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Technology Stocks : Ballard Power -world leader zero-emission PEM fuel cells -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scoobah who wrote (5457)	8/1/2001 7:26:19 PM
From: riposte	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5827

Honda Opens First Los Angeles-Area Hydrogen Fuel Station Fuel Station Of The Future Uses Solar Power From hondanews.com Honda Opens First Los Angeles-Area Hydrogen Fuel Station Fuel Station Of The Future Uses Solar Power Torrance, CA 07/10/2001 -- TORRANCE, Calif., July 10 -- The first hydrogen production and fueling station in the Los Angeles area has started operation at Honda's research and development center in Torrance, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today. The state-of-the-art station is part of Hondas ongoing research into renewable energy. It will support the Companys fuel cell vehicle development program and will be used for hydrogen production, storage and fueling. The station uses solar power to extract hydrogen from water, and also has back-up electrical power to increase the hydrogen production capacity. Available solar power can produce enough hydrogen to drive a single fuel cell vehicle for a year. Fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen fuel have tremendous potential to contribute to the goals of sustainable transportation systems and the use of renewable energy, said Ben Knight, Honda R&D Americas, Inc. vice president. The development of a hydrogen fuel infrastructure is as important as the development of the vehicles themselves, Knight said. This is the first hydrogen station established by an auto maker to use solar energy to extract hydrogen from water and it will help verify more efficient hydrogen production methods as well as help us solve the challenges involved with hydrogen production and fueling stations for the future. Hondas hydrogen station is a unique design, with features designed to provide safe, efficient, and convenient refueling for fuel cell vehicles. Safety was a top priority in the development of the station. Honda engineers worked closely with the City of Torrance representatives during planning and construction. The station was built to standards for hydrogen systems developed by the National Fire Protection Agency. Additionally, an infrared camera monitors operations at all times and the system is designed to immediately shut down in the event of an earthquake. The stations operation starts with the solar cells using the suns energy to produce electricity. The electricity then is used to extract hydrogen from water. A compressor pressurizes the extracted hydrogen and it is stored in tanks at the station. The system that manages the solar-generated electricity with maximum efficiency was developed by Honda engineers, some with previous experience in Hondas Dream solar car development program. Hydrogen-powered Honda fuel cell vehicles have been operational since 1999 and have been participating in the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP) program near Sacramento since November 2000. From the start-up of CaFCPs program through June of this year, Hondas fuel cell vehicles have logged more than 3,500 miles. The Honda FCX V3 running on hydrogen was used as the pace vehicle for this years Los Angeles Marathon. For more information: Art Garner (310) 783-3163 Andy Boyd (313) 964-5676 John Watts (212) 355-9191 AH01-07

To: Scoobah who wrote (5457)	8/16/2001 7:06:26 PM
From: riposte	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5827

Doron Levin: Carmakers hit potholes on road to replace gasoline August 16, 2001 COLUMN BY DORON LEVIN BLOOMBERG NEWS SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- General Motors Corp. has made clear that the world's biggest automaker won't be replacing its gasoline-powered cars anytime soon. After years of talk about hydrogen-powered fuel cells for auto engines, General Motors this week said it was designing units to generate power for buildings -- a hint it's not looking to auto sales to recoup hundreds of millions spent on research. The automaker's strategic sidestep lends weight to Honda Motor Co.'s prediction that hydrogen fuel-cell cars for consumers won't be feasible for at least a decade or two, if then. Until a few years ago, fuel cells -- which mix hydrogen with oxygen to create electricity -- were said to be impractical for anything but space flights or lab experiments. Then research breakthroughs made them a possibility for vehicles. In reality, gasoline remains cheap and plentiful. Internal combustion engines have become cleaner and more efficient. And, understandably, the owners of gas stations, refineries and auto-engine factories are reluctant to write off their investments. Still, inventors, visionaries and their promoters keep promising viable alternatives to gasoline propulsion that will satisfy environmentalists without ruining the automakers. While Honda and Toyota Motor Corp. each say they will build a handful of fuel-cell vehicles by 2003, "Honda thinks the internal combustion engine will be the main way to power cars for the next 20 to 30 years," said Andy Boyd, a spokesman. No one can accuse the automakers of leaving many research stones unturned. Last fall, for instance, Honda's U.S. subsidiary acquired a 20 percent stake in a small Canadian company that's exploring natural gas as an alternative to the internal combustion engine. FuelMaker Corp., a closely held Toronto maker of natural-gas compressors, is working on a telephone-sized home unit that it says would run on electricity and sell for about $1,000. Honda already sells about 1,000 Civic GX's a year that run on methane gas and cost $20,510, or $4,500 more than gasoline-powered Civics. State and federal tax incentives for cars using alternative fuel may offset some cost. In Michigan, a Civic GX buyer qualifies for about $2,500 in tax credits, said Boyd. FuelMaker seeks to use the same methane found in stoves and hot-water heaters to fuel cars equipped with modified internal combustion engines. Theoretically, at this stage, the natural gas compressors FuelMaker is working on would let people refuel their cars overnight in their own garages, said Robert Bienenfeld, American Honda's senior manager of automobile product planning. "People hate to spend time fueling at gas stations anyway." Bienenfeld said a Honda Civic powered by natural gas emits 26 percent less carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas than a gasoline-powered model. Other pollutants from the natural gas model are negligible, he said. The excitement about fuel-cell technology as a miracle solution for pollution and energy problems has cooled as engineers learned more about development costs. Technical breakthroughs still haven't overcome the financial hurdles. While automakers are unsure where fuel-saving technology is heading, they need to be ready to sell alternative-fuel vehicles in the event of tougher regulations, fuel-supply interruptions or in case consumers suddenly demand them. Natural-gas vehicles have been around for decades, mostly in demonstration projects by utilities. So far the expense is too much for ordinary consumers. Hydrogen, though clean, is costly to produce. Even if fuel cells someday satisfy the budgets of consumers, hydrogen distribution problems remain. In the U.S., the auto industry's most profitable market, the biggest obstacle to a research breakthrough for an affordable alternative-fuel vehicle probably remains what it has been for years -- an abundant supply of relatively inexpensive gasoline.