hydrogen

Daimler Chrysler isn't giving up on hydrogen.

Next year, the company will roll out its second test hydrogen car, called the "B Class," to test drivers, according to Nick Cappa, manager of Advanced Technology Communication at the company. The car will be bigger than the current A Class (see picture) and go about 250 miles before running out of fuel.

The fuel cell stack, the part that converts hydrogen and oxygen into electrons and water, will also ideally last about 5,000 hours, about the same amount as a conventional gas engine. Currently, the fuel cell stack … Read more

If you're ready to jump-start the hydrogen economy, well, you might have to begin at 1/10th scale. Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies announced a kit that lets you convert an electric radio-controlled car to get its electricity from an onboard hydrogen fuel cell. Horizon's H-Cell system stores low-pressure hydrogen gas in three canisters. The fuel cell system offers the advantage of four times the range of conventional batteries, letting you run your little racer for 60 to 70 minutes. With a regular battery, you would have to put it on the charger after about 15 minutes. So if … Read more

Your vision of a car of the future may include flight, but these pictures of hydrogen fuel cell cars show that they look as mundane as anything on the road. The Honda FCX stands out, but only in the way the Toyota Prius stood out when it was first introduced. And many of these cars are operating among us, driving in traffic and down the same roads we drive every day. Automakers have put their fuel cell cars in real-world testing, which means they can work like gasoline cars.

At CNET Car Tech, we've driven most of the cars … Read more

Following the introduction of its 2007 Altima Hybrid, which we saw at this month's LA Auto Show (and which makes use of Toyota's hybrid drivetrain technology), Nissan has outlined plans to introduce a car using its own hybrid technology in 2010.

The announcement is part of the Nissan Green Program 2010, which also includes plans to introduce an original hydrogen fuel-cell car incorporating an in-house-developed stack, and a "three-liter car"--a car that gets gas mileage of 100km per three liters of gasoline (around 79mpg)--both by 2010.

Nissan's news is the latest in a … Read more

Automobiles have paved the way for hybrid and alternative energies in transportation, but other vehicles are quickly following their tracks. We've seen trains, golf carts and even wheelchairs running on non-fossil power sources in recent months alone. But one there's one category we hadn't anticipated: toys.

Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies first made headlines with its hydrogen-powered "H-racer" remote-controlled miniature car, which Gizmag says is the "best-selling fuel cell product in the world." Now, Horizon has developed what it calls the "H-cell" power source, which it claims allows miniature cars to reach … Read more

Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off the second day of the LA Auto Show here today by telling carmakers that clean energy is the future of the auto industry. Surrounded by a collection of alternative-fuel vehicles, including BMW's Hydrogen7, Tesla's electric-powered roadster, and Honda's hydrogen fuel cell-powered FCX Concept, the California governor said that it was time for automakers to "get on the train" to alternative energy.

He also thanked car manufacturers for what they have done to date in their efforts to produce vehicles that run on alternatives to gasoline. A troupe of automotive executives joined … Read more

Placing a great deal of trust in a bunch of automotive journalists, Honda let about 20 of us loose today in their next-generation hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles on the Laguna Seca racetrack in California. Only two models of the Honda FCX Concept exist, and we got a chance to put the futuristic sedans through their paces while admiring the sleek styling and high-tech drive train components that enabled us to blast around at 80mph with no emissions besides water.

The FCX Concept runs entirely on hydrogen, has a range of 270 miles per tank, and represents a significant advancement for Honda'… Read more