Ecotality begins hydrogen fuel-cell ECObus tour of Arizona
Ecotality, who bill themselves as a researcher, inventor, developer, acquirer, and licensor of proprietary green energy technologies, has partnered up with the Arizona Public Services (APS) to produce the ECObus, a mobile classroom for promoting hydrogen technologies. The 31-seat, zero-emissions vehicle is designed to educate the public about the benefits of hydrogen as a renewable alternative to petroleum fuels.
The ECObus is itself a hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicle which runs on a hybrid system of three HyPM 65 Fuel-Cell power modules producing 180 kW / 241 hp combined with 720 volts of ultracapacitors to achieve the peak power requirements of 350 kW / 469 hp. Top speed is 55 mph / 90 km/h and range is 4 hours at full power via its hydrogen fuel storage capacity of 45 kg.
Analysis: The term "hydrogen economy" is starting to filter into the mainstream but many people are still unaware of how the entire system works from start to end. Education campaigns are sure to improve adoption rates of such new technologies as people become aware of how much cleaner and more environmentally friendly hydrogen is compared to petroleum fuels.
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[Source: Ecotality via H2 Daily]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris M 6:10PM (4/09/2007)
The hydrogen hype goes on... Will the kids be impressed by a top speed of 55 and a maximum range of 220 miles on one very big expensive tank of H2? Will the Ecobus propaganda convince the kids to ignore all of the better alternatives to H2 fuel?
Curiously, the "ecobus" apparently doesn't use the "hydratus" system that Ecotality is promoting. Seems that their magnesium/water hydrogen producer either isn't ready to demo, or is still too darn inefficient and expensive for use.
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Tim 8:37AM (4/10/2007)
Did anyone notice that huge lie painted on the side of the bus? It reads "Pure Hydrogen = Zero Emissions" Half-truths are the blackest of lies because they can be partially defended.
Big Energy will stop at NOTHING in order to change our addiction from Oil to Reformed Natural Gas also known as Hydrogen because they control both. They know we can't economically produce, compress, transfer or store Hydrogen at home like we could with electricity.
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Brooke 1:09PM (4/10/2007)
The ECObus is obviously a bus created for mass transit, in a city and therefore meets the needs of a standard city bus. Name another city bus that has a need for a speed over 55 MPH. When it comes to public transportation I don't think speed is a factor. Safety and zero emissions are the goals of these types of vehicles.
As for the lie painted on the side of the bus...what else does Hydrogen emit? Since Hydrogen Fuel Cell buses emit only water, one could hypothetically drink a glass of the water byproduct from the tail pipe of a Hydrogen Bus. It doesn't get much more pure than that.
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chris lafond 3:54AM (11/18/2007)
It is a good step. Big oil can vanish. Its good to see companies taking up the responsibility of getting petrol of the street. I have been working on hydrogen cells, and hopefully we will be seeing alot more of them in the next few years.
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