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Irvine,CA test Hydrogen fuel cell suv

Here's an article that I found. A similar one was posted in the local paper today. Didn't know which forum to put it in so here it is

Quote:

SoCal mail carriers use hydrogen car
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IRVINE, Calif. (AP) -- A U.S. Postal Service station in Orange County began using a hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle Wednesday to deliver the mail.

The station in Irvine was the first postal station in the nation to test drive a Chevrolet Equinox as part of General Motors' Project Driveway, which puts more than 100 fuel cell vehicles in the hands of average drivers as part of a large-scale market test. A second station on the East Coast will receive an Equinox. The city has not been announced.

The hydrogen-fueled vehicles are considered more environmentally friendly because they emit only water vapor.

By participating in the demonstration program, the postal service will explore the vehicle's ability to handle the demands of a delivery vehicle, which makes multiple stops daily and are used six days a week.

"There's a lot of learning that we can get out of these vehicles that will help the nation," said Walter O'Tormey, vice president of engineering for the postal service.

The post office operates the largest civilian fleet of vehicles in the country - 220,000 motor vehicles - and is spending an additional $600 million in gasoline this year, O'Tormey said. The postal service relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for the cost.

"That's why we're looking for a vehicle that reduces, or eliminates our dependence on petroleum products, that will create a healthier environment for the next generation," he said.

Letter carriers will fuel the vehicle at a hydrogen fueling station at the University of California, Irvine campus. General Motors will provide the maintenance, fuel and service of the vehicle.

Would the water vapor be coming from the hot air from the car condensing in the enviroment?

The water vapor would be comming from the fuel cell.

And it still runs on petroleum products - most hydrogen generated in California is from steam reformation of natural gas...

That's the funny thing about hydrogen fuel cells: it tends to be a really round-about way of using fossil fuels.

Just a plain, battery-electric vehicle is so much more straight-forward.

Fuel cells are an amazing concept, but if they ever go mainstream, we will really need to find a renewable source of hydrogen for them.

Bust it out from methane from landfills perhaps?

Offshore Solar/wind/tidal powered electrolysis plants... instead of offshore oil rigs

OR, make em nuclear powered.

this kind of thing could also be built into any of the thousands of dams in the country.

Imagine, a whole nation running on water

solar powered hydrogen Sterling engine connected to a generator:thumbup:

ya... get that damn dam idea past the environmentalist !! (sorry had to use the dam dam joke!!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tourigjm (Post 52460)

Running on water? No, not really. Water is a medium, but the energy source is solar, and electricity is far more efficient to distribute.

Another complex point of the current Hydrogen development stage involves the excessive energy expense to store it safely.

workaround ideas to discuss among friends: Hydrogen as a fuel: a distant dream