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The day has arrived when road vehicles do not emit harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. The new Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCV,) recently seen in Baltimore, at Maryland Department of the Environment’s (MDE) Headquarters in Montgomery Park Business Center, use hydrogen as fuel instead of gasoline -- and the only emission byproduct is water.
At the current progress rate, some automobile manufacturers believe fuel cell vehicles will be ready for sale to the general public around the year 2020. This goal supports President George W. Bush’s ideal of today’s toddlers being able to take their driver’s tests in completely pollution-free cars. There are several designs of the Hydro Gen 3 using either liquid or compressed hydrogen as the fuel source. These vehicles have an approximate driving range of 200 miles with a top cruising speed of 99 mph.
The State of Maryland is doing its part to showcase the new technology by supplying the Hydro Gen 3 vehicle at events for public test drives. Some recent events were Earth Day with Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. and MDE Secretary Kendl Philbrick, Maryland Senate / US Department of Energy hydrogen workshop and an EPA Idling Workshop hosted by MDE in early May, where senior staff had their first opportunity to test drive the vehicle.
The Hydro Gen 3 car, a third generation FCV from General Motors (GM), is provided FOR events through a leasing agreement between the Maryland Energy Administration. The vehicle will be showcased at the Maryland Association of Counties convention in Ocean City, in mid-August, and one day during the 124th annual State Fair, running Aug. 26-Sept. 5 in Timonium.
For more information on FCVs check out the following websites:
General Motors
www.gm.com/company/gmability/adv_tech/index.html
U. S. Department of Energy:
www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/
The federal government and private companies have joined forces to promote wide-scale production of FCVs. The United States is spending about $1.2 billion and is the world leader in hydrogen research. This has prompted reduced cost of FCVs, reduced cost of natural gas-based hydrogen production and more funding awarded for research. Fuel cells are not new technology. They have been around since the 1840s, but have only recently become a viable alternative power source for vehicles.
This generation of FCV differs from previous ones by being substantially lighter, having increased power output, improved driving range and higher top speed. The vehicle was designed and built in GM’s European fuel cell research facility and is based on the Opel Zafira minivan chassis. The Opel minivan was chosen to prove the viability of this technology in a small vehicle.
GM’s FCV demonstration project in Washington DC and Southern California is just one example of a real world FCV test program. Most major automobile manufacturers have FCV programs and some are conducting demonstrations or tests of their products. These real world tests will develop vehicle technology and the supporting infrastructure (fueling stations, maintenance facilities, etc.) and provide data for product development and enhancement. Some other automobile manufacturers FCV test programs are:
- A partnership between DaimlerChrysler and United Parcel Service to test a fleet of fuel cell powered delivery vans.
- Toyota's partnering with universities in California to demonstrate their FCVs.
- Honda leasing fuel cell vehicles to the City of Los Angeles.
The federal government and private companies have joined forces to promote wide - scale production of fuel cell vehicles it has payoffs. Federal funding for research has helped develop new technologies that have reduced the cost of automotive fuel cells purchased in high-volume by more than 25 percent over just the past three years.
To learn more about the Hydro Gen 3 vehicle call MDE's Mobile Sources Control Program at (410) 537-3270.
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