The first fuel cell was invented in 1838 and this is the tech used on NASA missions. Essentially, it takes hydrogen and mixes it with oxygen to make electricity and water. No smog- just pure H2O!
Today, I leased a Hyundai small SUV called the Tuscon Fuel Cell Vehicle for the cost of $490/mos for a 3yr/36,000 mile lease after all taxes, fees and rebates. This is less than the operational cost of my paid-off Lexus, which put 180,000 lbs of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere in 138,000 miles of driving.
That price includes all fuel and maintenance and the all important Car Pool Sticker for those who travel Southern California highways.
For those interested, Toyota is launching the Mirai in September and Honda has a slick vehicle which will launch next year.
I live within 5 minutes of three hydrogen stations and in the next year, about two dozen public ones will open in California.
The range of my car is 265 miles and unlike the charging time of battery cars, it only takes 5-10 minutes to fill up and go.
Currently, no pun intended, all electricity from the grid involves fossil fuel generation but that is arbitrary and eventually photovoltaic or wind/tidal generated electricity will be available. But since the hydrogen can be made by hydrolysis or derived from natural methane, like cow farts, the dependence on so-called fossil fuels can be eliminated entirely.
8 years ago, on 7/7/07, TA Sciences struck a blow for human sustainability by introducing a stem cell telomerase activator. on 7/7/15, I struck a blow for environmental sustainability by choosing a car that doesn’t pollute back into the environment
2 thoughts on “Fuel Cell Cars – Only 177 years to make it to the consumer market”
Very interesting. Are you open to doing an interview for our blog? See #2 link in my profile.
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