Kill the Messenger - this time the LA Times

[Undertoad]

Honda doing hydrogen fuel cell car PLUS home hydrogen generation.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Don't hold your breath. They've got a long, long way to go before that's going to happen around here.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Don't hold your breath. They've got a long, long way to go before that's going to happen around here.

Not really. It's the same as with the hybrids. An innovative Japanese manufacturer builds the first commercially viable models, licenses the technology, and drags the American manufacturers kicking and screaming into the marketplace.

Toyota had the first commercially available hybrid in the US, followed by Honda.

American manufacturers haved been working with fuel cells. There are even buses in the US running on fuel cells. I still own stock in Ballard Power, which has gone from $3 to $150 and back down to about $6. It is the company that was partnered with Ford.

The founder of the company has started a venture to attempt to build the infrastructure in the US and Canada. It is one of GM's Advanced Technology Partners. It just seems odd that with all of these partners, and with concept vehicles already being built, the Japanese are still going to beat GM to the market.

[Griff]

BAE North America is working with Daimler Chrysler on their hybrid bus. Some of the work is being done in Johnson City.
At the heart of the Orion VII hybrid bus is the HybriDriveTM propulsion system provided by BAE Systems. The system propels the bus with a single electric motor that is powered by a diesel-driven generator and an energy storage unit. Among the system's benefits:
The engine is smaller than that used in conventional buses and runs at optimum speed for clean operation and efficiency.
The design offers quicker acceleration, helping drivers merge into heavy traffic.
Customers enjoy a quieter ride than on a conventional diesel bus.
The system design eliminates the transmission, thereby removing a major maintenance item on vehicles operated in heavy stop-and-go conditions.
A regenerative braking system uses the drive motor to slow the bus, effectively turning the motor into a generator to help recharge the energy storage system. This feature saves energy and also reduces brake wear by about one-third, reducing the frequency of brake maintenance.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by richlevy

Not really. It's the same as with the hybrids.

Bullshit. It's not the same as hybrids. H-Y-D-R-O-G-E-N!
Where you gonna get it? It takes a ton of energy to get hydrogen from anywhere. They're using natural gas and that's not cheap or plentiful. Getting it from water is even more expensive. Then you've got to distribute it.
Like I said, "Don't hold your breath. They've got a long, long way to go before that's going to happen around here."

Hybrids are viable right now, but this Honda/Hydrogen deal is way off, if ever, for this country.

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Honda doing hydrogen fuel cell car PLUS home hydrogen generation.

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Don't hold your breath. They've got a long, long way to go before that's going to happen around here.

This summer!

http://www.portfolio.com/news-market...l-Cell-Vehicle

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

This summer!

http://www.portfolio.com/news-market...l-Cell-Vehicle

Honda won’t disclose marketing plans, but several dozen California drivers are being tapped to sign $600-a-month leases. At the pump, hydrogen fuel costs roughly the same as gasoline, but there are only 66 operational hydrogen gas stations in the U.S. (19 in the Los Angeles area). So Honda is developing the Home Energy Station, a hydrogen pump for garages (which uses a process critics say releases greenhouse gases).

Not around here.