Pair touts hydrogen-powered cars
Last year Tai Robinson drove his Toyota Tacoma cross-country, and despite the thousands of miles he logged, he bought just 21 gallons of gasoline all year.
With a modified internal combustion engine, Robinson powered his vehicle with hydrogen, natural gas and ethanol. He used regular gasoline when a cleaner-burning fuel source was unavailable.
As crude oil prices top $53 a barrel, and gasoline tops $2 a gallon, many like Robinson are seeking alternative ways to fuel their vehicles. Robinson and business partner Ernest Eich spent an afternoon in Durango on Oct. 5 on their Rocky Mountain Hydrogen Drive 2004, educating people about alternative fuel choices - specifically to show that hydrogen power is an option.
They've partnered to tour the Mountain West with that goal. Robinson, of Snowbird, Utah, is a partner in Intergalactic Hydrogen, which sells systems that modify vehicles. Eich, of Telluride, founded Telluride Power, a company that hopes to create hydrogen cooperatives and build a hydrogen infrastructure across the West.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrogen Program, the goal is for hydrogen to produce 10 percent of the nation's total energy by 2030.
Adding 5 percent hydrogen to gasoline can lower emissions as much as 30 percent to 40 percent, according to the energy department. Eich said that an engine using pure hydrogen is a clean fuel source because during combustion hydrogen turns to water, which eventually evaporates, creating very little pollution.
The federal government estimates it may be 20 years before hydrogen-powered vehicles are for sale in an auto dealer's showroom. Douglas said that 20 years is "a nice optimistic timeline." Though the mass-marketing of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles may still be years away, he said it is a good sign that all of the major automotive manufacturers, such as Ford, Honda and Toyota, are conducting research into vehicles that use fuel cells. He said BMW is conducting research on a vehicle that has an internal combustion engine that uses hydrogen.
"People in the transportation business see the limits to fossil fuels," Douglas said. "Prices will go up significantly higher before it runs out. We see those things happening within not too many generations."
Most of the hydrogen-power research conducted today is related to fuel cells because the cells are twice as efficient as internal combustion engines and more durable, Douglas said. A fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat and water. The energy is converted through a chemical reaction into electric power. Douglas said electric motors run more efficiently, but are not highly used because electricity that is generated cannot be stored.
Hydrogen fueling stations are not common. In the West, there are six in California, one in Arizona and one in Nevada. Hydrogen also is available at welding supply shops.
Interest is growing in the alternative fuel source, Eich said. "We are finding that people in the inter-mountain region are interested in fostering it and helping to create a cooperative.
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