World interest continues to build in hydrogen fueled vehicles as the ONLY way to change the transportation paradigm. For a global view on Google, visit the following link.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=110024804489189719094.00046f1edce5dbd179af9
93 per cent efficient solar hydrogen Production, Aug 15 2009 (The Hydrogen Journal)
Researchers at Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (China) are developing a new catalyst which can use sunlight to separate hydrogen from water, in a similar way to photosynthesis, according to an article published by the American Chemical Society.
The researchers have developed a semiconductor based catalyst which can use up to 93 per cent of solar energy in the visible wavelength to make hydrogen.
The catalyst is made from cadmium sulphide doped with low concentrations of palladium sulphide and platinum. The doping boosts the effectiveness of cadmium sulphide by about 380 times.
Until now photocatalysts have been developed which can only access ultraviolet light, which is just a few percent of total solar energy; other photocatalysts can only use 60 per cent of solar energy.
The water needs to contain a reagent which consumes the oxygen produced.
ZED COMMENT: As the only energy carrier which exceeds the power of gasoline and diesel, global research continues to advance with breakthroughs in the production and storage of hydrogen as a fuel. Equipped with the Berk-cycle heat scavenging system, a ZED engine typically produces over double the power of gasoline in the same size engine. Hydrogen made from water, returns to being water when combusted, in effect the only infinite source of zero-carbon fuel. For more information contact: corpcomm@zedpower.com
BBC World News (October 8, 2008) For the car industry as a whole ……. electric cars offer no silver bullet, according to Bentley’s chief executive Franz-Joseph Paefgen.
But …………. batteries must be 500% better than they were during the 1990s - the last time electric sockets featured seriously in the electric automotive debate.
Instead, in spite of a string of advances, they still have not exceeded a delivery far beyond 50% more than they did a decade ago and as such are not really viable, he insists.
“We have this hype again,” Dr Paefgen cries.
“It is not very likely that you will see any electric car with a range of more than 50 miles in the next five years.
“It is a dream for the happy few,” he adds, insisting that much of the current electric wave is driven by marketing people cynically building corporate images on false premises.
ZED COMMENT: Until electric can match the performance of ZED, which is to replace any gasoline or diesel engine in any application from car to heavy truck, train locomotive to lawn mower, electric will remain little more than a niche application. Similarly, where some electric vehicle manufacturers claim “up to” 200 miles range, the reality in real world conditions is less than 50 miles, followed by an 8 hour re-charge which falls far short of replacing the gasoline engine.