Water Power!

[632 Regal]

One thing for certain ... if it starts growing legs ... you can bet that there will be bazzilions of dollars being spend by the big oil and electric companies to stiffle its use in vehicles. You'll hear plenty about the volitility of hydrogen ... scare tactics no doubt will abound. And then what ... $3.00/gallon water? Oil is a huge business and when there are billions of dollars at stake and hunderd of thousands of jobs .. the fight will get VERY dirty and then soon thereafter

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I'd like to see his electric bill after separating the water into hydrogen gas. Funny they never mentioned that it costs more to drive his car with H20 than gasoline at $3/gal. They'd hate to ruin a good news story with the facts.

[Hallmark]

They had a press release a few months back. It will be a dual fuel model. You fill it with hydrogen and that tank will run it for a little less than 200 miles. Then you flip a switch and the gasoline on board will run it another 300 or so.

They said BMW plans to start marketing the thing in 2008.

On a related note, a group has found a way to store hydrogen in a porous solid much the same way acetylene is stored now.

[rob101]

might like to point out that something like 90% of the hydrogen that is produces is extracted from fossil fuels, so basically the environmental benefits from the hydrogen economy are ********, they just push the emissions down the line to the power stations instead of your car. And if you were to get Hydrogen from water the amounts of power you'd need would make it more like a "nuclear fission powered hydrogen economy". not that we care, come get your uranium americans and chinese plenty of it to dig up over here.
the greenies will kill us all because if the greenhouse effect is true the only socially and environmentally sound source of power will be nuclear fission. since every time you suggest putting wind turbines anywhere all the locals get an accute attack of not in my backyard syndrome.

[Jay 535i]

the only socially and environmentally sound source of power will be nuclear fission.

Ford's engineers are waaay ahead of you:

[Rustam]

but the energy to split it comes from?

Electricity... via electrolisys. They say that his process of electrolysis is "unique" so i dont know how he does that.

Essentially h2o can be split to hydrogen and oxygen by submerging two contacts into a container of water mixed with salt and application of voltage.

Some dude on the internet sold specially designed canisters for automotive application under the premise of increase in MPG. Hydrogen - flammable gas, Oxygen - gas aiding combustion.

I believe that its possible to significantly increase MPG by basic electrolysis.

[Rustam]

To get the hydrogen from the water requires as much energy as you will get burning it back.

Javier

Which you've got to admit is a very efficient process, if it is only so. VIrtually all the time some energy is lost in transfer.

[Rustam]

a neat idea but as you pointed out, old news. Hydrogen burns a lot cleaner but a combustion engine is so ridiculously inefficient that almost worthless unless your a member of green peace. Although one should gain a considerable HP increase burning straight Hydrogen. Its too bad that ford doesn’t have a stainless exhaust or ceramic coatings too...

Im not trying to come off as some jerk saying H2 isnt the future because its the exact opposite. It is genious medium for transfering our energy but the problem has been sience the 60's, where on this earth are we going to find all that electricity?

well, if he can cover 100 miles using a few ounces of water I accept the setup as "efficient enough"

[Rustam]

There are two problems which will make hydrogen never work as we currently understand it.
1, you cant make hydrogen
meaning, it results in a net energy loss. You have to use huge amounts of electricity to split it up. then once you have the gas, do you drive around with a hot air ballon on your roof full of H? no, you compress it into a tank or even liquid H. This compression takes stacks more energy finally pushing H to crappyness. There was a guy in QLD charging his massive car batteries overnight to split the H on the fly to power his 5L v8 chev powered car. you would be way better off running the batts right into an elec motor to power the car.

2, you cant store H
the mercedies H car had a tank which was the whole under floor of the car, pressured at 10,000psi. range? 150km, what crap
a modern electric car can double that easily + its more efficient, simpler, cheaper, more reliable, less maintenance, quieter and way way way way fassssster. electric all the way gentleman


hyrogen/water is not a power source, its an energy carrier and not a great one at that if you look at energy density.

check these links for friggen fast electric vehicles
http://www.commutercars.com/
http://www.evehicle.com.au/racing_po...ml?openmenu=10
http://www.acpropulsion.com/tzero_pages/tzero_home.htm

i would love to make an e34 a very fast electric

I would never think of making e34 electric. M30 was a big part of my decision to geth this car.

[rob101]

Ford's engineers are waaay ahead of you:

lol
i might elaborate a bit on that statement, i think hydrogen fuel for cars is a good idea, however if the power generation facilities are burning fossil fuels etc. in order to facilitate the electrolysis of the water. what's the point? you're just shifting emissions somewhere else rather than reducing them significantly.

[Rustam]

Electricity that can be charged back into the power source.

Idonno, I is possible and I believe this knowledge has been suppressed.

I believe it is possible too, but I don't believe the knowledge has been supressed. The physics now are not so advanced as to envision 100% efficiency.