Alternative Energy / Fuel Cells

Jan 25, 2013 at 16:58 | Brian Westenhaus

No Boeing 787 Dreamliners have crashed or burned to the ground, but lithium ion technology is back in the news with a vengeance.  The lithium ion batteries that are used…

Jan 21, 2013 at 16:25 | Barry Stevens

With all the problems with Boeing’s Dreamliner 787 lithium-ion batteries, it’s fair to question the performance and safety of EVs Li-ion batteries.  For the uninformed, regulators around the world joined…

Jan 07, 2013 at 16:51 | Futurity

A new charging algorithm could extend battery life for the first all-electric, battery-powered locomotive in the US.Batteries for Norfolk Southern Railway No. 999, just like automotive batteries, are…

Nov 02, 2012 at 18:58 | Brian Westenhaus

Fuel cells are, for some, the nirvana of portable or mobile energy production.  But the problem of a catalyst that tears the hydrogen atom into the parts needed to generate…

Oct 30, 2012 at 18:43 | Brian Westenhaus

California Lithium Battery (CLB), a finalist in Department of Energy’s 2012 Start Up America’s Next Top Energy Innovator challenge, has announced the record-setting performance of its new lithium…

Oct 23, 2012 at 17:36 | Futurity

A new, inexpensive catalyst for hydrogen fuel cells could put platinum out of business, say researchers who’ve developed an alternative out of cobalt, graphene, and cobalt-oxide.Brown University chemist…

Sep 14, 2012 at 16:40 | Dave Cohen

A controversy has broken out over what it costs General Motors (GM) to produce a Chevy Volt. A Reuters reporter got things going when he claimed that GM is…

Sep 01, 2012 at 08:43 | Charles Kennedy

A new ruling requires US automakers to more than double average fuel economy by 2025 in a move that will push up prices for cars but more than offset the…

Aug 15, 2012 at 17:26 | Brian Westenhaus

Wastewater, more commonly thought of as sewage or gray water is estimated to use 3% of the electrical energy consumed in the United States and other developed countries.Engineers…

Jun 20, 2012 at 17:37 | Brian Westenhaus

Ballard Power Systems, a Vancouver British Columbia, Canada based fuel cell manufacturer is flirting with becoming profitable.  The enthusiasm surrounding fuel cells has been the roller coaster ride of the…

Mar 01, 2012 at 17:29 | Charles Kennedy

The biggest obstacles to mass production of electric vehicles and their popularity amongst the public are the cost, the range and their safety in collisions. All these obstacles are heavily…

Feb 23, 2012 at 17:57 | Ag Metal Miner

Fuel cells are one of those technologies we have covered before, usually citing some manufacturer who is fan-faring a new technology purported to be game-changing for the cost structure of…

Jan 04, 2012 at 16:56 | Brian Westenhaus

The New Year may well be the breakthrough year for fuel cells.  The astonishing innovation and marketing locomotive of Apple Computers with the i – you name it – product…

Dec 30, 2011 at 08:12 | Brian Westenhaus

Most folks don’t realize the depth of the economic problem that fuels cells pose for mass adoption.  Often there are price quotes running in the tens or hundreds of thousands…

Jun 22, 2011 at 07:44 | Green Futures

Researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are pioneering a methane fuel cell which could provide portable storage for small-scale power generation, and an affordable alternative to…

May 16, 2011 at 07:40 | David Gabel

On May 10th Toyota celebrated the opening of the first pipeline-fed refueling station in the US. Located in Torrance, California, it is the first hydrogen station to be directly connected…

Mar 30, 2011 at 04:01 | Al Fin

Platinum, which represents at least a quarter of the cost of fuel cells, currently sells for about $65,000 per kilogram. These researchers say their activated carbon nanotubes cost about $100…

Dec 02, 2010 at 10:22 | Brian Westenhaus

A group of researchers led by Shriram Ramanathan at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are increasingly optimistic about the commercial viability of making fuel cells practical…

Oct 18, 2010 at 08:38 | Brian Westenhaus

Using biodiesel as well as regular diesel in a fuel cell is for many an incredible idea. The Research Council of Norway’s RENERGI program Technical Director Dag Øvrebø is developing…

Feb 22, 2010 at 17:57 | Dave Summers

a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/energy"> Just over a year ago, and spurred by an article in Time, I wrote a post on the possible global supply of lithium, which is used in renewable…