Energy - Is there hope?

Zoomerz

Member
Messages
218
Energy - Is there hope?

EDIT: Link is no longer available.

GM, DaimlerChrysler in Fuel Cell Deals

Wed Mar 30, 4:37 PM ET
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DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - news) and DaimlerChrysler (NYSE:DCX - news) (DCXGn.DE) on Wednesday said they had entered into multimillion-dollar agreements with the U.S. Department of Energy to further the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for the U.S. market.

Reuters Photo
Reuters

Under the five-year program GM, the world's largest automaker, said it will spend $44 million to deploy fuel cell demonstration vehicles in Washington D.C., New York, California and Michigan.

The Department of Energy will contribute the other half of the investment in the program, under an agreement that expires in September 2009.

In a separate commercial agreement, Shell Hydrogen, LLC will support GM by setting up five hydrogen refueling stations in Washington, D.C., New York City, between Washington D.C. and New York and in California.

Separately, DaimlerChrysler, the world's fifth-largest automaker, said it would invest over $70 million in a so-called \"outreach program\" to increase public awareness about fuel cell vehicles and their potential to reduce U.S. dependency on oil.

Through the five-year program, backed by the Energy Department and companies including BP (BP.L), DaimlerChrysler said it would place various models from its 100-strong fleet of fuel cell vehicles in customer hands to get feedback about their performance in real-world driving conditions.

Fuel cells release energy from the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen with a catalyst. Fuel cell vehicles emit only pure water vapor as an exhaust.

Analysts say widespread commercial development of the vehicles is still as a long way off, however. And as a fuel-efficient alternative to fuel cells, GM and DaimlerChrysler's U.S.-based Chrysler unit recently announced an agreement to jointly develop gas-electric hybrid vehicles. (Additional reporting by Edward Tobin in New York)
Shell, LLC huh? Looks like there might be hope if the current oil moguls can migrate their wealth?

Z-
 

Arez

Junior Member
Messages
25
Re: Energy - Is there hope?

....if they used helium3 everything would be fine:p
 

StarLord

Senior Member
Messages
3,187
Re: Energy - Is there hope?

No, but your car sounds like it was made by the munchkins and you wind up two inches taller.

Seriously though, it would take nothing to convert cars to LPG or some other liquid gas. Tokyo has been doing it for years with great success. (Taxi's Busses, Police Cars etc...)

Convincing large corporations to quit selling something they can make a killing on is very much like pulling chicken teeth.
 

CaryP

Senior Member
Messages
1,432
Re: Energy - Is there hope?

Okay kids. Here's a chart of who's using how much energy. We look like the energy hogs. Yeah, the article says we have plenty of oil, but I think we're past the top of "Peak Oil." Just my opinion. We'll see what happens.

Cary

http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editoria.../2005/0419.html


[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]John ? ? ? F. Kennedy 1917-1963
? ? ?Thirty-fifth President of the USA[/font]


?
 

StarLord

Senior Member
Messages
3,187
Re: Energy - Is there hope?

Hey! Great One Again Cary!! For a min there I thought this thread was about more stamina.....
 

BubbuClinton

Junior Member
Messages
133
Re: Energy - Is there hope?

The interesting thing about China is that they were getting their oil from Iraq. Of course when we shut off the oil fields to them they started buying on the open market and drove the price of oil up. I was just thinking that if oil really is starting to be depleted, then this was the perfect time to drive the price up while you are migrating into fuel cell technology. The Oil Companies make record profits while giving a catalyst for charge over of technology. Maybe this whole thing was for our own good. Also, by taking out Saddam you stabilize the Dollar as the Oil currency. Just a thought.

Bubbu
 

Lucidus

Member
Messages
256
Re: Energy - Is there hope?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(\"BubbuClinton\")</div>
The interesting thing about China is that they were getting their oil from Iraq. Of course when we shut off the oil fields to them they started buying on the open market and drove the price of oil up. I was just thinking that if oil really is starting to be depleted, then this was the perfect time to drive the price up while you are migrating into fuel cell technology. The Oil Companies make record profits while giving a catalyst for charge over of technology. Maybe this whole thing was for our own good. Also, by taking out Saddam you stabilize the Dollar as the Oil currency. Just a thought.

Bubbu[/b]

Sorry Bubbu, but fuel cells are not a solution. They require a source of hydrogen which is currently derived from fossil fuels ( natural gas which is also depleting quickly) or from electricity, which mostly comes from burning fossil fuels.
 

thenumbersix

Member
Messages
290
Re: Energy - Is there hope?

Honda have been developing this for some years. Maybe they have 'quietly' announced a breakthrough and the rest have started worrying somewhat. Let's hope they don't get bought out..

Funny that about China and Iraq, China start upping there productivity and are looking like future big global players and then their fuel supply gets taken over ?
 

Lucidus

Member
Messages
256
Re: Energy - Is there hope?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(\"thenumbersix\")</div>
Honda have been developing this for some years. Maybe they have 'quietly' announced a breakthrough and the rest have started worrying somewhat. Let's hope they don't get bought out..

Funny that about China and Iraq, China start upping there productivity and are looking like future big global players and then their fuel supply gets taken over ?[/b]

I know that Honda and others have developed fuel cell cars, but what is important about this question is; where does the Hydrogen come from?
 

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