|
|
|
| COMPANIES| FUEL CELL NEWS |News Highlights(Members) /Non-Members|CHARTS| | Selected Fuel Cell News &Quotes | Video| Patents|Supplemental News Page(Members) /Non-Members| How A Fuel Cell Works /Just the Basics| | Conferences| July 11th 2002
|
| Methanol:GM
gives up development of methanol-based fuel-cell car
TOKYO, July 11 Kyodo - U.S. car giant General Motors Corp. has ggiven up a plan to commercialize a fuel-cell motor vehicle powered by hydrogen generated from methanol, a company official said Thursday July 11th 2002.
Hybrid: Toyota plans limited selling of a fuel-cell hybrid passenger vehicle in Japan and the US from around the end of this year. The launch reflects the successful outcome of a full year of public road testing in both countries of the FCHV-4, a fuel-cell hybridvehicle. Toyota is expecting full-scale sale of fuel cell vehicles to begin in 2010.
BMW'S HYDROGEN PLANS: BMW will introduce a hydrogen-powered 7-series in Germanybetween 2008 and 2010. Its internal combustion engine will use either petrol or super-cold liquid hydrogen. The dual fuel system will allow a 745 to travel about 180 miles (290 km) on hydrogen alone and another 400 miles (645 km) on petrol. BMW's Future Powertrain boss, Franz-Josef Wetzel, says this system has been adopted because there are likely to be few hydrogen fuelling points.
FC-Ship's(David Tinsley ):A PILOT research study into the use of fuel cell technology in commercial shipping has been launched with more than 50% funding support from the European Union. The EU has committed E1.40m (Dollars 1.38m ). The research study is intended to define the basis for the development of fuel cell systems for merchant ships. FC-Ship's short and
medium-term remits are to determine demand for such systems in both propulsion
and auxiliary applications, evaluate safety and operational demands, and
assess both the economic and environmental scope for the technology in
waterborne transport. The
FC-Ships is co-ordinated by the Norwegian Shipowners' Association, and the co-operation partners include power systems supplier and engine manufacturer MTU Friedrichshafen, shipbuilder Fincantieri, and classification societies Det Norske Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd, Lloyd's Register and Registro Italiano Navale. A substantial number of universities and research institutes are among the participants, while the Norwegian input includes two shipoperators, Knutsen OAS Shipping and Color Line. A 39 ft pleasure craft,
Hydra, provided a demonstration platform in 2001 at various points on European
inland waterways for an alkaline fuel cell system developed by the German
firm Etaing. Also, a phosphoric acid-type plant has reportedly been installed
in a boat used on
In Europe, a milestone application of FC technology is the 212-class of submarines designed by Howaldtswerke Deutsche-Werft. The first such diesel-electric submarine was launched at HDW's Kiel yard in March 2002, incorporating a Siemens 250 kW hydrogen/oxygen PEM (proton exchange membrane) type fuel cell as part of a hybrid power and propulsion system. HDW is working on a methanol reformer for a future generation of submarine FC systems. HDW and also MTU are developing systems for potential civil marine application. In fact, MTU has included commercial vessel FC systems as part of its product development strategy. A variant of the PEM-type cell provides the basis for MTU's endeavours to offer the marine sector a competitive fuel cell powering option. This would be a derivative of the PEM-FC being developed for cars by MTU parent DaimlerChrysler in conjunction with Canadian specialist Ballard Power Systems. Elsewhere in Germany, a project is under way to design a remote-operated vehicle which would be powered by a PEM cell. The initiative has attracted funding support from the German Ministry of Research, and is scheduled to reach the test stage with a technology demonstrator in 2003. Last year, Germanischer Lloyd started formulating guidelines for the use of fuel cells aboard ships and boats, and plans to publish these during 2002. It has recently established a strategic research group to undertake certification and classification work for fuel cell systems and related components such as storage, transfer and process equipment.
Honda to Launch Fuel Cell Car as Early as Late 2002: Honda Motor Co. President Hiroyuki Yoshino suggested on July 10th, that the company will release a fuel cell vehicle possibly by the end of the year. Yoshino said the timing of Honda's market launch of a fuel cell vehicle will not be so different from that of Toyota Motor Corp. Toyota announced earlier in the month that it will start marketing a fuel cell passenger car in Japan and the United States in late 2002. Honda, which has been conducting public-road testing of a fuel cell vehicle in Japan and theUnited States, previously said that its market launch of the vehicle would be in 2003. Yoshino emphasized at a press conference that development is making steady progress and the company has been making efforts to front-load the schedule. But at the same time,
he indicated there is flexibility over the end-of-year release target,
saying that the project has a long way to go and it is not a matter of
a day or two.
|
|
|
|
