1st Hydrogen Car
The concept of using Hydrogen as a fuel for cars is not something
new. In fact it was the first fuel ever used in an internal combustion
engine.
The actual conception of our modern day internal combustion engine
first started with the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens who in 1673,
published a paper describing the concept of using the combustion of
gases to force movement of a cylinder inside a piston. In the early
1800's it was well known in the scientific community how to separate
water into Hydrogen and Oxygen;through a process known as
electrolysis.
In 1806 Francois Isaac de Rivaz a Swiss inventor took this concept
and developed an electric ignition to ignite Hydrogen and Oxygen
gases inside such a chamber. His designed was successful and he
went on to construct the first-ever internal combustion engine.
This engine's electric ignition system is the basis of what we use in
cars today. The current came from a Volta cell now our modern day
battery and the gas Hydrogen stored in a balloon.
François did not use gasoline, because it had not been developed yet.
He simply stuck with a proven technology for making Hydrogen Gas.
A year after his invention of his internal combustion engine, Francois
Isaac de Rivaz built a car. This car was about 6 metres long car,
weighed almost a ton. The driver had to open the valve to fill the gas,
close it and switch on the current to make the electric spark - for each
cycle of the piston.
First Internal Combustion Engine Ever Built Runs on Hydrogen!
In 1813 ran his car around Vevey, Switzerland, on Lake Geneva and of course
set the first land speed record for an Internal Combustion Engine. Simply
because it was the first Automobile with a Internal Combustion Engine ever to
be driven. The vehicle reached speed of 2 mph.
The Fondation Giannada Automobile Museum produced two reconstructions
of this car. It has been reported that on one occasion this car was driven
about 100 meters in front of the museum for a demonstration.
The driver found this experience excessively dangerous due to the poor design
of the car - it was difficult to stay on the road. This may be the reason this
new technology did not catch on back in the 1800's.
The Test Drive in 1813
Today Hydrogen is being Rediscovered as Fuel for Cars
Hydrogen was much hyped early in the 1970s only to be upstaged by hybrids and electrics vehicles of today, but Hydrogen is establishing itself
as the way forward for automotive industry.
In US auto companies such as Ford and Toyota have committed to deploying fuel cell passenger vehicles in northern and southern California.
According to their combined projections, the number of passenger fuel cell vehicles deployed in Southern California will more than double each
year between 2009 and 2017, when they expect the total to be over 41,000. By 2017, an estimated 100 additional retail hydrogen stations will be
needed to satisfy the demand created by the vehicle and bus deployments. In German the government, along with Daimler and a group of
energy companies including Royal Dutch Shell announced plans to build 1,000 hydrogen filling stations in Germany by 2015 and today Iceland
is become energy independent by moving to a 100% Hydrogen Economy.
So why is hydrogen starting to upstage electric cars who have certainly enjoyed a higher public awareness. Battery-powered vehicles like the
GM-Volt set to release in 2011 can travel a little over 40 miles on its batteries and this range is extended to over 250 miles by a on-board gas
powered generator. However with this limited all electric travel range, high cost of batteries and reliance on fossil fuel this technology really
does not move us off a petroleum based economy. Automakers are starting to actively invest in hydrogen, since they fear batteries will be
practical only for short-range city runabouts and remain too costly for the average consumer.
The future of hydrogen cars is become more a reality than a pipe dream, as there are already many hydrogen cars on the road today. The
US,Japan and the European Union (especially Germany) have many hydrogen cars being used as fleet vehicles and are developing the
infrastructure to support them. The video below shows how Iceland is developing this infrastructure today.
Automotive Hydrogen Generation and Delivery Systems are sometimes called HHO , Hydroxy Boost , Hydrogen Injection or
On-Demand Hydrogen but, no matter what you call it the idea behind this technology is to deliver a small amount of Hydrogen Gas, into the
engine, to improve the combustion of your fuel. As a result of this enhanced combustion you can drive further with less fuel and less emissions
and turning your vehicle into a Hydrogen/Gas or Hydrogen/Diesel Hybrid.
Today Hydrogen is also being used to Improve Gas Mileage
Interesting Facts
Technical Information
