DEL.ICIO.USATLANTA
Clean hydrogen power fuels national road tour
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Seven hydrogen-powered vehicles ranging from compact to sporty quietly rolled into Atlanta on Sunday to an inquisitive crowd.
“They’re not what I expected. I expected them to be really tiny,” said Marky Trinkle of Marietta.
RENEE' HANNANS HENRY/rhannans@ajc.com
Ben Xiong, (left) communication specialist with California Fuel Cell Partnership, explains details of the Toyota Highlander FCHV to Todd Daniel, McNair Wagner and Hal Lowery during the ‘Hydrogen Road Tour’ stop at Atlantic Station.
The vehicles, part of the national Hydrogen Road Tour, stopped at Atlantic Station as part of a 13-day trip across the country to showcase clean, efficient, hydrogen power. They will be in Tennessee today.
“This is the kind of stuff I want to see,” said Dan Sibble of Atlanta, who is in the market for a family car. “Hydrogen is what I want to hear about.”
“We have been having a great time with these automobiles,” said Cheryl McQueary, representing the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration. Motorists slow down and honk and give a thumbs-up sign as the caravan passes by, she said.
Other tour participants included nine foreign and domestic automakers, the U.S. Department of Energy, California Fuel Cell Partnership and National Hydrogen Association. The Center for Transportation and the Environment organized this weekend’s Georgia stops in Augusta and Atlanta.
CTE spokesman Steve Clermont said consumers cannot go out tomorrow and buy a hydrogen car, but that day is coming.
“It’s a matter of continuing to make vehicles more efficient and build the infrastructure to provide hydrogen around the country,” Clermont said.
By infrastructure, he means refueling stations. Hydrogen is a gas, and the tanks that store it are bigger than those for liquid gasoline. Due to limited storage capacity, most of today’s hydrogen cars have a range of only about 120 miles before refueling.
Fuel cells powered six of the seven vehicles on display Sunday. A fuel cell combines hydrogen with oxygen from the air to generate electricity. Besides automotive applications, large fuel cells can create electricity for homes and buildings, while small cells can run laptop computers.
Roy Kim, of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, said fuel cell vehicles use a renewable fuel that is produced locally, and most of the vehicles on display Sunday get the gasoline equivalent of 50 to 60 miles per gallon. “It’s colorless, odorless and nontoxic emission,” he said.
The seventh car, a BMW Hydrogen 7, had a modified V-12 internal combustion engine that burns hydrogen directly. It also was the only vehicle with a liquid hydrogen tank.
State Sen. Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta) took the Nissan X-Trail FCV for a spin around Midtown. The car rode quietly and had no problem accelerating around corners. The back seat, however, was short on head room because its occupants sit on oversized hydrogen fuel tanks.
“Four-dollar gas has alerted a lot of people … to look for a new solution to the energy issue,” Orrock said. “We need to be looking in many directions. It’s an appropriate role for government to encourage building of the infrastructure.”
More information about the Hydrogen Road Tour and its vehicles is available at hydrogenroadtour08.dot.gov.
