Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Hydrogen keeps plugging along

Well I just finished a 'Fully Charged' viewing.  Mr. Llewellyn has been looking at hydrogen for some time and he drives a Hyundai IX35 that looks quite a bit more polished then the Honda hydrogen concept car previously driven.

While the drive was impressive it was Robert's assertion that hydrogen could be produced by wind units that were idled by overproduction that was interesting. Electric cracking of water to hydrogen with otherwise wasted energy sounds like a possible answer to the extreme waste of energy for the process. It might take 2-3 times the electric in but if the wind turbine is otherwise idle - why not. I'm curious if this can be done maintain ably with sea water as fresh water at least on the US west coast is problematic.

Still the next questions are has the drive train and hydrogen storage and cell parts improved in long term service life. Hydrogen tends to corrode and make brittle metals that contain it. The Hyundai rep claimed safety with the cell and tank was not a concern.  Finally do the numbers work out for idled green production like the wind towers? If not the oil lobby is waiting to sell hydrogen from their ever carbon intensive resources. I would not like to have clean hydrogen via dirty petrol that has to be extracted offshore with the associated spills and pipeline bursts.

Here's the episode - I agree the technology should at least continue to be researched - just as long as it's not a facade for big oil. Still looks to me like vaporware for quite some time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFrCQE3bEwg

Meanwhile Tesla continues to do well on the stock front.  Sadly I will probably never make enough to buy a Tesla S but maybe a 3 when it appears in 2018 or so...  Also Chevy and Nissan continue to accelerate efforts to bring us a long range economy car ahead of Tesla - cool with me!


Tuesday, May 26, 2015

AWOL

I fully admit to being AWOL on the blog.  The Leaf is still running like a champ and I haven't given up EVing.

The Leaf did lose a bar at 40k miles last year ( out of twelve ) but is running great. Retirement limits most of my driving to 30 mile out and back which round trip is 60. That's just fine still.  I always have to plan for two extra bars to get back up the mountain ( hill? - 1200') at the PA border where I live.

I continue to own stock in Tesla - the shorts continue to try making up bad press. However the company at every turn continues to chase the right thing so I and it appears others are in for the long haul.

It appears out on a two year horizon, but Tesla's model 3 and the Nissan long range Leaf version should be arriving. Very exciting but with my Leaf I'll be able to sit back and decide after the first adopters this go round. I bought the high end 2011 calendar /2012 model year Leaf at full freight in line so I feel no guilt there. I hope more serious long range contenders arrive as well. A 200 mile Bolt? A 100 battery mile Volt?? A better BMW set of EV entries?

If anyone is still reading - with my AWOL lack of articles, stay positive. Oil interests are still fighting EV's tooth and nail but I think range will put a big dent in the petrol coffin. Gas may never go away but we can hope it becomes like diesel - a secondary fuel. Despite fanfare and announcements of new H cars, nothing breakthrough is making hydrogen any less of a phantom.