Fuel

To make a statement about its upcoming fuel cell vehicle's zero carbon footprint, Mercedes-Benz decided to cloak an F-Cell to make it seem invisible.

This cloaking technology isn't a new feature that you'll see on the next generation of Mercedes vehicles, even the futuristic hydrogen-powered ones. At least not yet. Engineers pulled off this publicity stunt by covering the F-Cell with LED-embedded mats on one side and outfitting it with cameras on the other. Video captured by the cameras was displayed on the LED mats on the opposite side of the vehicle, which made the car appear … Read more

The burning of fossil fuels and the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere don't affect just the air--it also impacts the Earth's oceans, according to U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Oceans absorb the carbon dioxide, which in turn changes the water's pH acidity levels. What this means is that coral reefs are growing at a slower rate and the survival of marine species is decreasing, according to NOAA.

Now, the speed at which ocean pH level is changing is faster than any time in the last 300 million years, according to a new … Read more

By building a wind turbine to power a hydrogen production and fueling station, a little hamlet in Long Island is positioning itself as the bellwether for carbon-neutral transportation.

The town of Hempstead, N.Y., on Long Island erected a 121-foot-tall turbine last December on the township's Department of Conservation and Waterways land to take advantage of powerful Atlantic winds and power the hydrogen and natural gas fueling station it built in 2009. The turbine can generate up to 180 megawatts of power per year, and presents an estimated hydrogen fuel and energy cost savings of $40,000 per year. … Read more

DOE researchers are going to the nanoscale to pack more energy into fuel cell vehicles.

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab yesterday detailed research plans for a three-year, $2.1 million Department of Energy-funded project to develop materials that would improve hydrogen storage. The basic research will include technical contributions from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and General Motors.

Storage is one of the main technical barriers to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Today hydrogen gas is compressed to very high pressures and pumped into onboard tanks, but that method doesn't match the range of gasoline-powered cars. Also, energy … Read more

Startup Oorja Protonics has dodged some of the traditional barriers to fuel cell vehicles, at least with forklifts. In the future, its hybrid approach could be used on cars and trucks, too.

The Fremont, Calif.-based company is in the process of raising funding from corporate partners to ramp up production of its product. The venture-backed company is also profitable, something that few other fuel cell companies can claim.

Rather than use hydrogen as a fuel, Oorja Protonics converts the liquid fuel methanol into electricity in fuel cells. And its onboard fuel cells are designed only to provide a trickle … Read more

I have to hand it to Nike for its unique take on the growing fad of fitness-tracking devices.

The FuelBand is Nike's stab at this segment, which others including the Jawbone Up and Motorola Mobility's MotoActv have already tread. But with production of the Up halted for a battery issue, and Motorola's product still a little-known niche device, there's a big opening in the market.

Unlike some of the other devices, the primary crux of the FuelBand is its Nike Fuel reading, a metric that Nike put together on its own that matches a person's movement through the wristband's accelerometer against data collected on how rapidly oxygen is consumed. As with other fitness monitors that rely on an accelerometer, the readings vary greatly depending on how much you move your arm. Cycling and certain kinds of weight lifting, for instance, wouldn't register much as simply sitting on your couch and waving your hands.

But chances are, if you're spending $149 on a FuelBand, you're going to want to pay attention to the Nike Fuel readout.

Following a press conference that Nike held yesterday to unveil the device, the company took the media on a little field trip to test out the FuelBand in a variety of activities. The following are my early impressions after a day with the device. … Read more

Nike today introduced its FuelBand wristband device, which is designed to measure a person's daily movement and drive the athletic gear company further into the technology world.

The FuelBand is designed to provide users with the time, the number of steps taken in a day, and calories burned. But the main selling point is a newly created fitness metric called NikeFuel, which is based off the rate of oxygen consumption and motion. The wristband will retail for $149, and is available on February 22 in the U.S., May 1 in the U.K., and the rest of the world in the fall. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--During a demo of the PowerTrekk fuel cell smartphone recharger, the liquid reservoir sprang open, splashing me with water. No big deal. It was just water. It could have been worse.

The Powertrekk system uses sodium silicide cartridges from SiGNa Chemistry, whose execs I met with here, plus the water-based liquid of your choice (tap water, pond water, even urine) to make hydrogen, which the Powertrekk runs through a fuel cell to generate electricity. One cartridge will charge up an iPhone about one and a half times, I'm told, with charging taking an hour or so.

The system isn't for everyone. It's $200 plus about $4 a cartridge. Wisely, it will be sold at outdoor outfitters like REI. The pitch is that if you need reliable recharging for your mobile device, like a GPS receiver or radio, the Powertrekk will ultimately be less expensive and more reliable than battery-based rechargers or solar systems. … Read more

An energy project in Austria will use biogas-powered fuel cells at homes and businesses to pump power into the grid.

ClearEdge Power today announced a deal with Austrian energy company Gussing Renewable Energy to supply 50 megawatts worth of fuel cells between now and 2020 for installation in Austria. The deal will be worth $500 million over that time, making it one of the biggest contracts for stationary fuel cells.

In the first phase, ClearEdge Power's large refrigerator-size fuel cells, which each can generate five kilowatts of electric power and heat from gas, will be installed to power groups … Read more