First hydrogen highway opened in Norway
Mazda Hydrogen RX-8 - Click above for a high-res image gallery
Now that Mazda has shipped the first Hydrogen RX8 REs to Norway, our thoughts naturally turn towards the driving experience. Since the biggest question surrounding hydrogen-powered vehicles right now is where to find an appropriate hydrogen pump, it strikes us as a good idea that Norway has opened up its first hydrogen highway.This hydrogen highway is part of Norway's HyNor project and stretches for 580 kilometers from Oslo on the eastern coast to Stavanger on the western North Sea coast. So far, the route consists of 12 hydrogen pumps, which is apparently sufficient to allow the Mazdas to be refueled along the way.
This is reportedly the first integrated network of hydrogen pumps in the world, and it's a creation of Norway's StatoilHydro, the company that installed the underlying structure as well. Future plans call for the highway to extend into the rest of Scandinavia, as shown in the map to the right. Afterward, the alliance intends to extend into Germany.
Gallery: Mazda RX-8 RE delivery in Norway
[Source: Il Corriere della Sera]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris M 7:24PM (5/14/2009)
Please note that these H2 stations are being installed by the local oil company, Statoil, probably with a government subsidy.
I have a few questions: Have they actually installed all 12 stations, or is that what they plan to install soon? How many are actually open to the public and not just reserved for corporate fleets and transit districts? How many are using steam reformed natural gas for the H2? How many are using electrolysis? How much does the H2 cost?
and most importantly, How long until they quietly scrap them for lack of customers?
Reply
jharlan 7:54PM (5/14/2009)
Not even considering the very very meager hydrogen infrastructure, How much do these cars cost? Come on now, How much per copy?
Reply
gorr 9:03PM (5/14/2009)
This perticular car cost approximatelly 1500$ - 2500$ more then a normal rx8. It have just a hydrogen tank and some high pressure hoses and injectors added to the car.
One day , i will be interrested to know how it cost to make one gallon ( one kilo ) of compressed hydrogen at a retail station with a water electrolyzer. I guess something like 10 cents to 25 cents a gallon. The honda fcx do 70 mpg without pollution.
Chris M 11:55PM (5/15/2009)
Gorr, you're just pretending to know, as Mazda hasn't given any pricing and hasn't sold any. The high pressure carbon fiber H2 tank alone would cost 20x the figure you stated. Considering that the cost of converting a Prius to run on H1 was $70K, I'd estimate the additional cost would be at least $50K.
Your guess at the cost of H2 from electrolysis is also a bit off, considering that the current retail cost of H2 from a cheaper source is in the $8 to $10 range.
jake 8:35PM (5/14/2009)
I wonder how much power it puts out and how efficient it is. Rotaries are relatively inefficient for the power they put out and hydrogen ICE is that way too.
Should be cheaper than fuel cells though.
Reply
Matt Welke 11:40PM (5/14/2009)
This is impressive but I still think electric is superior to hydrogen when it comes to the world's automotive evolution.
Problem: Gasoline pollutes.
Hydrogen does effectively solve this problem because when burned it doesn't produce any pollutants and when used in a fuel cell H2O is the only byproduct. Electric just refines this. An ICE is naturally inefficient, and having to use a fuel cell to obtain the electricity for an electric motor also adds an unneeded extra step reducing overall efficiency. An electric vehicle takes away the fuel cell or ICE and just uses one efficient electric motor.
Problem: Gasoline is a finite resource.
Again, both hydrogen and electric solve this problem, but having to use electrolysis (converting methane or coal doesn't count, both are finite) may place a burden on areas of the world that experience water shortages. Electricity, gathered from wind, solar, or hydroelectric dams is renewable and doesn't create water shortages.
One area hydrogen seems to excel at is storage. Currently, there are more promising technologies being examined for storing large amounts of hydrogen for long-distance travel.
On the other hand, electricity can be stored more safely, and already has an infrastructure in place that may at most need slight improvements to cope with a transition. Furthermore, people can recharge their cars at home (without purchasing expensive electrolysis devices for home) and won't be slaves to the new suppliers of hydrogen, who could potentially just gouge customers the way Big Oil does today.
In the end, I think electric wins. it's more efficient and easier to adopt. I don't see why people are obsessed with using fuels when we can use pure energy.
Reply
DasBoese 3:24AM (5/15/2009)
"Afterward, the alliance intends to extend into Germany."
No thanks.
But I fear if we get a red-green (i.e. social democrats + environuts) government again this fall, they'll probably welcome this "green" project with open arms... and massive subsidies. What else would you expect of the parties that, last time they were in power, abolished nuclear power, thus making us utterly dependent on coal and russian natural gas. Very green, isn't it.
Reply
Mike 7:21PM (6/25/2009)
The route is about 360 miles. With 12 stations, that could be one every 30 miles. I would guess that even with the low energy density of hydrogen and the low efficiency of the rotary engine, they ought to be able to make that.
Hydrogen can be extracted from natural gas, which Norway certainly has plenty of. But then you still have to use the natural gas. Why not just use natural gas to start with? Right now it costs about 1/4 what gasoline does for the energy, has better energy density than hydrogen, and burns a lot cleaner than gasoline.
Reply
Chris M 9:01PM (6/25/2009)
Considering the low density and low efficiency, using H2 to fuel ICE engines makes no sense whatsoever. Considering that steam reforming of natural gas is only about 70% efficient, using H2 instead of compressed natural gas to fuel this car means using about 30% more natural gas. Moreover, the volumetric energy density of natural gas is much higher, so the driving range would be considerably longer with the same size and pressure in the tanks.