Teledyne
Teledyne has sold $11 million worth of electrolysers.
Teledyne
BMW HYdrogen
Hydrogenics sales
Hydrogenics has sold 3 million dollars worth of electrolysers.
hydrogenics
EDITORIAL
It has always been my hope that in addition to providing Man's material needs, renewable energy would so sooth the spirit by providing relief from worry over oil wars, atmospheric warming etc. Guilt over energy consumption might be assuaged if the energy were completely clean and in de facto infinite supply. For of course the real shortage is human good will.
In the previous posting, David Mills meets capital and a highly respected partner in Vinod Khosla. They, Governor Schwarzenegger and many others including Australian government officials held what I find to be a most encouraging roundtable on Australian TV. Perhaps I am overly optimistic but I feel there were flashes of human good will boosting the discussion, particularly from Mills, Khosla and Schwarzenegger. This against the background of the Australian bureaucrats who kept repeating groundlessly and erroneously "Coal forever!".
David Mills has a solution for storage of solar heat, but it is not new. Molten storage of heat in chemical plants has been routine for years, and at the hundred megawatt hour level. Readers must judge for themselves whether there is any trace of goodwill increase here. Goodwill is of course the ultimate scarcity.
David Mills
David Mills as previously posted has moved his headquarters from Australia to California and has found funding from Vinod Khosla and associates, reportedly to the tune of $42 million dollars. His new company Ausra is reportedly about to receive a contract for a 1GW Fresnell lens solar plant near Los Angeles.
Four Corners Interview
Ausra Website
Florida hydrogen
Orlando Florida opened a hydrogen station and a small fleet of Ford 450 hydrogen engine busses, the same as supplied to Ottawa and Vancouver. Ford plans 30 busses of this type to be delivered this year.Orlando hydrogen
Denmark wind to hydrogen.
Denmark's first full scale hydrogen plant opens. On windy days Denmark gets 80% of its electricity from wind.
Denmark hyrogen.
BMW Hydrogen
Das Bayrische Motor Werk GMBH (BMW) claims a world first in the running of 8 hydrogen cars down their standard Series 7 production line. In a world of the "hydrogen cacophony" Rifkin's phrase, this could well be true. Rudolf Erren, in the 1930s in Germany converted 2000 plus vehicles, but not on an OEM production line. Quantum has delivered 70 hydrogen cars over the past year but they were converted Priuses,not OEM vehicles.
An OEM car line is a quite different entity from a conversion plant. It it also significant that the hydrogen version was so little different from the gasoline only version that the line did not have to be stopped. Those who have worked on such lines (such as your correspondent) know the dread of "stop the line" - millions of dollars an hour cost.
Hydrogen is merging subtly into the big bucks.
BMW
General Hydrogen Sells Out
General Hydrogen, integrator of Ballard fuel cells into forklift truck systems, has announced its sale to the Plugpower Corp. for $10 million. This very low price would appear to be the abandonment of previously announced hopes for valuations more than 10 times as large. Perhaps it was felt that Plugpower has the capital needed to adequately exploit the forklift business. Perhaps there are worries of the viability of their stack supplier Ballard, a frequent question at the recent Vancouver hydrogen conference.
Should we look to Plugpower buying Ballard?
GH SaleGH Sale
Hydrogen Engine Centre
HEC continues its momentum wiyh another commercial sale.
HEC
Ford Hydrogen
Ford has delivered two hydrogen engined busses to the British Columbia hydrogen highway. These are the same vehicles transporting or politicians in Ottawa.
Ford hydrogen
Vancouver HydrogenShow
As the hydrogen show here in Vancouver wound down, some Hydrogen Now was discovered. The Powertech hydrogen engine pickup truck finally appeared and your correspondent rode in it. It accelerated amazingly and a delegation from Statoil of Norway declared themselves very much pleased. This is the entity that recently reported here bought 30 hydrogen Priuses from Quantum. Questioned about them, even as the hydrogen pickup was maximum accelerating on the Vancouver waterfront tourist broadway(its just like a gas vehicle nothing different) they said that their Priuses had had no problems and they had averaged about 50 miles per kilogram of hydrogen. This is very similar to the milages recently reported from Southern California by Navreem Berry. It would appear that the hydrogen Prius is the spearhead of hydrogen now.
Powertech, building on the success of nine vehicles one to each North Vancouver municipality and others around the city is planning to build a large number of hydrogen vehicles.
The one delivered to the City of North Vancouver will soon be reported on.
The Linde company, now with the aquisition of the British Oxygen Company the world's largest industrial gas supplier gave a convincing presentation of their goal to be the worlds' premier hydrogen supplier. Gaseous and liquid, small scale and large they had examples of their actual installations, not plans.
However, none of their ideas were proprietary at least in the general concept meaning that anybody could replicate their hydrogen schemes with variation of detail. This is the power of hydrogen, the core ideas are old and adaptable.
Ballards Gottererdemerung
As the bridge over the mystical Rhine crumbled in the Evening of the Gods "Gotterdemmerung" so has Ballard in Vancouver today. Ballard presenters were overwhelmed by persistent questioners determined to know when the breathless hype would end and profitability would be acheived.
No clear answers to these questions, many from real developers in China and India were received. How long till profitability, how reliable a fuel cell stack were questions Ballard could not answer.
The Rainbow Bridge collapsed.
On the other side of Canada Ford hydrogen engines move members of Parliament around their Hill every day without incident.
There was no hydrogen now at this conference today only pay us to research hydrogen forever. This is position that Rudolf Erren, Father of Hydrogen Transport, 2000 plus vehicles converted in the 1930s so bitterly condemmed in the 1970s.
All he got was an ovation in the 1970s and a medal named for him
by the International Association for Hydrogen Energy.
He had the whole idea in the thirties. Why can't we do it now?
No link
Vancouver Hydrogen Conference
A hydrogen conference begins in Vancouver today. As Hydrogen Now is based in Vancouver there will be reporters on the ground. Unfortunatly as of today the outlook is poor. Inspecting the exibition hall it was small and mostly Govt. of Canada. A trip to Whistler today and back tomorrow consists entirely of prototype fuel cell vehicles.
Whether Powertech Labs. of Surrey here could not afford the excursion or was not invited will be investigated tomorrow. Powertech is sampling practical hydrogen hydrogen engine pickups such as the one recently received by the city of North Vancouver.
The main commercial exibitor, Ballard, has recently lost customers and their cost projections show not the slightest hope of competing with hydrogen engines of the Mazda or Ford type.
The govt. of Canada has a history of picking losers and the absence of the Hydrogen Engine Centre and Quantum Technologies ,supplier of 30 successful Prius hydrogen cars to south California speaks volumes.
More tomorrow.
No link.
EU Study
To hydrogen and renewable energy adepts it is well known that a small portion of the planets' solar or wind resources would provide more energy by far than that used now. Only hydrogen is needed for storage and mobile applications, land vehicles an the like.
Alas, there are few adepts.
The EU has come out with a laborious study verifying the above simplistic summary. For our not very well educated and timourous culture it is of no doubt very important.
Beleivers of course are proposing hydrogen fleets to capitalists who can well afford them if convinced.
e u study
EU Study
To hydrogen and renewable energy adepts it is well known that a small portion of the planets' solar or wind resources would provide more energy by far than that used now. Only hydrogen is needed for storage and mobile applications, land vehicles an the like.
Alas, there are few adepts.
The EU has come out with a laborious study verifying the above simplistic summary. For our not very well educated and timourous culture it is of no doubt very important.
Beleivers of course are proposing hydrogen fleets to capitalists who can well afford them if convinced.
H2 Chicago
SCAQMD
Direct to Hydrogen Now
Naveen Berry, of the Southern California Air Quality Management Directorate (SCAQMD) has sent results of the first 10 months of testing a fleet of 30 hydrogen engine vehicles from Quantum (QTWW). No significant problems have been encountered.
Usage Summary Mileage Fills(#) H2 dispensed(Kg) SCAQMD 13,067 307 246 Sta. Ana 10,665 128 207 Riverside 8,578 163 124 Burbank 11,589 211 137 Ontario 5,868 147 179 Sta.Monica2,058 68 58
TOTAL 51,825 1,024 951
Miles per kilo H2 averaged 57, versus 58 for one type of fuel cell vehicle and 55 for another type. Thus the Quantum supercharged and intercooled engine is in the middle of the fuel cell performance range.
This demonstation with 30 vehicles is therefore quite significant.
No link.
30 hydrogen cars for Iceland
30 hydrogen engined cars by two Icelandic utilities.
H2 Iceland
Hydrogen now in Las Vegas
The Las Vegas hydrogen demonstration is popular.
H2 Vegas
Wind Hydrogen
The hydrogen Engine Centre and Hydrogenics show storage of wind power as hydrogen and recovery by HEC OXX hydrogen fueled generators.
All this machinery is available now. Hydrogenics owns Stuart Energy. maker of electrolysers since the 1930s.
wind hydrogen
Norsk Hydrogen
Norsk Hydro, the oldest electrolyser manufacturer , 80 years of experience, has appointed a new manager. Can he compete with upstarts from China , India, Brazil, Pakistan, Thailand and Ukraine? The technology is 80 years old. This is one of the go/ no go technologies for hydrogen now. You can be sure we will try to always have up to date info on electrolysers here. There are reports of solar thermal and fission thermal hydrogen. We are hydrogen now not hydrogen 2020 or 2050. Capitalists can earn a return on electrolysers/wind or water power plants and hydogen engines now. It is important to make the distinction.
No reports of problems from the Prius hydrogen engine fleet in S. California or the Ford busses in Ottawa. These are literally hydrogen now.
Norsk Hydro
HEC
Another engine from the Hydrogen Engine Centre.
One cylinder hydrogen engine. 1 cyl H2 engine
Hydrogen Norway
Dynetek
Dynetek reports latest financials.
Unconfirmed reports are that Dynetek is testing 15,000 psi hydrogen tanks.
Dynetek
4.9 litre hydrogen engine
Miasma
There is a miasma in San Antonio. The National Hydrogen Association conference, which ended today, should have loudly proclaimed hydrogen is here, as many demonstrations proved. However most of the news out was about fictitious difficulties in deploying electrolysers and cars. Could it possibly be that there is an oil disinformation campaign? Naturally such a thing is very difficult to prove. Do any readers have evidence? Any emails received will be quickly checked out and posted if at all credible. Reading any biography of the first Rockefeller should convince a reasonable person that the burden of proof should be on oil. Absurd claims however will besmirch our hydrogen now campaign so caution is indicated. An imprtant point to remember however is that oil is the biggest and most savvy user of hydrogen. The extra money oil
gets for premium gasoline is earned by their stuffing in extra
hydrogen into the carbon and oil knows all too well the costs and
means of doing this. Many are even surprised that their car is a 70%
hydrogen car, glazing over the "hydrocarbon" term. There are
miasmas not only in San Antonio.
Cal-BC Hydrogen Highway
Gov. Schwarzenegger of California and Premier Campbell of British Columbia met to further the hydrogen highway and other renewables/conservation matters.
Hydrogen Highway
Mazda Hydrogen Plug In
Mazda has announced a plug in hydrogen hybrid for the 2008 model year.
Hydrogen hybrid
200 million for BC renewables
Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper, has announced $200 million of taxpayer funds for British Columbia, that vision of Queen Victoria, who personally chose the name, for renewables, especially the hydrogen highway. Some of course must go to beehive ovens.
Numerous groups want the money spent on cheap electrolysers and engine conversions, capitalising on the fact that the current BC Hydro electric tariff permits hydrogen competitive with gasoline at the present high rates of taxation. Electricity is already taxed, so no need for more Premier Campbell, you looked happy with the cheque.
Hydrogen Now reminds you that you can get 50 hydrogen engined cars for every fuel cell car and that thay can be delivered in weeks not years.
Hydrogen Now reminds you that you are up for election soon.
BC Hydrogen Highway
Mazda
Another Mazda hydrogen car.
RX8
European Union
The EU has issued an energy policy statement calling for a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020. The means are left to member states. Also 10% of transport fuel is to be biofuel by then. Perhaps in the huge body of verbiage of the announcement there is some mention of hydrogen but this harried scribe has not found it. With the well known and widely criticised tendency for the EU to subsidize agriculture- the "wine lake" and "butter mountain"- it is not unreasonable to suppose that this is more of the same. Perhaps we shall soon read in the agro-subsidy critical "Economist" magazine of plans to turn the wine lake into motor fuel with additional subsidies.
For those in the hydrogen community this is clearly a major disappointment and an indictment of the quality and perhaps the honesty of the EU energy bureaucracy.
However, as recently reported, businesses, led by BMW, have got the EU to endorse hydrogen engines, without any reduction in funding for fuel cells or other hydrogen development. When push comes to shove at the member state level it is possible that the goals will enable hydrogen investors to receive incentives.
In Germany where calls for speed limits on the autobahns are ill received, we may expect BMW and others to press for hydrogen as the obvious solution. All in all there is reason to beleive that this apparant EU gaffe is actually good for hydrogen.
Remember Erren
EU carbon
Hogen financials
The parent company of Hogen electrolysers,Distributed Energy, has filed financial statements.
Hogen
Analysis of HyICE Europe
The European Union has endorsed the hydrogen fueled engine which must make Rudolf Erren, first populariser of hydrogen fuel for transport in the 1930s, perk up in his grave. For his only reward for making more hydrogen vehicles back then than have ever been made since was an ovation at a hydrogen conference in the 1970s. This and many other important facts of hydrogen history are related in David Hoffmann's book "The Forever Fuel",usually only a few dollars on Amazon.
It is telling that at the conference of his ovation, Erren was denouncing the "research money for hydrogen forever" mentality, a stance only too substantiated since then.
It is the job of Hydrogen Now to distinguish what is truly hydrogen now and what is hydrogen later maybe. From the EU statement (no official report at the present time) it would appear,reading between the lines, that there is a distancing from the fuel cell into which the EU has poured billions.
There is the timing. The HyICE study began three years ago, at a time when the continuing problems of the PEM technology began to be widely voiced.
There is the technology itself. No clear plan has evolved for Pem systems to meet the price of an engine-$500 for a 300 horsepower V8.
Then there are technologies specifically utilizing hydrogen's ability to utilise compression ratios in the hundreds. Sandia labs reports a free piston engine with electic linear generator power output going at 24,000 strokes per minute. The device is so simple, with less moving parts than a fuel cell, that production in Chungking, Jamshatpur or Cebu City would likely cost less than $100 for a 100 KW engine. This excludes electronics and drive motor which fuel cells would also require.
The Eu is hedging its bets. There are advanced fuel cells, such as SOFC. They may win in the long run. But it seems to Hydrogen Now that the EU is signalling that as of now, engines are an immediate option.
Wind scale-up.
In a scaling up of wind power a 4200 megawatt transmission line is being built in Texas.
If 4000 Mw fed electrolysers, it would make hydrogen for something like 300,000 cars.
4200 MW
CSP in Egypt
Egypt is to build a mirror concentrator power plant that will produce 150MW for $200 million.
This is the significance of CSP, lower than photovoltaic costs. The Austrailian firm, Solar Heat and Power has acheived under $1.00/watt in completed plant.
Greenpeace has an endorsement paper with details on the Internet
Egyptian CSP
BC Canada energy
A report claims British Columbia (that name chosen by Queen Victoria herself after New Caledonia was found to be taken) could be energy self sufficient by 2025.
BC Energy
Hydrogen hybrid
Quantum has been awarded a contract for an advanced hydrogen engine system for the Ford Escape.
Hydrogen Escape
Hydrogen Engine Centre
The Hydrogen Engine Centre has shipped $200,000 worth of generators.
HEC generators
10000 psi station
U.C. Irvine has increased the pressure of hydrogen available to 10,000 psi from 5000.
A number of tank makers now offer the 10,000 psi capability notably Edo,Lincoln Composites and Luxfer.U C Irvine
Rep Inglis touts hydrogen highway
Rep. Inglis publishes an article on the hydrogen highway.
Inglis
Micros- HEC
Quantum Corp sale
Hydrogen Engine Endorsement
Hydrogen Prius
Mazda cold start tests
Mazda tests their hydrogen engine for cold start. Note that after 20 years of development PEM devices still have cold start problems.Mazda cold
David Mills goes to America
David Mills, whose concentrating solar power fresnell mirror systems have been demonstrated to be competitive with coal fired steam plants at the Liddell power plant in Australia, has moved to America for better business opportunities.
California has had 300 MW of CSP for thirty years, but at high capital cost.
The fit with hydrogen is clear- solar needs storage.
Mills' accomplishments are found on the website of Solar Heat and Power Pty. No doubt a new site will soon rise in California.
Greenpeace has lately identified CSP as a winner in renewable energy. Google Greepeace CSP. They show tiny squares in Algeria as representing all of Europe's and the world's energy requirements respectively.
Hydrogen Now opines that CSP will have a capital cost of less than
$0.50/watt at the 100 gigawatt level due to the modularity of the
mirrors, standardization of the steam plant, which in the Mills system
is not of the highest temperature, permitting less costly alloys, and the
hundreds of millions of Asians seeking factory work over rural
subsistance.
David Mills
Hydrogen Engine Centre
Ted Hollinger of the Hydrogen Engine Centre made his anticipated Wall Street presentatation.Hollinger Presentation
British Columbia Hydrogen
Victoria, Feb 14, 2007.
In the throne speech outlining the Campbell (L) governments's agenda the sum of $89 million was promised for BC transit fuel cell busses and hydrogen refueling stations.
In addition, new provincial money in the sum of$25 million was announced for renewable energy projects including hydrogen.
There were further promises including net metering, vehicle efficiency standards and an end to wood waste disposal in bee hive burners.
The local press complained at the paucity of detail and indeed, there was not a word of justification of the high cost of the fuel cell busses.
Wind Hydrogen Paper
Brian Jackson of the National Hydrogen Association offers a paper with excellent graphics on the wind to hydrogen system- the most plausible immediate large scale renewable hydrogen option.
Jackson does not claim less than $0.04/kilowatt wind electricity cost.
Hydrogen Now however points out that such a cost assumes the usual business plan of today's windfarms- 5 year depreciation and a tax credit, sold by contract to an electric utility.
This maximizes profit in the utility mode. However, nothing would prevent a business from adopting a longer depreciation period to become competitive with higher valued gasoline. The wind plant will physically be productive for 50 years.
Hydrogen Now also notes that published electrolyser costs of $1/watt or more are high. Commercial electrolysers of the Schmidt/Noeggerath type are available now at $0.50/watt, this would halve on a $250 million job.
Wind Hydrogen
Hydrogen Generator Sales
Nanologix has sold hydrogen powered generators.Nanologix
Quantum Hydrogen Prius
The Quantum Corp presents their hydrogen engined Prius at the California Air Resources Board ZEV symposium.
Quantum Prius
Technical Review of Hydrogen Engines
At the California Air Resources Board ZEV Technology Symposium, Christopher White reviews recent developments in hydrogen engine technology and commercialization.Hydrogen Engine Review
Hydrogen Combustion Pictures
Schatz Station
Hunboldt State University is installing a hydrogen fuelling station to run a converted Prius.
Schatz
Linde Hydrogen Centre
The Linde Hydrgoen Center has been recognized as one of the "365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas" by the German government. Linde Award
Mazda Hydrogen
Mazda, the Japanese car company, has been demonstrating the advantages of their rotary piston engine for hydrogen for more than ten years. Now they open another hydrogen fuel station in Japan.
Mazda's Station
Possible funding for hydrogen engine leader
Update on Ford hydrogen engine
Exclusive to Hydrogen Now
Mark Olance of the Ford Motor company provided additional information on the Ford Model U hydrogen engine in a telephone conversation with Hydrogen Now.
He confirmed news reports that the direct injectors were provided by Quantum and that the beefed up valves, springs etc. were 3rd party performance parts of the GT 40 series.
He declined to comment on the supplier of the scroll type positive displacement supercharger.
Unfortunately, he disclosed that the engines, built in Windsor, Ontario , are not in serial production and that only an initial batch had been completed to test the market. Further production is a decision for Ford senior management.
These engines power a fleet of shuttle busses serving MPs in Ottawa.
The Canadian press universally and erroneously called these the first hydrogen engined busses in the world, entirely forgetting the numerous busses of Rudolf Erren in the 1930's.
Richard Hoffmann in his book "The Forever Fuel" cites the hilarious
case in which Erren got a speeding ticket for a bus on purpose
to prove its capabilities to an Austrailian buying committee.
Ford hydrogen engine
Ford Motor Co, Dearborn, Michigan has announced the Model U Hydrogen engine.
Ford's Model U
HEC Generators
The Hydrogen Engine Centre of Algona IA, has sold hydrogen generators to Canada's National Research Council.
HEC NRC
Competitive electrolyser
An up to date electrolyser by Dr Mitra of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission. Note that bipolar electrol- izers are not much different from those of Smith and Noeggerath in the 1920's. Norway made all its fertilizer from electrolytic hydrogen from c. 1920 to 1970.
Mitra Electrolyser
BMW hydrogen engine techology review-Berger
Dr. Berger of BMW describes briefly the technology behind the recent BMW 7 hydrogen vehicle including the various fuel air regiemes available for hydrogen engine operation.
Berger Presentation
Hydrogen Wind Electrolysis
A major wind company - Xcel - is examining storing wind energy as hydrogen.
XCEL H2 storage
Branson's $25 Million Eco-Prize
Obviously, only hydrogen in the immediate time frame can do anything to address this matter.
Check it out.
Hydrogen on the Hill
http://h2canada.ca/details_news.php?iid=30
OTTAWA (December 7, 2006) "Today, Industry Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Ford of Canada, ATFCAN and other industry partners introduced the first of three hydrogen powered vehicles to Parliament Hill in a unique pilot project to test the vehicles in real-life conditions. The buses will be included in the Senate's fleet and will be used to transport parliamentarians and staff between buildings in the Parliamentary Precinct.
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