Hydrogen car visits UA

[UA Fan]

Hydrogen car wins fast approval

Toyota Prius prototype makes Akron debut and even finds fan in skeptical test driver

By Bob Downing

Beacon Journal staff writer

A prototype hydrogen-fueled car gets a definite thumbs up from Ted Curtis.

Curtis got a chance Monday to sit behind the wheel of the white Toyota Prius with blue hydrogen atoms painted on the sides. It was developed by Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (ECD) and its 82-year-old president, Stanford Ovshinsky, a native of Akron.

Curtis, vice president of capital planning and facilities management at the University of Akron, came away very impressed with the hydrogen-burning car. He is ready to order one, even though they are still years away from being available to the public.

``I was ready to find shortcomings,'' he said of his test drive. ``But I didn't find any.... It was extremely quiet. You don't hear the engine. It handles well. It has pickup. There was no power lag. It really took me by surprise. I was very impressed.''

The car even features an interesting dashboard screen that tells drivers that the car has turned itself off at stop signs to save battery power. You simply tap the gas pedal and the car restarts and zips off.

The prototype -- a 2005 model with Michigan vanity plates reading H2 Car -- was the star of Monday's Akron coming-out party, along with Ovshinsky and his wife and partner, Iris.

The party began on the University of Akron campus, where about 100 people attended a brief morning news conference. The party moved to Lock 3 Park downtown, where the car was on public display.

Many of those in attendance were thrilled to get a chance to examine the hydrogen-powered vehicle. They were also delighted with Ovshinsky's plan to develop a tank storage laboratory in Akron late this year or early next year -- with the promise of 125 jobs within five years.

The white-haired Ovshinsky said he ``does not live on hope... and we're going to hit the ground running (in Akron). It's definitely going to happen, not too far from now. We're going to start here and expand here.''

The hydrogen technology is ``not a vision, not a dream,'' he said. ``It's actual.''

``It's awesome,'' said Dave McVaney, 45, of Barberton, a technician in the University of Akron civil engineering department. ``I'd love to be able to fill up my gas tank some day with my garden hose.... This is absolutely the way to go and this is really great.''

The car could get its hydrogen from water by using solar panels or from other sources including wind and water power.

Said Debbie Casey, 47, of Akron, who works in the University of Akron's admissions office, ``I like the idea of jobs in Akron and the hydrogen car. That would be good for the community.''

ECD, its subsidiaries and partners are working to devise a car that stores hydrogen, then burns it.

The car features a lightweight fiber-wrapped storage tank under the body that stores three kilograms of hydrogen as a metal hydride at low pressure. It can travel from 130 to nearly 200 miles with that much fuel.

One kilogram of hydrogen is equal to 1 gallon of gas. Three gallons of water will generate 1 kilogram of hydrogen.

A metal hydride is formed when gaseous hydrogen molecules dissociate into individual hydrogen atoms and bond with metal atoms in the storage tank. It uses powdered metallic alloys capable of rapidly absorbing hydrogen.

The storage system was developed by Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Systems LLC, a joint venture between ChevronTexaco Corp. and ECD Ovonics.

The car also has a sophisticated heat exchange system that can cool hydrogen at refueling and warm it via the car's cooling system when the vehicle is running. That turns the solid hydrogen to a gas that can be burned.

Other adjustments to the vehicle include removing the original gas tank, fuel lines and catalytic converter, fitting the hydrogen storage system under the car with appropriate vents and leak detectors and installing hydrogen fuel lines equipped with pressure and temperature sensors, four gaseous fuel injectors, an exhaust air-fuel-ration sensor and a control computer to operate the new fuel injectors.

In addition, a turbocharger was added to provide more power and additional batteries were installed to boost voltage and increase torque of the vehicle's electric motor.

The system shows the potential to comply with 2008 U.S. Department of Energy standards of $3 per kilogram of hydrogen and also driving ranges, although the prototype does not yet match up with those numbers, Ovshinsky's company said.

Refueling a vehicle takes a long time: about 8 ½ minutes. The goal is to get it down to 5 minutes. It takes longer because the hydrogen must be cooled as it goes into the tank.