I was at the Santa Monica Alt Car Show and saw the Volt! I took some video and some pictures and talked with the GM reps. One of them said he knew which battery supplier won but would not tell me. He also said the EPA did not agree to 100 mpg but to 75 mpg.

I also got to drive the Chevy Equonox Fuel Cell car. It was silent, smooth and very fast off the line. I want one.

See my video below of the car and of a GM Rep talking about it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6QWLUEY3Ak

I also got to drive the Chevy Equonox Fuel Cell car. It was silent, smooth and very fast off the line. I want one.

I'm glad you are happy and thrilled about the test drive in an equinox, but don't understand why you would want a hydrogen powered car. Did they say how much a cubic foot, gallon or whatever they measure it in would cost? How long does the fuel cell last? How much maintenance? You do know that by having a hydrogen car you will end up going to a "gas" station whereas with a range extended electric (volt with gasoline engine) you could fill up at home by plugging in or getting power from your own photovoltaics. hydrogen keeps the status quo.

Thanks for the video and pics,good job editing. The rear of the Volt appears to have a decent amount of cargo space.

Decent crowd in attendance?

Hi Lyle,hydrogen at this point will at least lessen our dependance on oil.Companies are already looking/making home hydrogen units ,which can power a car or provide power to your home,including GM.

Hydrogen can be created using coal,nuke,natural gas,tidal,wind, but hopefully/eventually using solar .A company called Altair Nanotech has received grants to try to create hydrogen using only solar for a few years.Imo,whoever acheives this first will benefit most,and hydrogen is the fuel of the future.

As the cost of solar comes down so does the price of hydrogen power.


Check this video out of a guy ,from my home state,powering his house from solar hydrogen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEdQRVQtffw

GM developing home hydrogen refueling device:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2006-09-24-gm-hydrogen-usat_x.htm

Hydrogen would be great as the fuel for the generator for the Volt once there is infastructure which I. It is truely clean. It is zero emissions. It has very energy content. I design rocket engines and it is the fuel we use for vehicles like the Space Shuttle and Delta IV. It can be generated from any energy source and has a much higher power density than batteries. It really is not a fuel as much as a way of storing energy, like a battery.

The thing I wonder about it in the Chevy Equinox is storing hydrogen at 10,000 psi, that is very high pressure. Hydrogen is the smallest atom and is very hard to seal under pressure. I wonder what type of seals they use and how they will keep it in the vehicle.

I got to ride in the Mercedes Fuel Cell Vehicle and it was not as smooth or quiet as the Chevy. I was truely impressed.

I'm not sure if Hydrogen will be the ultimate fuel or not. If battereis can get higher energy storage and the range can get up to an exceptable level then why use Hydrogen? I don't know if it will every be possible to have engough energy in batteries for say an 18-wheeler, but you will be able to store enough energy using H2.

K Man, that video on Mike Strizki's house is great. I see a new project in my future.

Check out his other video on his fuel cell car:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt1uN38EcoQ&NR=1

The volt with Hydrogen will be totally zero emmission, all home grown energy, good bye to petrodollars and our middle east trobles.

Hydrogen would be great as the fuel for the generator for the Volt once there is infastructure which I. It is truely clean. It is zero emissions. It has very energy content. I design rocket engines and it is the fuel we use for vehicles like the Space Shuttle and Delta IV. It can be generated from any energy source and has a much higher power density than batteries. It really is not a fuel as much as a way of storing energy, like a battery.

The thing I wonder about it in the Chevy Equinox is storing hydrogen at 10,000 psi, that is very high pressure. Hydrogen is the smallest atom and is very hard to seal under pressure. I wonder what type of seals they use and how they will keep it in the vehicle.

I got to ride in the Mercedes Fuel Cell Vehicle and it was not as smooth or quiet as the Chevy. I was truely impressed.

I'm not sure if Hydrogen will be the ultimate fuel or not. If battereis can get higher energy storage and the range can get up to an exceptable level then why use Hydrogen? I don't know if it will every be possible to have engough energy in batteries for say an 18-wheeler, but you will be able to store enough energy using H2.

I've got a post about the hydrogen tanks a long long time ago. Basically, the tanks are made of bullet-proof materials like the Kevlar. it is superstrong, super lightweight, more than ten times stronger than steel. I use the same material for fishing when I need the strength against log jams and the ultrasensitivity at great depths. Other types are Spectra fibers.

these hydrogen tanks are used by Jet fighters and they jettison it at several miles high and retrieve later with absolutely no damage.

Just in case it explodes while pressurized beyond ten times its factor of safety, basically it doesn't have any shrapnel mass, it is analogous to exploding a paper balloon. You only need to worry about the housing around the tank in a rare event of explosion, but not the tank itself.

On questioning the 10,000 psi system, it wasn't the tank I was thinking of, it was the fittings and other components like regulators and valves. Those components in stanadard use for CNG are max rated at 5000 psi. Hydrogen being the smallest element can sneak by seals, through rubber. Think of Hellium in a rubber ballon, will pass through in a day. The H2 molecule is even smaller than hellium.

What Mike failed to mention in the Youtube video is that his hydrogen EREV's 300 mile range is basically a once and done range. Even if you could find a hydrogen filling station, you would still need to wait to fill the battery (20KWh) too unless 10KW is enough power for you (0-40 in about 15 seconds and about 45 mph max).

Hydrogen may find its places but I don't see it in commuter automobiles. It will be a LOT cheaper to provide the 10% of today's commuter fuel needs via biodeisel or cellulousic ethanol that will be required once 75 mile BER ranges are the norm. Maybe large freight carriers will be one of the hydrogen markets but I'm guessing biodeisel.

On questioning the 10,000 psi system, it wasn't the tank I was thinking of, it was the fittings and other components like regulators and valves. Those components in stanadard use for CNG are max rated at 5000 psi. Hydrogen being the smallest element can sneak by seals, through rubber. Think of Hellium in a rubber ballon, will pass through in a day. The H2 molecule is even smaller than hellium.

Yes, the fittings should be designed to handle those pressure. After all, when you fill'er up, the fittings should survive those operating pressures.

There is also another early post here that discuss about the leaks and indeed it is a problem. Hydrogen will even make most metals brittle, that's why the use of Kevlar. But some scientists have developed excellent thermal hydrogen tanks to prevent evaporation and leaks for about a week or more, but definitely not for longer storage.

K Man, that video on Mike Strizki's house is great. I see a new project in my future.

Check out his other video on his fuel cell car:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt1uN38EcoQ&NR=1

The volt with Hydrogen will be totally zero emmission, all home grown energy, good bye to petrodollars and our middle east trobles.


Thanks for that link Rceldib,hadn't noticed that. Alt energy doesn't work unless more people get themselves involved. Best on your new project,and would like to hear the progress.

GL

K Man