, so drivers who have trouble finding a hydrogen fueling station can switch to gasoline at any time.
This car was also silent, but instead of using a key to turn it on, it has an on/off button. It drove exactly like a gasoline car.
Dave Buchko, product communications manager for BMW, said the company chose a combustion engine rather than a fuel cell so people would feel like they were driving a regular car.
He said hydrogen is not only an important energy source because it produces zero emissions, but also because it can be produced domestically
The tour began Monday and goes to Aug. 23. It will visit 31 cities in 13 states, giving people a chance to see the cars, talk to experts and even drive them. The vehicles will travel a combined 24,000 miles on the trip.
Hydrogen is quickly emerging as a renewable alternative energy to foreign oil, Barrett said.
Hydrogen vehicles are already being driven by some people in demonstration programs, but by 2015 the vehicles are expected to be ready for practical use. By 2030, half of cars are expected to run on hydrogen, and by 2050, the majority of cars are expected to run on hydrogen, said Jeff Serfass, president of the National Hydrogen Association.
"There's no doubt about it - energy and the importation of oil are threatening our nation," Serfass said. "We can really reach oil independence by the middle of the century. We are much closer today than in 2004."
In 2004, President Bush created the hydrogen fuel cell initiative, which provided $1.2 billion over five years for research and development of hydrogen technology to help reduce dependence on foreign oil.
"We need national leadership, and we have had it from Bush," Serfass said.
His daughter, Julie Serfass, 25, test drove the Daimler Mercedes-Benz F-cell car and said the car was much quieter than a gasoline car. An educational researcher from Washington, she normally drives a Honda Civic.
"I would much rather have a hydrogen than anything gas powered," she said.
So far, several thousand people have driven the vehicles on the tour.
Hydrogen is a good fuel source for many reasons, Johnston said. Hydrogen can be manufactured from a variety of different products, including water; it has no emissions, which is important for improving urban air quality; it is safer than gasoline because it cannot catch fire, and it is predicted that eventually the cost per mile to operate a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and maintenance costs will be less than current vehicles.
Earl Lawson, vice president of commercial development for Linde North America, which produces hydrogen, said hydrogen has been produced and used for decades in technology such as space shuttles and material processing.
He said hydrogen is a renewable resource if it is taken from water. It can also be taken from natural gas and other chemicals. He said creating hydrogen-fueled vehicles is an important step toward energy independence and economic growth.
Hydrogen cars are fueled at stations with pumps, in a process similar to filling a tank with gasoline. Only about 60 hydrogen stations exist in the U.S., Barrett said.
The vehicles going on tour are the BMW Hydrogen Series 7, the Daimler Mercedes-Benz F-Cell, the GM Chevy Equinox FCV, the Honda FCX Clarity, the Hyundai Tucson FCV, the Kia Sportage FCV, the Nissan X-Trail FCV, the Toyota Highlander FCHV, and the Volkswagen Touran and Tiguan HyMotion.
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