[SustainableNC] Fuel cell cars in Government trials

[Sharron Rogers]

WEDNESDAY, 04 DECEMBER 2002 

LOS ANGELES: California, home to the United States' toughest smog-limiting
laws, yesterday became a proving ground 
for the first commercial cars to run on pollution-free fuel cells. 


Japan's top two automakers - Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor - delivered a
handful of market-ready models employing fuel cells, which emit only water
vapor, in California as well as Japan. 


Toyota will lease six zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell sport utility
vehicles - under development for 10 years - to University of California
campuses at Irvine and Davis, while Honda delivered one of a planned five
FCX fuel cell cars to the city of Los Angeles. Earlier yesterday, the
companies delivered fuel cell vehicles to several Japanese government
ministries. 


Each Toyota SUV will be leased to the universities for 30 months for around
$US10,000 ($NZ20,300) a month, while the Honda lease payments are a
comparative bargain at $US500 a month. 


"We are talking about a lot of technology and a lot of research. These are
truly revolutionary products - they are not yet cars that will be driven
daily," Press said. Honda, however, is seeking "real world feedback" on its
FCX cars. "We don't want people to be afraid to drive it," said Art Garner,
a spokesman for American Honda Motor Co. Hahn said city employees will use
the fuel cell cars on a day-to-day basis, just like any other pool vehicle. 


The hydrogen-based fuel cell, which generates electricity to power the car,
has long been the best hope for replacing the pollution-making internal
combustion engine, but experts say the technology is still a far-off dream
for ordinary drivers. 


Fuel cells, first used during the Apollo moon project in the 1960s, mix
hydrogen and oxygen from air using an electrochemical process to produce
electricity. Commercialisation is expected to take at least 10 years since
the technology requires a big investment in an infrastructure of hydrogen
fueling stations. 


"There are no hydrogen fuel stations today," Press said. Toyota did announce
a partnership with Stuart Energy Systems , makers of a mobile refueling
station, and Honda has contracted with Air Products and Chemicals Inc.In
addition, the petroleum industry is aware of the need to begin switching to
hydrogen-based fuel, Press said. 


Cost and consumer acceptance are other big hurdles on the road to mass
production. 


The Honda has a driving range of 274km, while the Toyota has a 290 km range
- limited, but still quite a bit higher than the 160km range of
zero-emission cars powered by electric batteries. 


Despite great strides in fuel economy, vehicles running on fossil fuels
still emit a tenth of the man-made carbon dioxide that, in addition to smog,
has been blamed for global warming and other abnormal climate patterns. 


"You have to consider the full cost of petroleum-based fuels - they aren't
renewable, they are depleting the earth and they are the basis for
geopolitical problems," Press said. 


Earlier this year, despite opposition from carmakers, California passed the
nation's first law limiting emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases from
cars. It calls for all cars sold in the state to have near-zero emissions by
2009. With the state making up some 10 per cent of the national auto market,
some believe the new legislation could become a national model - as happened
with laws mandating catalytic converters and lead-free gasoline - that will
push auto makers to devise new ways to make cars and trucks run cleaner. 


Honda said it plans to release about 30 of its four-seater FCX cars in Japan
and the United States over the next two or three years, but has no plans for
mass marketing. 

Full story:   http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2129447a7693,00.html
<http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2129447a7693,00.html>   
 





Sharron Rogers
Environmental Sustainability Coordinator
NC Division of Pollution Prevention
919.715.6526
 <mailto:sharron.rogers at ncmail.net> sharron.rogers at ncmail.net     
 <http://www.sustainablenc.org/> www.SustainableNC.org   
 



 
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