Forbes: The Rise of the Hydrogen Fuel Cell

[nationalize the fed]

Bill Tucker Forbes.com April 29, 2015

I carry a collapsible umbrella in my backpack in case it rains. I also carry a re-chargeable battery so that when, not if, my cell phone issues its last blinking moment of death I can revive it and remain connected. Now, imagine for a moment a device that I could carry in my backpack that would be smaller than my umbrella which could power my cell phone for a week. No, it’s not a battery. It is a hydrogen fuel cell. This is not some pointless exercise in fantasy; it is a very real product which is being sold in Apple stores and Shell stations in England.


The UPP Intelligent Energy Portable Hydrogen Fuel Cell-
Now available at UK Apple Stores

It is called UPP. UPP just won a 2015 Edison Award in the area of Energy and Sustainability. UPP is made by the company, Intelligent Energy. True to form for all technological innovation UPP is already being upped by UPP2 which is smaller and more compact while delivering the same amount of energy. And just recently, Intelligent Energy bought BIC. Yes, the same BIC of disposable lighter fame only what Intelligent Energy is planning to bring to market soon is a recyclable cartridge of hydrogen that can be used to power up a hydrogen fuel cell....


The Intelligent Energy/Suzuki Zero Emission Hydrogen Fuel Cell Scooter

...As part of its Automotive group, IE has a long standing and public relationship with Japan’s Suzuki which makes zero emission scooter that is available in Japan. IE also works with the London Taxi company which has hydrogen fuel cell taxis on the streets of London offering a 250-mile driving range, a re-fueling time of less than 5 minutes and zero emissions. PSA Peugeot Citroën is another publicly acknowledged partner and the two companies have integrated the hydrogen fuel engine into Peugeot’s small vans. You can find details on these projects on the company’s website here. There are other automotive partners which IE can’t/won’t publicly acknowledge. I was particularly intrigued with photographs of what Winand called “the V8” which was his way of talking about a high powered hydrogen fuel cell engine that offers what’s described as very efficient high performance. Clearly, a yet undisclosed European automaker is ready to get serious about offering a performance fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV)...


Intelligent Energy London Hydrogen Zero Emission Taxi

...And if all of that isn’t enough to get you excited, try this latest bit of research from Sweden’s Lund University. The researchers there are working on developing a cell that generates hydrogen in a similar way that solar cell’s now generate electricity. For the engineers in the house you can go here for a technical explanation as published by Nature...

Full Article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/billtucker/2015/04/29/the-rise-of-the-hydrogen-fuel-cell/

[Gregorian]

1. I have been involved with a hydrogen fuel cell project which we just dropped due to fracking.

We finished a patent for nano-architecture that we had been working on for nearly 12 years. We were ready to file the patent and begin work getting funding when we decided that it was better to drop it due to the increase in fracking that hydrogen use would cause.


You really need to find a different audience for the hydrogen hype.

We're now working on energy storage instead of the fuel cell. We're going to be moving electrons instead of hydrogen molecules, which is not the future unless forced upon us like it appears to be.

[NYC_SKP]

2. You're correct. Hydrogen is a way to sell more Natural Gas, a Fossil Fuel.

As you know, Hydrogen as a secondary fuel source has appropriate niche applications, maybe at remote underground sites, energy backup systems, and the like.

But woefully inefficient and costly, with 95% of it's production being through natural gas reforming.



I'm excited about distributed storage, like the TESLA home battery system just announced.

We all know that storage is the key to deploying more renewables, but I hadn't thought about doing it at the level of each customer having their own way to capture cheap power and use it during high demand.

So smart, wish I'd thought of it!

[Binkie The Clown]

3. The fundamental problem with economists is

that they don't understand the simplest principles of basic physics. It's all magic to them, and it's all about how some magical hand of the market will cause things to appear out of thin air. How many times do they have to be told that hydrogen is an energy storage technology, not a source of energy. It's EROEI negative, and always will be. It's a net loser.