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Fuel Cells Rush In

Last Updated (Tuesday, 26 January 2010 10:31) Written by Raymond Nakamura

A silver car covered in bubbles passed me on the Burrard Street bridge the other day. On second glance, I realized the bubbles were decals of water molecules. It was a fuel cell car. I thought they were still the stuff of science fiction, but apparently not.

On the Road

I found out that fuel cell cars are here for the Vancouver Olympics. They are using hydrogen to produce electricity to run the motor. Apparently, other fuel cell cars were tested here before. Ballard, a leader in fuel cell technology based in Burnaby, sold off its car projects to focus on other applications as back-up generators and so on.

What's Old is New Again

The idea for fuel cells has been around for over 150 years. They proved themselves in the space program, providing both electricity and water from hydrogen and oxygen.

More than One Way to Skin a Cation

Various kinds fuel cells are being developed now, based on different fuels and ways of extracting electricity from them. The basic idea is that a catalyst takes the electrons from the hydrogen atoms to produce electricity and hooks up the hydrogen ions with oxygen to make water. This part is clean and quiet. The car I saw had four slots in the back with little wisps of what I guess were water droplets coming out.

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Bum Rap

Some people associate hydrogen with the Hindenberg blowing up way back when. This rep is not helped by the big explosion of the fuel cells running the desert hotel in the James Bond movie, a Quantum of Solace. Never mind that. Though they do make for louder balloon demos.

Bright Idea

In practise, a greater concern is the distribution of hydrogen. Although hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, it tends to be connected with other elements. So you need to use energy to get it on its own. Solar power is clean but not always available. Using the sun to create energy to produce hydrogen can be a convenient way to generate electricity on demand. 

Road Blocks

Besides hydrogen distribution, other challenges for fuel cells is their cost, and ability to function in cold weather.

So keep your eyes out for fuel cell cars — you might not hear them. 
And if you've driven a fuel cell car. please share what it was like.

 

Comments  

 
0 #7 Fuel Cell vehicle — Raymond N 2010-02-08 11:58
Thanks to Javis Lui from the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association for letting me drive a Ford Focus fuel cell car! This one was an older model so it did make sounds. After turning the ignition, it goes through a start up sequence, like you're botting up a computer. But after that, the driving is the same. He told me there is a fuel cell bus display at the BC pavilion downtown during the Olympics, if you're interested in finding out more on this technology.
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0 #6 Lift? — Raymond Nakamura 2010-01-28 22:56
Rebecca,
I know what you mean about the attention deficit situation.
Thanks for the offer!
If you're serious about letting me try one out, please contact
webmaster@scien ceworld.ca
for my info.
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0 #5 Quiet doesn't mean unsafe — Rebecca 2010-01-27 07:30
Morning Raymond! Just a quick note to say my comment wasn't intended to raise safety issues with respect to having quiet vehicles! The quietness is just something that people get used to.

The safety issue of biggest concern in my opinion is people being distracted as they drive and walk. That's why we're seeing bans on using mobiles while driving and why we're hearing about the increase in car accidents involving pedestrians. Just last night, there was another story on the news about this very issue. People aren't paying attention. On foot, or behind the wheel.

Are you based in Vancouver? If so, I'd love to get you into a fuel cell car for a test drive, and a refuel. Let me know if you're interested and we'll try to sort something out. :-)
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0 #4 Fuel Cell vehicles — Raymond Nakamura 2010-01-26 22:48
I was in a hybrid car before, and when it was in electrical mode, it was weirdly silent. I actually think it could be safety issue as Rebecca noted with the horn. Chris, how did you get the hydrogen and do you know how it was produced?
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0 #3 Exciting Vehicles — Steve 2010-01-26 14:46
I had the opportunity to drive, and tour people, in some Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles last summer and I can say that they truly are awesome cars. They handle incredibly well and have amazing low end power. All of the guests that I drove just loved and were awed by the vehicles and the technology. If you want a real head-turning ride, this is for you.
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0 #2 Fast, furious and fun to drive — Rebecca 2010-01-26 14:20
I've been really lucky to drive lots of fuel cell cars over the past several years, all over the world. It's amazing to get into a car that looks just like any other car on the road, but doesn't feel or sound the same! I was once taking some kids for a test drive and I asked them what they thought seemed different. All of them said "it's so smooth and quiet!" So smooth and quiet, in fact, that you sometimes have to blow the horn because pedestrians don't hear you coming!
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0 #1 Fuel cell vehicles — Chris White 2010-01-26 14:07
Hi, Raymond. Nice article! I drive a fuel cell vehicle. It has great pick-up, zero vibration even at high speed and is very quiet. A tank of hydrogen lasts me an entire week, and I feel good knowing that I'm not contributing to pollution.
Did you know that Vancouver also has fuel cell buses? They'll be running up to Whistler during the Olympics.
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