New Zero Emissions Mitsubishi Mini

Electric vehicles are appearing in all shapes and sizes.

Physorg.com reports:

"Japan's auto giant Mitsubishi Motors President Osamu Masuko introduces the company's first mass production electric vehicle "iMiEV" at the company's headquarters in Tokyo for the World Environment Day. The new "i-MiEV" -- short for Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle -- can seat four adults, emits no carbon dioxide and has a range of up to 160 kilometers (100 miles) on a fully-charged battery." See full article.

Hydrogen Car Storage Fill-up Breakthrough

Filling a car with enough hydrogen in five minutes to go 300 miles has recently become more possible.

Science Daily reports:

"The system uses a fine powder called metal hydride to absorb hydrogen gas. The researchers have created the system's heat exchanger, which circulates coolant through tubes and uses fins to remove heat generated as the hydrogen is absorbed by the powder. The heat exchanger is critical because the system stops absorbing hydrogen effectively if it overheats, said Issam Mudawar, a professor of mechanical engineering who is leading the research. 'The hydride produces an enormous amount of heat,' Mudawar said. 'It would take a minimum of 40 minutes to fill the tank without cooling, and that would be entirely impractical.'" See full article.

Zero Emission Hydrogen from Zero Emission Energy

Hydrogen technology would be easiest on our climate with better ways to produce it without carbon emissions. The Glenn Research Center is moving in that direction.

Discovery News reports:

A NASA-backed group is designing a wind- and sun-powered fueling system for city buses -- and possibly other machines -- that run on hydrogen. The demonstration is intended to not only showcase a fuel with zero carbon emissions, but to produce the hydrogen in similar fashion.

The project, spearheaded by NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, would use power produced by a windmill and solar energy cells to run a machine called an electrolyzer that splits water molecules into its base elements of hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen, in turn, would be used as fuel for specially-equipped buses. See full article: