Guardian: Hydrogen entrepreneurs at the forefront of the clean car revolution

[nationalize the fed]

The world needs low emission vehicles and governments are investing in them. We speak to businesses that are helping to create a greener future

The Guardian by Jon Card
Tuesday 25 October 2016

Hydrogen is regarded by many as the fuel of the future. Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are emissions free, can match the performance of regular cars and are set to become increasingly available to consumers. Nonetheless, they have their critics...snip

...But the world is crying out for cleaner transport and British entrepreneurs are making strides in this nascent industry...


The Rasa, created by Welsh carmaker Riversimple

...One UK company which believes it has overcome these issues is Sheffield-based ITM Power. The business, founded in 2001, has built three hydrogen refuelling stations in the UK and exports to California, France, Norway and Germany. ITM’s stations perform electrolysis at the forecourt, avoiding transportation problems.

vimeo.com/159917371

Furthermore, it avoids high energy bills by taking the excess energy produced from renewable sources. CEO Graham Cooley says that because renewable energy sources tend to outstrip supply (on very windy or sunny days), producers are left with surplus energy. “Renewable energy supplies are regularly turned off when they exceed demand, it’s called ‘curtailment’. But ITM’s systems can harness and fully utilise this surplus renewable energy to create hydrogen,” says Cooley. “This can be done anywhere there is an electricity and water supply, eliminating the need for deliveries by road and using electricity at times when the price is lowest.”

ITM Power CEO confident of more hydrogen fuel deals as acceptance grows

Cooley says hydrogen is poised for take-off as the major problems have been overcome. FCEVs can match the performance of petrol-powered cars and can be refuelled in three minutes at the pump. Much of the engineering of FCEVs is the same as other hybrid and electric cars. Cooley says drivers can therefore expect an experience comparable to what they’re used to, with the big exception being that FCEVs emit only water vapour from their exhausts...snip

...However, she admits there are a lot of risks to investing in hydrogen, as it is a “disruptive technology”, attempting to unseat “an entrenched, powerful, incumbent industry” in the form of the oil industry. The UK market has been slow so far, and the company is more likely to make deals in overseas markets. “We are very close to a deal in North America that could result in hundreds of very large trucks being powered by hydrogen. Other countries are doing a lot more to get at the opportunity of hydrogen,” she says...snip
Read More: https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2016/oct/25/hydrogen-entrepreneurs-at-the-forefront-of-the-clean-car-revolution

Related: Nikola Motors ditches battery-powered semi, looks to hydrogen
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/08/30/nikola-motors-ditches-battery-powered-semi-looks-to-hydrogen/

Hydrogen = Jobs and green power