Not since Dr. Emmet Brown dropped garbage into the flux capacitor (Back to the Future) has raw material to fuel made such a fast transformation as what’s reported in this Reuters story on CNN.com. It looks like researchers are trying make it possible to add aluminum and gallium to a fuel tank of water to produce hydrogen: In the experiment …
Nebraska Rep Calls for Hydrogen Credit
Nebraska Congressman Lee Terry is calling on his fellow lawmakers to approve a package that would promote hydrogen as a viable alternative to fossil fuels. According to this story in the Omaha World-Herald, Terry testified on Capitol Hill that his hometown zoo, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, is making good use of hydrogen: Hydrogen fuel cell technology provides power and heats …
Arnold Pumps Biofuels
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger talked about making biofuels cool and sexy during two speeches last week on the East Coast. Schwarzenegger spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations Board in New York on Thursday and at the Global Environmental Leadership Conference at Georgetown University on Wednesday, making nearly identical speeches comparing the environmental movement to bodybuilding and the need to …
Hydrogen Bus Debuts in CT
A new, hydrogen-powered bus has hit the streets of Hartford, Connecticut as a test of the technology that emits nothing but water vapor. The Hartford (CT) Courant reports the 30-passenger bus will be checked for fuel economy, maintenance costs and reliability and compared to three other fuel cell buses in California: The Greater Hartford Transit District signed a contract with …
Special Delivery by Alternative Fuel
After meeting with the CEOs of major automobile manufacturers on Monday, President Bush spent Tuesday taking a look at alternative fuel vehicles used by the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, UPS, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. According to a White House fact sheet, the U.S. Postal Service has the “largest alternative fuel vehicle fleet in the world. Almost 13 …
Green Lawns Through Green Fuel
Just a month until the first day of spring, and I’m sure after the kind of winter much of the country has seen, many people are REALLY looking forward to even some of the springtime chores such as mowing the lawn. The folks at Toro want to make that process a little greener. This article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says …
VW Highlighted during “Real World Driving” at Alt Fuel Summit
Attendees at the Designing Sustainable Mobility Summit in Southern California drove some of Volkswagen’s vehicles sporting the latest in alternative energy engines including biodiesel and hydrogen. This story on the Italian website, DueMotori.com, says those participating got the chance to try out these alternative fuels in a real-world driving environment… on local public roads: “It’s important to demonstrate that raising …
Making Hydrogen More Mainstream
A deal between two companies could make the mass production of hydrogen-fueled vehicles more feasible. In a press release on their web site, Dynetek officials say they will make seven million Canadian dollars (nearly US $ 6 mil) worth of compressed hydrogen storage systems for Magna Steyr connected to DaimlerChrysler’s fuel cell program. Dynetek officials say the deal will ultimately …
Ethanol and Hydrogen Working Together
The Energy & Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota is leading a project to demonstrate the production of hydrogen at existing and future ethanol facilities in a unique, economical way, providing a near-term path toward a hydrogen economy. According to a center press release, the hydrogen produced could be used on-site in fuel cells to provide additional …
From Ethanol to Hydrogen
The head of General Motors’ research and development says ethanol could be paving the way for the use of hydrogen in cars in the future. GM’s Lawrence Burns told Reuters Wednesday that encouraging farmers to grow corn or other grains that can be converted into clean-burning, renewable fuel creates a system that can he readily applied to generating hydrogen as …