Hydrogen Cars News & Blogs

This week, President Obama signed a bill that makes fuel-efficient three-wheeled vehicles eligible for supplemental development assistance through loans from the Department of Energy (DOE). Prior to its passage, only manufacturers of four-wheeled vehicles qualified for consideration to get a chunk of the $25 billion available under provisions of the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program (ATVMIP). Terms of this new legislation -- which specifically came in the form of an amendment authored by Representative Brian Bilbray (R-California) and Representative Adam Schiff (D-California) attached to a previously passed energy appropriations bill -- extend consideration to include all "fully enclosed vehicles that are capable of...
Shortly after announcing that its Project Driveway test fleet of fuel cell-powered Chevy Equinoxes had passed the million-mile evaluation benchmark, General Motors took the wraps off of its new Gen 2 hydrogen fuel cell system. Designed by GM, this updated package is half the size, requires 50 percent less precious metals to construct, and is 220 pounds lighter than the hardware currently in use. Now shrunk to roughly the same dimensions as a conventional four-cylinder gasoline engine, the system is based around GM's fifth-generation fuel cell "stack," a core element the automaker thinks could be commercialized as early as 2015. According to Charles Freese, executive director of GM Fuel Cell Activities, "Hardware mechanization has been dramatically...
The largest real-world demonstration of automotive fuel-cell technology passed another milestone last week when General Motors announced that its fleet of hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Equinox SUVs participating in the "Project Driveway" program eclipsed the million-mile mark. Since Project Driveway began in November, 2007, nearly 5,000 people have spent time behind the wheel of these zero-emission vehicles, from individuals to government entities -- including the U.S. Postal service which has used them to deliver over 700,000 pieces of mail -- to mega-corporations like Disney and Virgin Atlantic. Project Driveway participants generally get to keep these midsize Equinox crossovers for about two months during which time they receive free fuel and...
It's not quite what you think. But the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has just passed the first legislation requiring solar-efficient glass to be used in all new cars sold in that state starting in 2012. Beyond literally keeping occupants cooler in the summer, the coincident reduction in the use of air conditioning will help improve average fuel economy and decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. This new regulation will be enacted using a two-stage roll. From 2012-2015, all vehicle glass must be capable of rejecting at least 45 percent of the sun's total heat-producing energy, except for the windshield which will have a 50 percent rejection requirement. Starting in 2016, the numbers will rise to 60 percent all around. CARB data...
Bad boy bon vivant and modern-day master of custom motorcycle and car building, Jesse James can now add one more item to his formidable lists of accomplishments: land speed record holder. As part of his new "Jesse James is a Dead Man" TV show, the high-profile founder of West Coast Choppers piloted a hydrogen-powered streamliner across the fabled El Mirage Dry Lake bed to a top speed of 199.7 mph. The feat, verified by the equally legendary Southern California Timing Association, eclipsed the exiting 185 mph mark for a hydrogen-powered car that was set in Germany by the BMW H2. James was helped in his quest by veteran land speed racer legend, Mike Cook, who provided counsel on both design optimizations and driving techniques. Another key member of...
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